chapter 2

CHAPTER 2: THE DEAL IN THE RAIN

Mia POV

The car was quiet. Too quiet.

Outside, rain was falling hard. Inside, I was sitting next to a man I just met, wearing his jacket, in my wet wedding dress.

My wedding dress. The dress I bought with love for Daniel. Now it was wet, dirty, and useless. Just like Daniel's love.

I looked at Adrian Knight. He was looking out of the window. He did not talk. He did not ask me if I was okay. He just sat there, cold, powerful, mysterious.

"Why me?" I finally asked. "You are a billionaire. You can marry any woman in this city. Why a broken bride in the rain?"

He turned and looked at me. His eyes were dark, but there was pain inside them. Deep pain. Like a man who has lost something.

"Because you want revenge," he said simply. "And I want revenge. Two broken people make a perfect team."

I swallowed. "What did my father do to your family? Tell me the truth."

He was quiet for a long time. Then he said, "Your father and my father built a company together. They were best friends. But your father stole the documents, took the company, and left my father with nothing. My father died one year later. He died poor, ashamed. My mother cried every night. I was only 18. I swore I would get everything back."

My heart stopped. My father? My father did that?

My father is a good man. At least I thought he was. He always smiles. He always says, "Mia, be kind." How can he be a thief?

"I don't believe you," I said. "My father would never do that."

Adrian smiled, but it was a sad smile. "I knew you would say that. That is why I have proof."

He brought out his phone and showed me a photo. It was an old contract. My father's signature was there. Big and clear. And under it, a transfer paper. All the shares moved to my father's name only.

My hands started shaking again.

"So my father is the reason your family suffered?" I whispered.

"Yes," he said. "And your ex-fiancé Daniel is working with your father. Daniel was never loving you. He was sent to marry you so they can take the company fully and push you out."

I felt like vomiting. Everybody lied to me. My father. Daniel. Lily. Everybody.

Tears started falling again. I tried to stop them, but I could not.

Then, something unexpected happened.

Adrian brought out a handkerchief and cleaned my tears. Gently. Like he was scared to hurt me.

"Don't cry," he said, his voice soft for the first time. "Crying will not punish them. Revenge will."

Adrian POV

I should not have cleaned her tears. That was not part of the plan.

The plan was simple. Marry her. Use her to get the company. Destroy the Carters. Leave.

But when I saw her crying in that wet dress, my chest pained me. She looked like me when I was 18, crying at my father's funeral. Alone. Betrayed by the people you trust.

I had to remind myself. She is a Carter. Her family destroyed mine. I should not feel pity.

But her eyes... her eyes are innocent. She did not steal anything. She is also a victim, like me.

I shook my head to clear my thoughts.

"Mia, listen," I said. "Tomorrow, we will announce our engagement. The whole city will hear it. Daniel will go mad. Lily will go mad. Your father will panic. That is step one."

"And step two?" she asked.

"Step two, we find the secret. Your father is hiding something. A second document. If we find it, we can take everything back legally. And we can expose him."

She looked at me, scared but strong. "And if we don't find it?"

"Then we still get married. And I still destroy them, my own way."

The car stopped in front of a big mansion. Bigger than my father's house. This was Adrian's house.

"Come inside," he said. "You cannot go home tonight. Your family will ask you questions. You need to rest. Tomorrow, war starts."

Mia POV

I entered his house. A maid gave me dry clothes. I took a hot bath. I sat on the bed, looking at my phone.

Daniel had sent 20 messages. Lily had sent 15 messages. My father had called 10 times.

I did not answer any of them. I switched off my phone.

Then I remembered Lily's last message before I blocked her: "You think you escaped? You have no idea who Adrian Knight really is. He is not your saviour. He is your destruction."

What did she mean? What is Adrian hiding?

I went to the window and looked down. Adrian was standing in the garden, in the rain, talking on the phone. He looked angry.

I could not hear him, but I saw his lips.

He said, "Yes, I have her. The plan is working. She trusts me now."

My blood went cold.

The plan is working? She trusts me now?

Was I just moving from one trap to another trap? Did Adrian save me, or did he just capture me?

I stepped back from the window, my heart beating fast.

Who is lying? Daniel? Lily? My father? Or Adrian?

One thing I knew for sure. I am no longer the foolish bride in the rain. From tomorrow, I will play the game too. And I will find out everybody's secret.

Even Adrian's.