LOGINALYANA POVI stayed in the study longer than I meant to.At some point, the sky outside the windows had turned completely dark, the reflection of the room replacing the gardens beyond the glass. The only sounds left were the occasional turning of pages, the quiet hum of the air conditioner, and Julian moving around somewhere behind me.Not interrupting.Just existing in the same space.Which somehow felt more distracting.I sat cross-legged on the couch now, several folders spread across the table in front of me, my concentration starting to blur from staring at timestamps for too long.“This company keeps too many records,” I muttered.Julian glanced up briefly from where he stood near the bar cabinet. “That’s usually considered a good thing.”“Not when half of them contradict each other.”“That’s not the records’ fault.”I narrowed my eyes slightly. “You sound defensive.”“I sound realistic.”I let out a quiet breath through my nose before looking back down at the documents. “There
ALYANA POVBy the time I got back to the mansion, the noise from the outside world hadn’t faded—it just followed me in a different form.Less obvious.More controlled.The staff greeted me the same way they always did—polite, composed—but there was a shift in their eyes. Not judgment. Not exactly curiosity either.Awareness.They knew.Of course they did.News like that didn’t stay outside the gates.I walked past them without slowing down, keeping my expression neutral, my steps steady. If anything had changed, I wasn’t going to let it show like it mattered.Not here.Not where everything already felt too… observed.The moment I reached the stairs, I heard it.“Alyana.”I stopped mid-step.I didn’t need to turn to know it was him.But I did anyway.Julian stood at the far end of the hallway, just outside his study. His sleeves were still rolled up, his posture relaxed but deliberate, like he had been waiting there long enough to look natural.Like this wasn’t a coincidence.“You’re h
ALYANA POV The statement went live before lunch. I didn’t have to check. I felt it. The shift was immediate—like the entire building adjusted around it. Conversations changed tone. The looks I got weren’t just curious anymore. They were calculating. I sat at my desk, staring at my screen without really reading anything. My phone buzzed for the fifth time in less than a minute. Notifications. Messages. News alerts. I finally picked it up. “Vance Confirms Marriage—Alyana to Remain by Julian’s Side.” Short. Direct. Just like he said. My jaw tightened slightly as I scrolled through the reactions. Some were neutral. Some supportive. But most of them— Speculative. “Power move.” “Strategic wife.” “Temporary turned permanent?” I locked my p
ALYANA POV By the time I stepped into the company building the next morning, something already felt off. It wasn’t obvious at first. No alarms, no loud whispers. Everything looked the same—employees walking, conversations happening, the usual rhythm of a normal day. But the way people looked at me? That was new. It wasn’t subtle anymore. They weren’t trying to hide it. Eyes followed me as I walked past. Conversations paused just a second too long. Even the receptionist, who usually greeted me like nothing fazed her, hesitated before forcing a polite smile. I slowed my steps slightly, my chest tightening. “What?” No one answered, of course. They just looked away too quickly. That was enough. I kept walking, my pace steady even if my thoughts weren’t. Something happened. And I w
ALYANA POV The next morning didn’t feel new. It felt like a continuation of something I hadn’t finished. I arrived at the company earlier than usual, the city still settling into its rhythm, the lobby quieter, less crowded. But even with fewer people, the atmosphere didn’t feel lighter. If anything, it made everything sharper. More noticeable. More intentional. I walked straight to the elevators without stopping, my reflection briefly catching in the mirrored walls. Composed. Put together. Like I had everything under control. I didn’t. But I was getting better at looking like I did. When the elevator doors opened to the executive floor, I stepped out and headed directly toward the secured wing. No hesitation this time. No second-guessing. I already made the decision yesterday. Now I just had to follow through. The guard
ALYANA POV I didn’t go back to my room right away. I told myself I would. That I’d sleep, clear my head, start fresh in the morning like everything wasn’t slowly shifting under my feet. But my steps didn’t follow that plan. Instead, I found myself walking down the longer corridor—the one that led away from the main wing, quieter, less used. The lights were dimmer here, softer, casting long shadows across the floor that stretched with every step I took. I wasn’t lost. I just… needed distance. From the conversation. From him. From the way everything felt like it was starting to blur into something I couldn’t control anymore. My fingers brushed lightly against the wall as I walked, grounding myself in something physical. Solid. Real. Because right now, nothing else felt steady. The document. The name. Leo’s certainty. Julian’s calm. None of it lined up cleanly. And I hated that. I stopped near the end of the hall, letting out a slow breath as I leaned back against the wa
ALYANA POV The next morning felt strangely normal. I woke up just after sunrise, the pale light already filtering through the tall windows of the east wing. For a few seconds I stayed still, listening to the quiet hum of the mansion waking up somewhere beyond my room. Yesterday kept replaying in
ALYANA POV The moment I heard his voice, I got nervous. I didn’t even need to turn around to know who it was. Only one person in this house spoke that calmly in the middle of the night, like nothing ever surprised him. Julian. Leo’s fingers were still wrapped around my wrist when the sound of
ALYANA POVI went straight to the kitchen.Not because I was hungry, but because I needed a moment away from the strange tension outside. The moment the door closed behind me, the quiet inside the mansion felt almost too peaceful compared to what had just happened in the garden.I leaned against th
ALYANA POV The conference room felt colder than the rest of the mansion. Maybe it was the glass walls or the polished steel table that stretched almost the entire length of the room. Everything looked sharp and expensive, like it was designed to remind people they were sitting inside a powerful c







