CHAPTER 4: The Business War Begins

Ethan couldn’t stop thinking about what he overheard.

"I don’t love him. I never will."

The words lingered in his mind, wrapping around his thoughts like barbed wire. He told himself it didn’t matter; it was a business arrangement. They had rules and boundaries.

But why did it bother him so much?

He needed to break through that wall she had built; he needed the Aria he used to know. So, he made a plan.

When Ethan invited her to the Blackwood Industries business dinner, Aria was hardly surprised.

“You will be attending as my wife,” he said, leaning against the kitchen counter as she stirred her tea. “It’s good for appearances.”

She barely spared him a glance. “Of course. I will play my role.”

His lips curled into a half-smile. “And maybe tonight, we can.”

“Save it, Ethan.” She set her cup down gently but with finality. “I am not here to make memories with you. I am here to build mine.”

He raised a brow. “That sounds dangerous, like you’re planning something without me.”

She put on her coat, brushing past him. “Maybe I am.”

The restaurant was a luxury fortress, draped in gold accents and fine crystal. The biggest names in the industry had gathered there: CEOs, investors, and power players.

Ethan guided Aria to their table, his hand resting lightly at the small of her back.

But unlike before, Aria did not lean into his touch. She did not look at him with awe or admiration.

Instead, she scanned the room like a strategist on the verge of claiming territory.

When Selena Hart appeared, draped in a crimson gown designed to steal attention, Aria didn’t blink.

“Still playing the loyal wife, I see,” Selena murmured as she passed by.

Aria’s only response was a faint, disinterested smile. “Still playing second place, I see.”

Selena’s smile faded, and she retreated without another word.

Ethan noticed everything.

In the past, Aria would have flinched and would have clung to him, desperate for his protection.

But tonight?

She was untouchable.

As the evening unfolded, Aria’s poise remained razor-sharp. She moved through conversations with precision, her charm subtle but undeniable.

Ethan’s intention had been to parade her, to remind the world she was his.

But as he watched her, something unsettled him.

Aria was not bothered about him at all.

She was just standing in her own light.

When he introduced her to Marcus Trent, a key investor, he expected Aria to politely follow his lead.

Instead, she took control.

“I have been following your company’s expansion into the beauty sector,” Aria said smoothly, her wine glass poised in her hand. “Your approach to influencer marketing is outdated. I am working on a digital-first strategy that could triple your reach in six months.”

Marcus raised his brows. “You are involved in the beauty industry?”

“Very well,” Aria replied, her eyes steady. “I am launching a brand that focuses on sustainable fashion and skincare. I have already secured a few suppliers, and we are in talks with several boutiques.”

Ethan’s gaze snapped to her, his stomach tightening.

When had she built this?

How had she done it without him noticing?

“You are welcome to schedule a formal pitch,” Marcus said, looking so interested. “I like women who take initiative.”

“I will send you the proposal myself,” Aria smiled, her tone sharp. “Thank you, Mr. Trent.”

As Marcus walked away, Ethan leaned toward her, his voice low. “Since when do you have your own business deals?”

“Since you assumed I wouldn’t,” she replied without looking at him.

He swallowed hard, annoyance and something else, pride? Twisting inside him. “You could have run them under my company. I would have backed you.”

“I don’t need your backing.” Her gaze finally met his, sharp and unyielding. “I need my own name.”

His chest tightened.

In his memories, Aria had always been sweet and quiet. A woman who would live for his attention.

But this Aria?

This Aria had teeth.

The rest of the dinner blurred around him as he wrestled with his own thoughts.

Selena, always lingering nearby, continued to seek his attention, sliding into conversations and laughing at jokes he didn’t tell. He barely heard her.

His focus was on Aria, the woman he thought would be easy. The woman who now slipped through his fingers like smoke.

Two days later, Ethan arrived at a board meeting, only to be greeted with unexpected news.

The Trent Contract. The lucrative partnership Ethan’s company had been chasing for months had been secured.

But not by him.

By Aria Whitmore.

He walked out of the meeting room, his fist clenching around his phone as he dialled her number.

She answered calmly. “Hello, Ethan.”

“You went after the Trent Contract?”

“Yes.”

“You knew I was pursuing that deal.”

“Yes.”

His jaw tensed. “You did this deliberately.”

“It’s just business,” she said smoothly, echoing the very words he’d once used against her. “Isn’t that what you always told me?”

His grip tightened around the phone. “We are supposed to be partners.”

“Correction,” she said, her tone cool. “We are under contract. There is a difference.”

“You are playing a dangerous game.”

“I am simply playing to win.” Her voice softened mockingly. “Did you expect me to stay in your shadow forever?”

Silence crackled between them.

“You have changed,” he muttered.

“Good. Because I didn’t like who I used to be.”

She ended the call without giving him the last word.

Ethan stared at the dark screen, his pulse pounding. Anger was boiling in his chest, but so was something else.

Admiration and desire.

A sharp pull toward the very woman who now stood as his rival.

For the first time, Ethan realised the woman beside him was no longer the obedient, adoring wife who used to wait for his scraps of attention.

Aria Whitmore had rewritten the rules.

I should hate her for this.

So why do I want her even more?