His Secrets Burn

Chapter Two 

Aria’s POV

My fingers trembled on the trackpad, the grainy image still frozen on my laptop screen.

Julian Blackwell. In the shadows. Staring down at what looked like a lifeless body.

I blinked hard, hoping it was a mistake. My pulse was erratic, thudding violently against my ribs like it was trying to break free. The air in the office suddenly felt too thick and too dense to breathe. My throat closed, dry and aching. My skin prickled, flushed hot with panic even though the air conditioning was humming steadily.

No message. No explanation. Just that image and the video.

I tried to stand, but my knees buckled slightly. My legs were weak like the blood had pooled in my stomach. My mind was racing with questions, but my body felt paralyzed with dread. Was it real? Was it doctored? Who sent it? And why me?

I pushed back from my desk, my chair rolling with a squeak across the hardwood. I clutched the edge of my desk to steady myself, my palms clammy against the cool surface. The screen burned into my mind even when I closed the laptop.

I needed air.

I needed answers.

But more than anything, I needed to know if I was in danger.

The elevator ride to the lobby felt endless. Each ding of the descending floor sounded louder than the last. By the time I stepped onto the pavement outside, the city’s night rhythm hit me all at once horns, chatter, the low hum of neon lights.

I didn’t realize I was holding my breath until I exhaled in one long, shaky gust.

Julian.

That face. Those eyes. The same ones that had undressed me with a glance. The same voice that had warned, “Don’t give me loyalty unless you understand the price.”

What price?

My stomach twisted. It wasn’t just an attraction now. It was fear. Confusion. A burning need to understand him. To find out what I’d walked into.

I walked for blocks. The cold nipped at my skin, grounding me slightly. The sounds of the city faded under the roar of my own thoughts.

I reached my tiny apartment and bolted the door behind me. The moment I collapsed onto the worn couch, tears threatened, but I swallowed them down. I couldn’t fall apart. Not yet. Instead, I opened my laptop again, hesitating before pulling up the video file.

I watched it on loop.

Over and over.

Five seconds.

Just five seconds.

And yet the image of Julian’s faint smile in the shadows was burned into me like a brand. It wasn’t cruelty in his eyes no, that would have been easier to accept. It was something colder. Controlled. Measured.

Detached.

Suddenly, my phone buzzed. The screen lit up with a name that made my chest clench.

Julian Blackwell.

I didn’t answer.

It stopped.

Then buzzed again.

Voicemail.

My heart felt like it would rattle out of my chest. I swiped to play it, forcing my hand not to shake.

“Aria. It’s late. I don’t usually call. But there’s something I need to discuss with you. About what you’re working on. Come to my office tomorrow. Eight a.m. sharp.”

No emotion. No hint he knew what I’d seen.

Or maybe he did.

My thoughts spiraled. Was this a warning? A trap? Was he watching me?

I barely slept. I tossed under the covers, my skin hot and damp with anxiety. Every creak in the hallway made me flinch. Every shadow outside the window felt like it watched me.

And yet…

Buried beneath the fear was something else. Something shameful.

Anticipation.

Despite what I’d seen despite the threat I couldn’t deny the way my heart still jumped at the sound of his voice. My body still reacted. My core still clenched at the memory of his eyes on mine, the gravel of his voice calling me smart. Driven.

God, what was wrong with me?

I hated that my body betrayed me like this. That it didn’t care about evidence or suspicion. It remembered only chemistry.

The next morning, I dressed slowly, deliberately. A soft gray blouse that hugged my curves without screaming for attention. Dark jeans, low heels. Nothing provocative. Just enough armor to hide the way my insides trembled.

The receptionist looked startled when I arrived. “You’re… early,” she said.

“Mr. Blackwell asked for eight.”

Her brows drew together slightly. “He never schedules anything before nine.”

My heart skipped.

She buzzed me in anyway, and I stepped into the private elevator to the penthouse suite.

When the doors opened, I nearly jumped. Julian stood there already waiting.

“Aria,” he said, voice like velvet over ice. “Come in.”

I followed, my skin prickling under his gaze. The office was quiet, the morning sun painting the skyline gold beyond the glass walls. He gestured to a chair across from his desk.

I sat, spine stiff, every nerve tight.

“Rough night?” he asked casually.

My throat tightened. “You could say that.”

He tilted his head, watching me far too closely. “You look like someone who’s seen something they shouldn’t.”

I froze.

The silence thickened. The space between us crackled like live wire.

He leaned back slowly. “Tell me, Aria. Do you always investigate systems you weren’t given access to?”

My blood ran cold.

He knew.

I forced my voice not to break. “There was an unprotected file. I opened it by accident.”

He gave a slow, unreadable smile. “That’s what you’re going with?”

“I don’t know what I saw.”

“That’s the most honest thing you’ve said so far.”

His eyes darkened, and for a moment, I swore he was about to confess everything.

Instead, he rose and walked to the window. “The thing about power, Aria… It’s not just about what you hold. It’s about what you’re willing to destroy to keep it.”

Goosebumps skated down my arms. Every part of me was alert. On edge. But I couldn’t look away.

He turned back to face me, his gaze unreadable.

“I can protect you,” he said softly. “But you need to decide right now: Are you with me… or not?”

My breath caught in my throat.

The door behind me clicked shut.

And I knew whatever I chose, nothing would be the same again.