CHAPTER 3

JOCELYN’s POV

Daniel didn’t sit back down. He stayed there, close enough for me to feel the pressure of his presence and his sharp, calculating eyes.

“That depends,” he repeated, his voice deceptively seductive, like we weren’t standing on the edge of something dangerous.

My chin lifted a fraction. “On what? Stop beating around the bush.”

His mouth curved in the kind of smirk that made my pulse spike for all the wrong reasons.

“You want my help destroying Ethan?” His voice finally came out, but slowly and deliberately.

“Fine, but I don’t move for free. There’s one condition.”

I crossed my arms. “Name your condition.”

The air shifted, and his expression hardened, the teasing edge replaced by something colder and tactical.

“Marry me.”

The words landed like a punch to the chest. For a second, I thought I misheard him. “Excuse me?”

“Marry me,” he said again, as if he were suggesting something as simple as signing a document. “You want revenge? You want power? You want Ethan and Clarissa on their knees? You need my name and my resources.”

My heart was pounding, but my voice stayed even. “This is a joke. Why would I marry you? What will the reporters say? I ditched my fiancé and married his stepbrother. Hell no!”

He tilted his head slightly, looking amused. “The headlines will always have something to say, and I do not care. I mean business here. If you really need my help, you have to marry me.”

I pushed the chair back and stood up, pacing around the room. “Why marriage? There are a hundred ways to take them down without me becoming your wife.”

“None of them will work as fast as what I have in mind,” Daniel countered smoothly. He moved back to his desk, leaning against it like a man completely at ease. “Ethan and Clarissa won’t expect you to have my backing. A public alliance with me sends a clear message that you’re done playing the fool.”

I hated how logical it sounded. “This isn’t about strategy for you,” I said slowly, narrowing my eyes. “This is about getting under Ethan’s skin.”

Daniel’s mouth curved again, but it wasn’t a denial. “Marrying you would be efficient.”

“Efficient,” I repeated, my voice dripping with disbelief. “You’re offering a marriage proposal like you’re talking about merging companies.”

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about,” he said simply.

I stared at him, anger coiling tight in my chest. “You think I want to marry a man I don’t even like just to get back at Ethan?”

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes locking on mine. “I think you want revenge badly enough to do what it takes. And right now, what it takes is me.”

For a moment, the room was silent except for the horns from cars driving outside.

I hated him, not in the passionate, romantic way people in movies pretended to hate. In the real, bone-deep way, you hate someone who has always been a little too right about you. He knew I needed his help so badly, and he chose to do this!

I turned toward the window, needing a breath, needing to not look at his face. I shut my eyes tight, and all I saw was Ethan and Clarissa’s smug smiles as they plotted to gut my life. If I walked away from Daniel now, I’d have nothing. Just time, and time was exactly what Ethan was counting on.

I turned back to Daniel. “You’re serious about this.”

“Dead serious.” His tone left no room for doubt.

My pride screamed at me to say no, but the image of Clarissa in my wedding dress, sitting in my office chair at Campbell Group, was louder. I couldn’t let that happen. I had to take them down; I needed to make them see that I wasn’t the foolish girl they thought I was. I needed to prove to them that they made the biggest mistake of their life by planning to betray me.

I looked back at Daniel and asked, “What’s in this for you?”

His smirk returned, slower this time. “Aside from the satisfaction of burning Ethan’s life down?” His eyes swept over me, assessing and calculating. “Let’s just say I like winning.”

This man meant danger. I could see the hunger for power in his eyes. Accepting this would mean I was gladly ready to play with fire.

“Fine,” I heard myself say,

Daniel’s brow lifted slightly, like he hadn’t expected me to agree so quickly.

“I’ll marry you,” I said, each word sharp. “But this is a deal, not a romance. We work together until they’re ruined. After that—”

“After that, we’ll see,” he interrupted smoothly.

The arrogance in his tone made my jaw tighten, but I didn’t take the bait.

“I want everything in writing,” I said. “Terms and conditions laid out. I don’t trust you.”

“Good,” Daniel said, pushing off the desk. “I’d be worried if you did.”

He walked to a sleek cabinet in the corner, poured himself a drink, then looked at me over the rim of his glass. “You should go home and pack. This is going to be fast.”

I blinked. “Fast?”

Daniel’s smirk sharpened. “We’re getting married tomorrow.”

For a moment, I just stared at him. “Tomorrow?”

“You think Ethan will give you weeks to plot against him? The sooner it’s done, the sooner he realizes he’s already lost.”

My stomach twisted at the thought of the chaos that would cause. Ethan, Clarissa, my aunt and uncle… Why did I still care?

I exhaled slowly. “Fine. Tomorrow.”

Daniel nodded once, like we’d just agreed on a simple business meeting. “I’ll have my assistant send you the details.”

The meeting was over. I turned to leave, but just before I reached the door, Daniel’s voice stopped me.

“Jocelyn.”

I glanced back. Goosebumps on my skin again.

His gaze was steady. “Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can still love Ethan after this. Once we start, there’s no going back.”

My throat tightened, but my voice was rigid. “I don’t intend to go back.”

And I walked out without looking at him again.