Chapter 4 He Came

Ares

“Kianna Myst Saavedra,” I muttered to the glass, watching the steam from the shower slowly erase my reflection. I tightened the knot of the towel around my waist. “I’m betting you won’t shed a single damn tear when these two years are up.”

My phone buzzed against the marble countertop, a sharp, metallic vibration. I snatched it up, pressing it to my ear.

"What’s up, boss?" my assistant’s voice cut through the line. "You coming into the office today?"

I leaned back against the cool bathroom wall, my tone dropping into a flat, controlled cadence. “Get every bidding document for the firm that humiliated me last night ready for submission. I’m taking over their entire portfolio. I want it finalized in one week.”

A brief, stunned silence stretched over the line. "Are you serious? A week? Alright, boss. Consider it done."

“One more thing,” I added, glancing through the open door toward the stained tiles in the entryway. “Have someone deliver a full set of women’s clothes to this suite immediately. And find me a residential property in Laguna. Something modest. An average house, the kind an entry-level office worker would live in. Clean it, lock it down, and move all my personal belongings there today.”

The silence on the other end lasted longer this time, heavy with confusion. "Wait... Laguna? An average house? Boss, are you losing your—"

“Are you looking to switch careers?” I interrupted, letting a quiet, dangerous edge slip into the words. “Because I can arrange an immediate opening in the janitorial department if you’re itching to mop floors for a living.”

"Okay, okay! Message received, boss!" the voice shot back, suddenly frantic. "I'm on it right now!"

The line went dead with a sharp click.

...

Kianna

The fifteen minutes it took for the bathroom door to stop echoing felt like an eternity. A sharp, rhythmic knock at the outer door made my shoulders flinch.

I kept the hotel blanket securely wrapped around my torso—my absolute last line of defense—and padded barefoot across the cold hardwood floor. I pulled the door open an inch.

A hotel staff member stood in the corridor, a bright, professional smile fixed on her face as she lifted a stack of heavy paper shopping bags. “Good morning, ma’am. These were just dropped off for you.”

"Thank you," I murmured, taking the handles with a stiff nod. I eased the door shut until the latch clicked into place.

'Ares.' The man was clearly an unhinged workaholic, but the fact that he’d actually followed through on the clothes made my pulse skip a beat.

I changed into the crisp, simple garments as fast as my shaking hands allowed, threw my ruined dress into a bag, and slipped out of the hotel. The cab ride back to my neighborhood was a blur of passing concrete and morning traffic. By the time the vehicle pulled up to my curb, my stomach was twisting itself into hard, agonizing knots.

I pushed the front door open, the familiar scent of the house hitting me like an unwanted memory. "I’m back," I called out, my voice sounding thin and hollow in the narrow hallway.

The response from the kitchen was instant, lacking even a shred of warmth.

I walked into the room, my fingers hooking into the strap of my bag. "Dad, can we talk for a second?" I kept my chin up, but a slight tremor betrayed my voice. This wasn't the blind panic from last night; this was the cold reality of setting a fire to my own bridges.

My father didn't lift his eyes from his newspaper. "So you actually remember where you live," he said, his voice flat. He set his coffee mug down with a hard clink, his arms crossing over his chest as he finally looked up at me. "A respectable woman doesn't vanish for an entire night without a single word. You honestly believe you're acting like an adult?"

I flinched, the accusation stinging more than I wanted to admit. But the truth was impossible to speak aloud. 'I woke up naked in a stranger's bed and agreed to marry him.'

"I'm sorry, Dad," I said, dropping my gaze to the linoleum floor. "The workload at the office dragged on until dawn. It was an exhausting night."

He didn't blink. The lie didn't even register on his face.

"I came here to tell you something important," I continued, taking a sharp breath to steady my lungs. "Just say it, Kia," I whispered to myself.

"Make it quick. My time isn't free."

"I am going to marry someone else."

The ticking of the kitchen clock seemed to grow louder in the silence that followed.

"The wedding with Vincent Rivera is off," I said, the words rushing out before my courage could fail. "He's been sleeping with someone else. I refuse to be his wife when our entire relationship is a sham." I couldn't look him in the eye. The weight of his unmoving silhouette was suffocating. "I need us to update our household registry today so I can qualify for the corporate housing assistance. I won't be staying under this roof much longer anyway. I'm moving out."

He picked up his coffee mug, taking a slow sip as if I had just announced a change in the weather. A small, mocking smile touched the corner of his mouth. "You think you're cut out for government housing now? Fine. When it falls apart and you get burned, don't come crawling back to this doorstep."

He folded his newspaper with a sharp snap. "Do whatever you want. Ruin your life, chase your illusions—whatever keeps you out of my hair. I might finally get some peace around here."

The words felt like a physical blow to the chest, draining the last bit of warmth from my veins. He didn't care. Letting me walk away wasn't difficult for him; it was an item checked off his list.

"Well, look who finally decided to show up," a sharp, grating voice cut through the room.

I stiffened, turning toward the doorway as my stepmother, Avery, strolled into the kitchen. The sheer sight of her made my jaw tighten, an ugly, volatile anger sparking in my throat.

"I take it you aren't thrilled to see me," I shot back, the irritation bleeding into my words before I could filter it. "You didn't bother mentioning when you'd be returning from your trip."

"My schedule has nothing to do with you," she retorted, her eyes narrowing. "Besides, didn't your stepsister come home with you last night? Why don't you worry about your own sister's whereabouts instead of cross-examining me?"

A sharp laugh escaped my lips, bitter and loud. "My sister? Why don't you ask your precious daughter exactly what she was doing last night? Why don't you ask her who she was spending her evening with?"

Avery’s expression instantly crumbled into a look of pathetic, exaggerated sorrow. She moved quickly to my father's side, resting a hand on his shoulder. "Look at how she speaks to me, honey... It's utterly humiliating. She has absolutely no respect for this family or her elders, no matter how hard we tried to raise her properly."

The calculated act worked instantly. My father’s chair scraped loudly against the floor as he stood up, his face darkening with a sudden, volatile rage. "How dare you speak to your mother like that!" he bellowed, his voice vibrating with a fury I had never been able to turn in my own defense. "Apologize to her this instant!"

"Why should I apologize?" I shouted back, the frustration bubbling over until my vision blurred. "I haven't done anything wrong! And she is not my mother! My mother died eight years ago, or have you completely forgotten her too?!"

"You!" My father took a heavy step toward me, his hand slamming down onto the table. "How dare you talk back to me in my own house!"

"It doesn't matter if I stay here or leave," I said, backing away toward the front door, the tears finally spilling over my lashes. "I haven't felt like a part of this family for a very long time. I am leaving."

I turned and bolted down the hallway, my hand gripping the brass doorknob.

"Fine!" his voice roared from the kitchen, echoing off the narrow walls. "If you walk out that door, don't you ever come back!"

The door slammed shut behind me, cutting off the sound but leaving the weight of his words hanging heavily on my shoulders.

I walked blindly, my feet carrying me straight toward the Marriage Registration Bureau. After the wreckage at the house, the bridge was completely gone. I had no safety net, no fallback plan. I had no choice but to sign the contract... but a cold, sickening dread was beginning to settle in my chest. 'Am I rushing into this? Who in their right mind signs their life away to a total stranger?' I was acting like a fool.

"I'm sorry I kept you waiting."

The deep, gravelly voice cut through the noise of the crowded sidewalk.

I stopped, my breath catching in my throat as I looked up.

It was him.