Chapter 1

VENUS

“You’ll be fine, Mom, I promise. My job pays well, and I have savings, we’ll be able to pay for your chemo soon.” I said with happiness I didn’t feel, but I have to be strong for both of us.

“You shouldn’t waste your time on me, Venus. It’s not your duty to do all this for me. You’re only twenty-two. You should be having the time of your life,” she said weakly.

“Nonsense. You don’t worry about a single thing, okay? I’ll take care of everything. I promise.” I smoothed back her hair and kissed her forehead.

“How’s your dad?’ she asked, not meeting my eye. Of course, she can’t. Her husband hasn’t come to see her since she was diagnosed and admitted.

I hated him; I hated Dain with every being in me. He was a drunken freeloader who lived off me and my mom and abused her. He abused me when I was a child but stopped when I grew up and, got a job, and threatened to cut him off. Even with his wretched behaviour, my mom refuses to let me throw him out.

“He went out on Sunday and hasn’t returned since then”, I replied dryly “I haven’t heard from him, and it's good because I have a semblance of peace, and I can carry out my work effectively”

“Venus”, she started, but I cut her off. I didn’t want to hear the same old excuse she made for him. I hated the man.

“I have to go, Mom or I’ll be late for work, I’ll see you when I get off” I packed my stuff and hugged her.

“Thanks for coming to see me every day, Venus, I don’t deserve you”

“Don’t thank me, mom, I’m your daughter.” With that, I left her ward.

I hailed a cab and got in. I told the driver my destination, and he started to drive. I checked my bag to see if the file my boss gave me to work on was intact—I’m paranoid like that. You’d be, too, if you worked for Aaron Sinclair. He is a devil wrapped in designer suits and sinful charm. He is good-looking, and he knows it. He walks into a room like he owns it—well, I guess he does. Broad shoulders, sharp jawline and hazel-coloured eyes. There’s danger in his smirk, a promise of ruin and pleasure in equal measure—I’ve only known his scowls and looks of disdain. Now, I could go on about how good-looking or well-sculpted he was, but I’ll leave it at that because, no matter how much of every woman’s wet dream he is, he’s my nightmare.

I don’t hate people except for my dad, but what I feel for my boss comes close. I’ve been working with him for two months now, and I’m pretty sure he has it out for me, he’s hated me since the first day I came to work for him, and I’m honestly surprised he hasn’t fired me yet. Well, he has no plausible reason to since I always deliver. He’d intentionally make things difficult for me and task me with an obscene amount of work with little deadline, but I always managed to pull through every single time. It's tasking and draining; I barely get four hours of sleep daily. I know what you’ll ask next, well, if it’s that daunting, why don’t you quit?

Simple. The pay. I had been a waitress before I landed this job, and it didn’t quite sustain us. I have a degree in business management, and I worked several jobs to get through college. Now, with my mom’s cancer, I couldn’t afford to lose a job like this because there’s no assurance I'd get another.

The cab driver stopped at the front of the building, I paid him and got out, looking at the building before letting out a resigned sigh. Here we go again.

Immediately I got into my office, which was attached to Mr. Sinclair’s, the intercom rang and I picked it up.

“My office now,” his voice said from the phone. “God, please help me.” With that, I made my way to his office and knocked.

“Come in” I opened the door.

“Good morning, Mr. Sinclair, you asked for me?”

“Have a seat,” he said, his voice laced with irritation—something I’ve become accustomed to. Strange. I did as he asked. There was a tense silence for a few minutes when he broke it, his words leaving me stunned.

“Marry me"