Chapter 6: Tangled Hearts and Hidden Truths

Ariana’s POV:

The fluorescent lights of Voss Enterprises hum above me, but all I can hear is the echo of Jake’s voice from yesterday.

“I heard you were working for Voss. Had to see it for myself.”

My hands tremble as I type up Damien’s meeting notes, the words blurring on the screen.

Jake Matthews, was back in my life like a ghost I thought I’d banished. My first love, the boy who held me together when Dad’s scandal shattered us, only to break me himself when he walked away without a word.

I was nineteen, drowning in grief, and he left me standing in the rain, my heart was in pieces. Now he’s here, all charm and tailored suits, acting like he can just stroll back in.

I glance at Damien’s closed office door, my stomach twisting.

Yesterday, when he interrupted Jake’s smug smile, I saw something in his eyes, anger, yes, but something else, something that made my pulse race.

I hate that I noticed. I hate that I’m noticing him at all. He’s the man trying to destroy my family’s name, the man who holds Blake Enterprises’ fate in his hands.

But the way he stepped between me and Jake, the way his voice sharpened, it felt protective, and that scares me more than Jake’s return.

My phone buzzes, pulling me out of my thoughts.

A text from Lily: "Are you okay? You didn’t sleep last night".

I bite my lip, picturing her worried face, her small frame curled up on our couch. She’s right, I didn’t sleep. How could I, with Jake’s hazel eyes haunting me, with Damien’s warnings ringing in my ears? I type a quick reply,

"I’m fine, just working. Love you", and set the phone down, my chest tight.

I’m not fine. I’m a mess, caught between a past I can’t escape and a present I don’t understand.

The intercom crackles. “Ariana, you're needed.” Damien’s voice is clipped, like he’s biting back something. I stand, smoothing my skirt, and push down the panic rising in my throat. I can’t let him see me rattled. Not after Jake. Not after everything.

Inside, Damien was at his desk, his tie loosened, his dark hair slightly mussed, like he had been running his hands through it.

He looks up, and those blue eyes hit me like a wave, they were cold and searing all at once.

“The notes from the Tokyo call,” he says, his tone flat. “They’re late.”

I bristle, my hands clenching. “They’re not late. I’m still typing them. You gave me three hours of audio to transcribe, and I’ve been here since seven.”

His jaw tightens, and I swear I see a flicker of something, guilt or maybe Frustration?

“Then work faster,” he snaps, but his eyes don’t leave mine, and there’s that pull again, that heat that makes me want to scream or step closer, I’m not sure which. “And while you’re at it, explain why Jake Matthews thinks he can waltz in here and talk about you like he owns you.”

My heart stutters. “What?”

“You heard me.” He stands, rounding the desk, and suddenly he’s too close, his presence overwhelming. “He was here for a merger, but all he wanted to talk about was you. Your past. Your… history.” His voice dips, and I catch it, the edge and the tension, like he’s holding something back.

I swallowed, and my throat became dry.

“Jake’s my ex. That’s all. He doesn’t own me, and neither do you.” The words came out sharper than I meant, but I’m shaking now, the memories flooding back, Jake’s promises, his betrayal, the way I cried for weeks after he left.

I was so young, so broken, and he was supposed to be my safe place. Instead, he was just another wound.

Damien’s eyes narrow, but there’s something softer in them, something that makes my chest ache.

“You’re shaking,” he says, quieter now, and I hate that he notices, hate that he sees me like this. “What did he do to you, Ariana?”

I want to tell him that Jake broke my heart, that he left me when I needed him most, that I’m terrified he’s back to hurt me again. But I can’t. Not to Damien Voss, the man who wants to crush my family’s legacy. So I lift my chin, forcing my voice steady.

“It’s none of your business. I’m here to work, not to spill my secrets.”

His gaze holds mine, intense, searching, and for a moment, I think he’s going to push, to demand more. But then he steps back, his expression closing off.

“Fine. Get the notes done by noon. And stay away from Matthews. He’s in trouble.”

I nod, turning to leave, but my heart’s pounding, and I feel it, that spark, that dangerous pull that makes me want to stay, to fight, to figure out why Damien cares. But I can’t afford to care back. Not when everything I love is at stake.

Damien’s POV:

She walks out, her shoulders were stiff, and I’m left standing in my office, my hands clenched so tight that they made my knuckles ache.

Ariana Blake.

She’s a wildfire, burning through my control, and I hate her for it. I hate her for being Richard Blake’s daughter, for carrying the name that destroyed my family. But most of all, I hate that I can’t stop watching her, the way her hands tremble when she’s angry, the way her green eyes flash with defiance, the way she stood there yesterday, facing Jake Matthews like he was a ghost she couldn’t outrun.

Jake.

That smug bastard, sitting in my office, talking about her like she was his to claim.

“She’s hard to let go of, isn’t she?” His words echo, and my jaw tightens, a hot, ugly feeling twisting in my chest. I don’t know what it is, this burn, this need to step between them, to wipe that smirk off his face. It’s not jealousy. It can’t be.

I don’t get jealous, especially not over a Blake. But the way he looked at her, the way she froze when she saw him, it’s eating at me, and I don’t know why.

I sink into my chair, staring at the city skyline, but all I see is my father’s face, broken and hollow after the scandal. The Blake-Voss merger was supposed to be our triumph, but Richard Blake lied, cooked the books, and let us take the fall.

My mother worked double shifts to keep us afloat, her hands raw from scrubbing dishes. My sisters gave up their dreams, their futures stolen. And me, I built this empire from nothing, from a basement and a secondhand laptop, because I swore I’d make the Blakes pay.

But now Ariana’s here, in my world, and I’m noticing things I shouldn’t, her strength, her pain, the way she fights for a company that’s barely a shadow of what it was.

My phone buzzes. It was a text from Elise:

"Damien, Mom’s worried. Why keep her there? She’s a Blake. She’ll ruin you".

I toss the phone aside, my chest tight. They don’t understand. I don’t understand. I told myself I hired Ariana to control her, to watch her break, but every time she defies me, every time she looks at me with those eyes, I feel something shift. Something dangerous.

Yesterday, when Jake leaned toward her, when he said her name like it was his to say, I wanted to throw him out. Not because of the merger, not because of business, but because of her. The thought makes my blood boil. She’s the enemy, the last piece of my revenge, but she’s also… something else. Something I can’t name.

The intercom buzzes. “Mr. Voss, the Tokyo team’s on the line,” Ariana’s voice says, steady but with that edge of fire. I close my eyes, picturing her out there, her hands still shaking from Jake, from me. I want to hate her. I need to hate her. But all I can think is that Jake Matthews doesn’t get to hurt her again. And neither do I.

I pick up the phone, my voice calm, and controlled.

“Put them through.”

But inside, I’m a storm, and Ariana Blake is at the center of it, tearing down everything I thought I knew.