MasukRavien's POVThe moment Elise walked away, I had shoved Sophia back hard."What the hell was that?" I demanded.Sophia smoothed her dress, completely calm. "What? I was just trying to talk to you.""By kissing me?" I asked disgusted."You didn't stop me," she pointed out.She was right. I hadn't. Not immediately, and I hated myself for it."This can't happen again," I said firmly. "Do you understand me?"Sophia's expression hardened. "You're really going to choose her over me? After everything?""There's nothing to choose. You work for me, Sophia. That's all this is." I told her."That's not what you said five years ago." She told me and i froze finally recalling it then.Five years ago when Sophia had first started working for me. I had made a huge professional mistake. I was known as a playboy, but not with people who work with me,it was always with influencial outsiders who had one thing or the other to contribute to my success.I'd interviewed her myself and she was qualified, p
Elise's POVThe last thing I remembered was the headlights, then nothing.When I opened my eyes, everything was white and sterile and I had only gotten to know that it was the hospital and not Heaven after my head rebooted for some minytes. I tried to sit up, but my head spun."Hey, easy." A nurse appeared at my side, gently pushing me back down. "You need to rest.""What happened?" My voice came out rough and dry."You fainted. The car stopped in time, and you weren't hit. But the shock made you collapse." She checked something on a monitor beside my bed. "You've been out for about two hours."Relief washed over me as I realized that I was not hit. The door opened and Ravien walked in, but not with the concern I might have expected. He looked annoyed, his jaw tight as he checked his watch."You're awake," he said flatly. "Good."The nurse looked between us, clearly expecting more emotion from him, but he just stood there, arms crossed."Mr. Drayton, your fiancée needs rest..." She
Elise's POVRavien didn't come back to the penthouse that night. I waited up for a while, thinking maybe we'd talk more about what his mother had said, but eventually I gave up and went to the guest room.I couldn't sleep really because every time I closed my eyes, I saw Evelyn's face, the way it had gone pale when I mentioned my mother's name and the fear in her eyes.What did she know about my mother? That was the only question that kept running through my mind.Finally, around dawn, I gave up trying to sleep and got out of bed.The penthouse was silent and empty and I checked, and Ravien's bedroom door was still open, the bed untouched. He hadn't come home at all.I wandered to the kitchen, hoping coffee would help clear my head. I found everything I needed and made myself a cup, but I don't even know where to go because I haven't really gone around the house ever since I got there. I was very cautious of Ravien, and that his really stern eyes scares me a lot.I found the coffee ma
Ravien's POVI had my driver drop Elise off at the penthouse the next morning and I didn't bother going with her. I had meetings all day, and babysitting my fake fiancée wasn't on my agenda.When I finally got home around eight PM, she was sitting in the living room, looking uncomfortable and out of place."The guest room is down the hall," I said without preamble, gesturing left. "Second door. Bathroom's also attached. Don't touch anything in my office or my bedroom." I said with my hand pointing towards my bedroom.She stood up quickly. "Okay."I walked past her to pour myself a drink, loosening my tie. It had been a long day, and coming home to find someone in my space wasn't helping."Thank you," she said quietly from behind me. "For letting me stay here."I didn't respond as there was nothing to thank me for. This was a business arrangement. She needed a place to stay until the wedding made it official, and I needed her nearby to control the narrative.My phone buzzed and it wa
Elise's POV"Let's get married." That word echoed in my ears again and I just stared at him, my mouth slightly open, trying to process what he'd just said."What?" I whispered again, even though I'd heard him perfectly the first time.Ravien leaned back in his chair, his expression calm, like he'd just asked me about the weather and not proposed marriage to a woman he'd met two days ago."You heard me," he said. "Let's get married."I looked down at the folder in front of me and it says Marriage Agreement. My hands trembled as I flipped through it. It contained legal terms, conditions, clauses about finances and property. This wasn't a proposal, this was a business transaction."Why?" I managed to ask, my voice barely steady. "Why would you want to marry me?"He gestured to my phone lying on the table. "You saw the article and the photo. It's already making headlines. My family is furious, my business partners are questioning my judgment, and the board is using this as ammunition aga
Elise's POVI could barely sleep that night as everything that had happened just that night came back flashing on my memory.When morning came, my eyes were already heavy. I'd gotten a simple dress at a boutique near the hotel the night before, nothing fancy, just something to wear since I'd left my apartment with nothing but the clothes on my back.The first thing I reached for was my phone and a message from Morris popped up on the screen. I didn't want to read it at first, my finger hovering over the delete button. But something made me open it."Don't bother going to the house. I sold it. You signed it over to me, remember? I told you I'd take everything from you. Watch me."Another notification followed, it was a scanned copy of a legal document. My own signature at the bottom, dated from months ago. I had signed the house to him some months ago when I still trusted we were going to last forever, and that he'd be my husband after.Tears filled my eyes as I quickly dressed up and







