LOGINBy eight in the morning, the secret was no longer a secret.Doris knew it before she even stepped through the doors of Varmont.The lobby was louder than usual.Not chaotic.Just different.People were speaking in low voices, checking their phones, showing one another something on their screens before quickly pretending they hadn't been doing anything at all.Doris slowed as she walked past the reception desk.Two employees were looking at a phone between them.The moment they noticed her, they lowered it.Doris frowned.Then her own phone vibrated.Once.Twice.Then again.She pulled it out.The notification sitting at the top of her screen made her stop walking.*Varmont Chairman's Son Delvis Lim Announces Engagement to Ethan Carter.*Her stomach dropped.She opened the article.The photograph loaded.Delvis stood in a black suit, his expression as unreadable as ever.Ethan stood beside him, smiling naturally, one hand resting against Delvis's arm.The headline was only the beginnin
By seven that evening, the mansion no longer felt like a home.It felt like a venue.Staff moved quietly through the halls, carrying trays and adjusting flowers while security personnel checked doors, entrances, and the grounds for what felt like the hundredth time.Doris stood at the end of the dining room, reviewing the seating arrangement on her tablet.She had changed the names three times.Not because the arrangement was wrong.Because Ethan's mother had apparently decided that sitting beside someone she disliked for an entire evening was an unacceptable fate.Doris sighed."One more change."She moved a name.Then another."There."She looked at the table.Perfect.At least something was.The long dining table had been arranged with dark polished wood, crystal glasses and carefully folded linen. Nothing was excessive.Everything was expensive.That was the difference.Even the flowers looked like they had been selected by someone who had never heard the word *budget*.Doris step
By the following morning, Doris had convinced herself that everything was fine.It was a lie.A very convincing one, but still a lie.She stood in front of the mirror in her room, fastening an earring while the glow of her phone illuminated the dresser beside her.The engagement announcement had gone public sometime during the night.She had already seen it.She had tried not to.That had lasted approximately six seconds.*DELVIS LIM AND ETHAN CARTER OFFICIALLY ENGAGED*The headline sat beneath a photograph of the two men standing together at what looked like some private event.Ethan was smiling.Delvis wasn't.That was normal.At least, Doris told herself it was normal.She looked at the picture again.Ethan's hand rested against Delvis's chest.Delvis allowed it.Doris's stomach tightened.She locked her phone."This is ridiculous."She picked up her bag and walked out.The mansion was already unusually busy.People moved through the halls carrying garment bags, boxes, floral sampl
Doris didn't say much during the drive back.For once, she was grateful for the silence.Her hands remained folded tightly in her lap as the city passed beyond the window, the lights blurring together whenever she stared at them for too long.She could still feel the hand that had grabbed her.The suddenness of it.The panic.The realization that those men hadn't come to scare her.They had come to take her.And then Victor had appeared.Doris glanced toward him.He kept his eyes on the road, his expression as unreadable as ever.She didn't ask why he had been there.She already knew.Delvis.Of course.The thought should have irritated her.Instead, it brought a strange sense of relief.If Victor hadn't been following her, she didn't know how that meeting would have ended.Doris looked down at her empty hands.The folder was gone.During the struggle, she'd dropped it.She didn't know whether the attackers had taken it or whether it had been left behind when they ran.Either way, it
Doris spent the rest of the evening avoiding Delvis.She avoided Ethan too.It wasn't difficult with Ethan.He had left the mansion earlier with Victor and a few members of the security team to deal with some of the final engagement arrangements, which gave Doris the excuse she needed to stay in her room.Delvis was harder.He was everywhere without actually being anywhere.She could hear his footsteps in the hallway.His voice occasionally carried from downstairs.Once, she caught sight of him through the glass doors of the study.He looked up.Their eyes met.Doris immediately looked away.She hated herself for it.After what had almost happened in his office, she didn't trust herself around him.She didn't trust the way her body had refused to listen to her mind.And she definitely didn't want to think about how close his face had been to hers before Ethan's knock had interrupted them.So she buried herself in work.The Orion file sat open on her laptop.Doris stared at it for seve
Doris stared at Victor. For several seconds, she couldn’t find the words. The man she had been seeing around the mansion wasn’t some stranger lurking around the property. It was Victor. And apparently, Delvis had known about it the entire time. “Mr. Lim told you to watch me?” Victor nodded. “Why?” “He believed you might be in danger.” “From who?” “I don’t know.” Doris frowned. “You don’t know?” “I was only given instructions to monitor the property around you and report anything unusual.” She folded her arms. “So you’ve been following me?” “Not following.” Doris gave him a look. Victor corrected himself. “Watching.” “That’s not exactly better.” He didn’t respond. Doris looked back toward the mansion. A strange mixture of irritation and relief settled inside her. At least she finally knew. The mystery had a face. But now she had another question. Why had Delvis felt the need to protect her without telling her? She turned back to Victor. “When did he tell yo
A few minutes after the call ended, Doris remained seated at her desk, quietly looking around as she tried to get used to the space. Everything in the office looked too arranged, too perfect, as if nothing was allowed to be out of place. Even the air felt different, calmer but somehow heavier, like
Doris stood up from her desk slowly, smoothing down her skirt almost immediately. She adjusted her shirt, tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear, then checked herself quickly on the blank screen of her phone.“Okay… no mistake,” she muttered under her breath.She had not met the CEO yet, and
Doris adjusted her grip on her bag as she stood in front of the door. She took a small breath before knocking lightly.“Come in,” a voice said from inside.She pushed the door open and stepped in, her eyes immediately landing on the two women seated behind the table. They were already gathering the
Doris checked the time again, her eyes lingering on the glowing screen longer than necessary as if staring at it would somehow change what it showed.10:47 PM.Her fingers tightened slightly around her phone, but her expression remained composed as she looked up at the waiter standing beside her ta







