Chapter 3: “ A parasite in An expensive Suit”

Clara's POV.

Julian carried me inside from the wet balcony like I weighed nothing at all. His powerful arm wrapped around my waist, pinning me tightly against his broad shoulder.

Back inside the ruined office, as he carried me in, water dripped down from the both of us onto the expensive rug on the floor, forming a dark pool of water that mirrored the chaos I had caused tonight.

Without a word, Julian threw me onto the leather sofa near the wall.

In the center of the room, Markus lay face-down on the floor with three armed guards pinning him in place. His body shook with quiet sobs.

“Please, Mr. Cross… I have a daughter. She’s only six.” Markus pleaded.

“Shut up, traitor,” Julian said coldly without even looking at him. “I’ll deal with you later.”

The guard who had risked everything for me immediately went silent. He pressed his face harder against the cold floor, defeated.

Julian turned his full attention back to me.

I pushed myself up from the leather sofa where he had thrown me. I was soaked, shivering, and burning with rage.

“You ruined my father!” The words tore out of me.

“You stole his companies, liquidated everything, and left him paralyzed in that hospital bed fighting for his life! You are nothing but a parasite in an expensive suit!”

My accusation echoed through the shattered office like thunder.

Julian stood completely unfazed. His blue eyes remained fixed on me as though I had suddenly become the most interesting thing in the room.

The slap flew from my hand before I could stop it.

My palm cracked sharply across his chiseled jawline. The sound echoed through the ruined office like a gunshot.

One of the guards lunged forward, but Julian raised a single hand.

“Do not touch her,” Julian said.

His voice was lethal, and the guard froze instantly.

Julian’s jaw remained turned from the force of the slap. For the briefest second, raw emotion flashed across his features before vanishing behind a wall of ice. His fist tightened at his side, his knuckles turning white.

Then a low chuckle escaped him.

The sound grew into a deep, genuine laugh, rich and almost thrilled, like he had just discovered the most fascinating toy in the world.

He slowly turned his head back toward me, dark amusement dancing in his eyes.

“What the fuck is so funny?” I spat, my chest heaving. “Call the police. Throw me in a cell. I don’t care anymore.”

His laughter died instantly.

The room fell into heavy silence, broken only by the distant rumble of thunder and the steady patter of rain through the shattered balcony doors.

“Prison, you say?” Julian’s cold, mocking smile returned as he leaned down slightly, holding my gaze.

“You think you’re going to prison as Clara Sterling. But you didn’t think about that when you walked into this building six months ago under a fake name to work for me, did you?”

My heart stopped.

“I knew exactly who you were from the very first day you stepped into this building. From the moment your employment file landed on my desk under the name Vivian Vance, I already knew who you were.”

He stepped even closer, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper. “I allowed you to play your little game because I wanted to see what your mission here was. And now it’s obvious you came here to steal from me.”

The words hit me like ice water.

Oh God.

He had known all along.

Julian walked over to the leather chair where his suit jacket was draped beside the crystal glass of scotch, the ice long since melted. He reached into the inner pocket, slowly pulled out a folded document, then walked back and tossed it onto the desk in front of me.

“Clara Sterling,” he said, his voice low and commanding. “You are going to marry me.”

The words hung in the air between us, cutting through the room like a knife.

“What?”

Julian’s expression didn’t change.

“Yes, you heard me right. You are going to marry me.”

“You are completely insane,” I hissed, stepping back. “I’d rather rot in prison than marry a monster like you.”

Julian said nothing at first. He simply watched me. His sharp blue eyes never left my face. He took one deliberate step closer, then another, until the heat of his body cut through the chill of my wet clothes.

“You’re one of the most powerful billionaires in America,” I scoffed, my voice shaking with fury.

“Getting a woman to marry you shouldn’t be a problem. Or do you not get women, Mr. Cross? Is that why you need to blackmail one?”

“I do not chase women, little Sterling. They come to me, just as you willingly came here tonight,” he murmured with amusement that made it clear my words meant absolutely nothing to him.

He is so arrogant.

The thought tasted bitter in my mouth, but I kept my chin high, refusing to let him see how much his easy confidence unsettled me.

Julian picked up the folded contract from the desk and turned it slowly between his fingers, as though the outcome of this conversation had already been decided.

“This contract was meant for someone else. He said. “And then you broke into my office and solved that problem for me.”

A faint smile still lingering on his face.

“Tell me, little Sterling. Who could be better suited to play my wife than a desperate thief like you?”

A harsh laugh escaped me.

“You really are insane.” I shook my head. “You think stealing my father’s company gives you the right to buy the rest of my life too?”

Julian’s expression didn’t change. Not even a little. It was as though I had said nothing at all.

“You can call me a thief all you want,” I continued, refusing to back down. “At least I know what I am. You’re the one trying to blackmail a woman into marriage.”

From the floor, Markus screamed in desperation.

“Just sign the damn thing, you stubborn bitch! He’ll destroy us both! Sign it! Please!”

Julian’s head snapped toward him.

“Shut your mouth, traitor.”

Absolute silence returned.

Julian turned back to me, leaning in until his breath brushed hot against my ear.

“Even a man as pathetic as him can see the truth. Sign the contract, Clara.”

Julian finally leaned back, putting a little distance between us as though he had already made his decision.

“One year as my loyal wife,” he said. “And in return, I might just restore all your father’s shares and wealth on Wall Street.”

My stomach twisted.

“But if you refuse?” he said, a faint smile touching his lips. “Not only do you go to prison for corporate espionage, but your father’s companies will burn forever.”

His gaze locked onto mine.

“The choice is yours.”