Chapter 7

DARIAN

The door shut behind me with a soft click, but it echoed like thunder in my head. I stood there for a long second, leaning against it with my eyes closed. Breathing slow, measured, and tight. The hallway stretched ahead, all glass and steel and silence, but I didn’t move. My grip on the contract folder was so tight the edges dug into my skin.

She signed it.

Zaria fucking Mendez signed the contract.

I told myself it was a victory. That this was justice. The plan was working, the lies she sowed were turning back on her like poisoned roots. But why the hell did it feel like I was the one bleeding?

Her voice still clung to the air, with that soft tremble.

"You really believe I killed Roman?"

And worse…

"What if the evidence lies?"

My chest tightened. There was no rage in her voice. No manipulative tilt, just someone broken or something bruised.

I pushed off the door.

No.

She’s playing a game. She always was. That’s what she does. She gets close, slips beneath your skin, and strikes you from within.

I stalked down the hall. My steps are silent but heavy. Every polished tile felt like it was judging me. I reached the lounge and poured myself another drink, neat with no ice. I didn’t need it cold. I was cold enough.

She killed him.

She took the drive.

She ran.

The evidence is there.

But still, like a splinter I couldn’t dig out, her voice repeated in my head. Her eyes, wide and wet. Her body, trembling as she read through the clauses. The woman who used to smile like an angel was now a shadow.

Why do I still feel anything?

I downed the glass in one gulp.

It’s not love…not anymore. It’s obsession and revenge. The need to hold the reins. To make her suffer like I did when I woke up alone, when Roman’s face splashed across the news, when the world called her a traitor and I couldn’t defend her.

Because I believed it.

Because part of me still wants to.

I crossed to the fireplace, the one Roman never used. I stared into the cold ashes and saw everything I lost. Everything she took. My brother. My trust and my fucking peace.

"She has no idea what she started. What she ruined. What she took from me."

My fingers ran over the edge of the folder. Her signature stared back at me. Clean. Neat and deliberate.

She didn't hesitate.

Except… she did.

She asked about Roman. She didn't know he was dead or she acted like she didn't.

"I didn’t mean for…"

That crack in her voice…the pause. It wasn't scripted. It wasn't a performance and I know Zaria, even when I pretend I don't.

Fuck.

I slammed the glass onto the table and it broke into a thousand pieces, the sound sharp, jarring.

No. Don’t do this.

Don’t start doubting now.

Because if she didn’t do it…

Then I let the world destroy an innocent woman.

And worse?

I might still love her.

I stared at the folder again. The contract that made her mine. Three days until the wedding. Three days until the world would see us side by side, smiling and perfect.

"She signs the papers, wears the ring, and smiles. That’s all I need from her. That’s all she’s worth now."

I repeated it. Like a vow or an armor.

But even I didn’t believe it.

Because I remembered her laugh. The way her eyes used to light up when she teased me. The scent of her skin when she curled into me late at night. The soft way she once said, "I see you, Darian. Even when you hide."

The last night we had together before this chaos and now she was hiding.

Behind fear, behind pain, behind whatever truth she wasn’t ready to say.

Or maybe she was exactly who they said she was.

A plant. A viper. A traitor.

I paced to the window and looked out over the gardens Roman designed. He always said symmetry brought peace. But there was no peace here, not anymore.

I caught my reflection in the glass.

Cold.

Calculating.

Controlled rage.

But beneath it all? I was unraveling.

She still had power over me and I hated it. I hated how my heart thudded when I thought of her alone in that room. I hated how I noticed the way her voice cracked. I hated how much I wanted her to be lying about everything, because if she was telling the truth.

Then I was the monster.

I turned back to the contract and ran my fingers over her name.

Zaria Wolfe.

It should sound like victory, but instead, it sounded like war.

"Three days, Zaria," I murmured. "After that, you’re mine. Entirely."

And whether I would love her or destroy her?

Even I didn’t know yet.