Chapter Four Three Months Later.

Ariana POV 

The past three months had been a blur.

I moved out of David’s apartment the day after I got back from the resort. 

I packed my things while he was at work, left his key on the counter, and never looked back. I blocked his number. Blocked Jessica’s too. starting over with a clean slate.

I moved back home. Which was a big mistake.

Living with my family again reminded me why I’d been so desperate to leave in the first place. 

Growing up, Mom made it clear who the favorite was. Maya, my younger sister, was the pretty one, the talented one, the one with a future. I was just… Ariana. The older sister who existed to make Maya’s life easier.

Mom immediately put me to work running errands for Maya,—picking up her dry cleaning, fetching her specific coffee orders, driving her to photoshoots when she “couldn’t be bothered.” I was back to being the family servant.

And sometimes, late at night when I couldn’t sleep, I thought about him.

The mysterious man from the resort. Alex. The way he’d looked at me during that poker game. 

The way he’d touched me. Made me feel wanted. Made me come alive in a way I’d never felt before.

Then I’d remember waking up alone with that stupid note.

Emergency. -A

Right. Emergency.

I was just another one-night stand he couldn’t leave fast enough. I should’ve known better.

I tried to forget about him. I tried to move on. But some nights, I still felt his hands on my skin.

Two weeks ago, I got a call from Sterling Star Corp.I’d applied for their executive assistant program months ago, back when things with David were good, back when I still had hope for my future. 

I’d completely forgotten about it.They wanted me to start immediately. I said yes without thinking twice.

I stood in Sterling’s Star Corp’s lobby, gripping my bag like it might fly away.

The building looked even more intimidating in person. Glass everywhere. Steel beams reaching toward the sky. 

Marble floors so shiny you could check your makeup in them. Everyone rushing past wore suits that probably cost more than my rent.

I felt like an imposter.

My phone buzzed. Mom’s name lit up the screen.

I should’ve ignored it. Really should’ve.

“Hello?”

“Ariana.” That tone. The one that meant I’d already messed up somehow. “Why didn’t you grab Maya’s coffee before you left?”

I squeezed my eyes shut. Counted to three. “Mom, I had to leave early. It’s my first…”

“Your sister has that huge photoshoot today. She needed her usual order from the café, and now she’s scrambling because you couldn’t be bothered.”

“Maya’s twenty-four,” I said softly. People were walking past me. “She can get her own coffee.”

“Don’t be selfish. After everything we’ve done for you, helping your sister is the least you can do. She has an actual career…”

“I need to go. First day.”

“At that assistant position? Try not to embarrass yourself. And your father expects you home for dinner. Maya’s bringing her photographer to meet us…”

I hung up. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking.

Two more months. Just sixty more days of saving every penny, and I could move out. Leave behind the constant comparisons to perfect Maya. Stop being the family screw-up.

“Excuse me? Ms. Cross?”

A woman in a sharp pantsuit walked over, clipboard in hand.

“Yes, that’s me.”

“I’m Jennifer, from HR. Welcome to Sterling’s Star Corp!” Her smile could’ve powered the building. “Ready for your first day?”

“Absolutely.” I tried to sound confident. Pretty sure I failed.

“Fantastic! Let me check you in, then we’ll take you and the other new hires up for orientation.”

Ten minutes later, I stood with three other newbies at the elevators. Jennifer was explaining the building layout, but my brain was elsewhere.

I still couldn’t believe they’d hired me. When I’d seen the posting online…executive assistant program, actual benefits, decent salary…I’d applied without thinking. Never expected them to call back.

But they did. And here I was, starting a job I’d found completely on my own. No help from Dad’s business connections or Maya’s network. Just me and my resume.

First thing I’d done right in forever.

The elevator doors slid open. We filed in. Jennifer hit the button for the twenty-fifth floor.

“We’ll start at the executive level,” she said. “Most of you won’t work up there, but you should see the full scope.”

The elevator climbed. I watched the numbers tick up. Fifteen. Twenty. Twenty-three.

When the doors opened on twenty-five, I forgot how to breathe.

This wasn’t an office.

This was… I didn’t have words.

Marble floors you could see your reflection in. 

Windows from floor to ceiling showing off the entire city. Sunlight pouring through, making everything glow. 

Actual museum-quality art on the walls. Fresh orchids in crystal vases. Furniture that belonged in a five-star hotel.

“Holy…” someone whispered.

“The executive floor,” Jennifer announced proudly. “Where our senior leadership works. Mr. Alex’s office is at the end, but we won’t disturb him. He’s in meetings all morning.”

Mr. Alex. The CEO I’d never bothered looking up. Maybe it was a mistake on my path. But it was too late to change things now.

We started walking. Jennifer pointed out departments and explained the structure. But I wasn’t listening.

I couldn’t stop staring at everything. The design. The architecture. The obscene amount of wealth on display. This was a different universe from the one I’d been living in.

I was so busy gawking at a piece of modern art that I didn’t see someone coming around the corner.

I slammed straight into them.

Hard.

The impact sent me backward. My heels caught on the polished marble. I felt myself falling, arms flailing…

Strong hands caught me before I could hit the ground, wrapping around my waist and pulling me upright.

“Careful—”

The voice cut off abruptly.

I looked up,ready to apologize when I froze.

No.No, this couldn’t be happening.

Alex.

The man from the resort. The man who’d made me forget my own name. The man who’d disappeared without a word.

He stared at me, his hands still gripping my waist. His eyes went wide with recognition.

Recognition hit us both like lightning.

“You,” he breathed.

I couldn’t speak. My brain was finding it difficult to process.

This wasn’t real. This couldn’t be…

“Mr. Alex!” Jennifer’s voice cut through my shock, her voice was high with panic. “I’m so sorry, sir! She wasn’t watching where she was going…”

I could hear people gasping around us. 

“Did she just crash into Mr. Alex?”

“Oh my God…”

“That’s the CEO…”

CEO. The word sank in slowly.

Alex. CEO.

A woman in an expensive designer suit appeared beside us. Her face was tight with barely controlled rage. She looked at me like I was gum on her Louboutins.

“Mr. Alex, are you alright?” Her voice dripped with concern. “I’m so sorry you had to deal with this… incompetence.”

She grabbed my arm roughly. Her nails dug into my skin as she yanked me away from Alex.

“How dare you be so careless!” she hissed. “Do you have any idea who you just…”

The slap came out of nowhere.

Her hand connected with my cheek. The sound cracked through the corridor. Pain exploded across my face. Tears sprang to my eyes immediately.

Shocked gasps everywhere.

I stood frozen. My cheek burned. I couldn’t process what had just happened.

“That’s for disrespecting Mr. Alex,” she said coldly. “You clumsy little…”

“You’re fired.”

Alex’s voice cut through everything. Cold. Hard. Absolutely final.

The woman’s face went white. “Mr. Alex, I was just…”

“Get out of my building.” Each word was a blade. “Now.”

“Sir, please, I was protecting you…”

“Security!” He didn’t shout, but somehow his voice carried down the entire hallway.

Two security guards materialized within seconds, heading straight for the woman. She looked between Alex and them, her face cycling through shock, anger, fear.

“You can’t be serious…”

“Escort her out,” Alex said flatly. “Call her supervisor. I want her gone in ten minutes.”

The guards held her arms. She kept begging trying to explain as she was dragged into the elevator but nobody was listening /

The small crowd…Jennifer, the other new hires, several executives who’d emerged from offices…stood frozen. Nobody dared move.

Alex’s eyes swept over them. Dark. Dangerous. “Everyone back to work. Now.”

They scattered. Disappeared into offices and around corners. Even Jennifer backed away, taking the other new hires with her.

Leaving me standing there alone.

With him.

Alex turned back to me. Something in his expression made my breath catch. 

He held my hands and pulled me down the hallway.