A Name for a War

~ARIA’S POV~

With a stern face, Cassian glided a heavy, white envelope, sealed with the Wolfe crest in deep gold foil - a symbol of legacy, power, and ruthlessness, across the dark reddish-brown table. 

His face, sculptured with mystery, gave away nothing except the glints in his eyes, filled with control, calculation and power.

The paper between us was thick, expensive, and cold in the way something permanent often is. It sat there like a loaded gun.

“No need to rush. Read it carefully,” he said. “You’ll find the terms generous enough to change your current situation.”

I didn’t touch it. Not yet. I squeezed my fingers tightly, trying not to get drowned by the dark scent in the room. It was something sharp. Something I couldn’t name. It could be his or that of danger. I just couldn't fathom it yet but I tried to stay as calm and neutral as possible. “You didn’t even sa… say hello.” I managed to say, my voice cracking.

He relaxed himself in his chair, adjusting his elegantly tailored suit. With his unreadable grey eyes fixed on me, his lip curved a little. “Hello, Aria.”

God! I hated him so much it made my heart ache. No. What I hated was myself. I hated how I couldn’t forget what happened even after three months. It was a memory burned into my skin. My heart felt heavier than ever, courtesy to his emotionless face and arrogance. He looked at me like I was nothing. Like someone he’s meeting for the first time and that hurt so bad but I wasn’t going to give him the satisfaction of knowing how much I’d spiraled after he disappeared that night or how much I wanted him to acknowledge my past with him at that moment.

No, Aria. You are here for a job, not judgments or acknowledgments.

I reached for the envelope. Slid my fingers beneath the flap and unfolded the thick parchment paper, every line stabbing like a blade. The terms were straightforward- clinical, even. My back became stiff and my heart was beating against my rib like a trapped animal. My blood boiled but I stayed seated, took a long deep breath before looking up to meet his eyes.

“Why me?” I said, my voice breaking a little afterwards.

“Because I need a wife and you need saving.”

I laughed. A hollow sound. “That’s completely unromantic,” I said, trying to hide the hole in my heart.

“I’m not interested in romance, Aria.” His gaze pinned me. “I’m in the business of power and I don’t trust anyone else for this role. This marriage has currency. You have a bloodline. A name. And whether you understand it or not, you have value.”

A slap across the face would have been better than his statement.

I sprang up from my seat, pushing the table away from me. My pulse was loud enough I could hear them in my ears. “And you trust me? I see what this is, Cassian. You are not even hiding your motive or pretending this is about me. It’s all about what I can give you even after…” I bit my tongue to help me pause.

He didn’t rise. He didn’t need to.

“You want honesty?” he said quietly. “Fine. I don’t trust you but I know you hate me enough to not fall in love with me during this period, plus you’ve been betrayed, humiliated, and abandoned by people. You have no assets, no allies and no protection.”

His voice lowered to a near whisper.

“I’m offering you everything they took away, on paper, for one year.”

I hated that he was right.

And I hated how calm he was about it. Like this entire thing wasn’t absurd. Like marriage could be stripped down to legalities and ambition.

I was angry but yet… The Wolfe Legacy and the Wolfe name. That’s what he was offering me on paper. A contract marriage for one year, legally binding with public appearances, business alignment, heir-talk. The usual billionaire clause nonsense and silence from the vultures that had circled ever since…

No. I couldn’t go there. Not now.

My eyes dropped to the contract again. Page after page of ironclad control, privacy clauses, asset protection and rules.

But buried in the third clause were health insurance, a new identity for travel, monthly stipends, a luxurious residence, and access to Wolfe family security.

“So you need a partner? ” I asked, my voice firmer than before.

His reply was immediate.

“Still good if you put it that way.”

A bitter laugh escaped my throat.

“I want to make sure I understand this correctly. You believe I won't get involved with you romantically, because I'm angry? And you think I'm perfect for your game because I need help?”

His voice, cold and clear. “Not just that. I know you are not weak and your strength, strategy and intelligence is what I need more in this partnership. My family, company, and the Wolfe legacy is crawling with bloodsuckers and you are the only one that can play and survive this game with me.”

I stood there like a statue afraid to even blink as I watched him say these words like he was confessing his sins to a priest. 

He wasn’t just marrying me out of pity or convenience. He was dragging me into a war. A war between the Wolfes. He was handing me a sword and asking me to fight beside him.

For some reason, fear gripped my soul.

I wanted to walk away. I wanted to tell him to burn in the Legacy he wanted to resurrect. But I didn’t.

Because part of me was still that girl who needed answers.

Still that girl who hadn’t forgotten what he did at the party.

Still that girl who had everything ripped away in one night- the betrayal, the lies, the kiss, the fire.

Still that girl who watched her ex-boyfriend make out with another man and tried to drown her heartbreak in a drink she didn’t realize had been spiked.

Still that girl who almost collapsed until Cassian of all people had caught her before she hit the floor.

I blinked hard, pushing the memory away like fog on a mirror. I wanted revenge and to get that, I needed power, the kind those people couldn’t tamper with, and the Wolfe name was powerful, but also dangerous. I’d heard of how quickly it could destroy from the inside, so if Cassian wanted me in this war, he knew I’d want more than signatures.

I’d want the truth.

“All right,” I said slowly, sitting back down. “But I have conditions.”

Cassian smirked. “Of course you do.”

“One: I don’t play puppet. I make my own decisions.”

“Done.”

“Two: I get full access to the company’s information and your schedule. No secrets.”

His eyes glinted. “That one’s harder.”

“Take it or leave it.”

He nodded. “Fine.”

“And three…”

“Yes?”

“I want the truth, Cassian. No lies, not about the company and not even about your family.”

For a moment, I saw it. The flicker… the crack in his armor, and then it disappeared..

“You have my word,” he said.

I got up, approached him and offered my hand. “We have an agreement then.”

His fingers closed around mine, firm, warm, and dangerous.

“Welcome to the empire, Aria Ravenwood.”

The deal was made. Not because I trusted him. Not because I believed him. But because I had nothing left.

___

“Be careful who you trust around you.” Cassian said behind me as I turned to leave his office, making me pause in the doorway.

“And Aria, don't drink anything you didn't pour yourself.” He added.

My heart raced at his words. So he remembered…

I left the Wolfe Tower and walked three blocks before I realized I wasn’t breathing right. I had held up well there but right now, I couldn't breathe. My heels clicked against the pavement like gunshots and my hands trembled from the damn contract. 

The city buzzed beneath me, but all I could hear was the echo of Cassian’s voice.

“Don’t drink anything you didn’t pour yourself.”