THE BARGAIN.

Jonathan stood by the wide glass window, a steaming cup of coffee in his hand, his other hand in his pocket. The morning skyline stretched before him, calm and polished, but his mind was nowhere near it. He sipped his hot coffee.

It kept returning to her. Evania Taylor.

The look in her eyes yesterday. The fear. The anger. The stubborn spark of defiance she had tried so hard to hide.

Even the brief touch of their hands still lingered in his memory like a strange burn beneath his skin. The little annoying tinge of unnecessary desperation between them was a dangerous moment he could not risk reliving again, not after what Yelena put him through.

He took another sip of coffee and forced his attention back to the city below, the cars, the young boys playing football by the yard.

Weybridge had been his escape. A quiet place far from his mother’s endless dramatic interventions and carefully planned schemes for his life.

Here, he could breathe, and stay away from the shackles of his empire. A fortified world his father handed him shortly before cancer took him.

A sleek black SUV rolled into the driveway below. Jonathan frowned. He knew the vehicle, nothing pleasant ever came out of it.

A second later, the electronic lock at the front door beeped. Valerie, his maid, appeared by the hallway.

“Someone is here, sir.”

He already knew. He simply nodded, and she dashed to the door. She typed in a short code into the keypad screen.

The front door opened, and right on cue, his mother swept inside like she owned the building.

Mrs. Walter wore a light green dress and the expression of a woman arriving for battle, not a family visit. Behind her walked Darlene, calm, sharp, and serious as always.

“My dear son,” his mother said warmly, opening her arms. _“How lovely to see you.”

Jonathan gave her a polite smile and returned the embrace.

“I wasn’t expecting you, Mother.”

“That much is obvious.” She answered.

She settled onto the long cream sofa like a queen taking her throne. Darlene sat beside her, straight-backed and silent.

The room changed instantly. Whatever peace had existed vanished. Valerie brought water and quietly disappeared.

Jonathan remained standing. His eyes glaring with curiosity.

“So!” He sighed, folding his arms, _ “To what do I owe this pleasure?” He asked, cutting off the silence.

His mother exchanged a glance with Darlene before speaking.

“Dear Jonathan. It concerns the company.”

Of course it did. She didn't drive all this way, just to chat about Ivy or ask about his health. That wasn't typical of the ever plotting woman his mother was.

Jonathan set his coffee mug down.

“We are doing fine. I secured the contract yesterday.” He beamed.

“This goes beyond one contract,” Darlene said, her voice smooth and professional. _“It concerns our market position.”

Jonathan dropped his arms, turning to Darlene.

“Go on.”

Darlene leaned forward slightly.

“Daily Star is expanding aggressively. They are preparing to acquire the one digital platform that could shift the balance completely.”

Jonathan frowned.

“We already own three online platforms.”

His mother’s gaze sharpened.

“They are acquiring Lifestyle.”

Another moment of pure silence.Jonathan’s posture stiffened.

“Focus.”

That was not small news.

Darlene continued.

“The owner is Yelena Starkov.”

Jonathan’s jaw tightened instantly. The name hit like a slap. He turned away, rubbing a hand over his face.

“Yelena?” he said bitterly. _“I thought she was too busy playing queen of fashion to care about digital media.”

“The point,” Darlene said firmly, “is that this acquisition must not happen.”

His mother nodded.

“We need a counter-offer. A merger, perhaps. Something that allows her to keep partial control while securing the platform for us.”

Jonathan let out a dry laugh.

“And what makes you think she would sell to me instead of the Daily Star?”

His mother’s lips curved slightly.

“Because she asked for you.”

He turned sharply.

“She what?”

“She insists you handle the negotiation personally,” Darlene confirmed.

Jonathan groaned and dragged a hand through his dark hair.

“Mother, you know exactly what Yelena is. She is not negotiating. She is hunting.”

Mrs. Walter looked unimpressed.

“She is intelligent, successful, and from a good family.”

“She is a manipulative witch.”

The words landed heavily in the room, even Darlene looked away for a moment.

Jonathan walked to the bar and poured himself a glass of pale ale. This was absurd. His family wanted him to walk willingly into Yelena’s trap, all for the sake of business.

Yet somehow, what made it worse was that another woman had been occupying his thoughts since yesterday.

A woman who seemed to be the complete opposite of Yelena, someone whose dark eyes and brown sun-kissed cheeks were living rent free in his busy mind.

The employee he had suspended, Evania.

The woman who looked at him with fear and fire in the same breath. He took a long sip of the strong drink.

“I won’t do it,” he said quietly. “I’m not interested in your plans.”

His mother’s eyes narrowed.

“Jonathan.”

“My heart is already taken.” He claimed.

That got her attention. She sat up straighter, her eyes gazing with surprise.

“Taken? By whom? Why have I never heard of her?”

He stayed silent because he had no answer and admitting that his thoughts were trapped by an editor he had nearly fired sounded ridiculous.

Even though he did not understand it, why she couldn't flee his jagged mind and because saying “some random woman from Tinder” would start a war.

“I’m not ready to discuss it,” he said.

His mother’s patience snapped.

“Stop playing games! The company’s future is at stake.”

Her voice rose sharply.

“My decision is final. You will meet Yelena.”

Jonathan stood still, facing the bar, gripping the glass so tightly his knuckles turned white.

To his mother, it was simple. A strategic marriage. A business alliance. A perfect arrangement.

To him, it felt like a prison with expensive furniture and somehow, the memory of Evania standing in his office yesterday made the idea feel even worse.

He had suspended her to prove authority, to remind her and himself who was in control. However, now, standing here, he was not sure he controlled anything at all. The company, his family and even his own thoughts.

Evania had become the scapegoat, the easy target for a frustration that had little to do with her.

The guilt sat quietly beneath his pride. He finished the last of the drink. Did he really own his life? Or was he simply another well-dressed prisoner inside the empire his family built?

His mother rose first. Darlene followed. Neither of them said goodbye.

The SUV disappeared down the driveway almost as quickly as it had arrived.As Darlene settled into the driver’s seat, she looked back at him through the glass.

It was only a glance. Brief. Unreadable, but something about it unsettled him. Jonathan stood alone in the silent apartment, staring after the car.

A strange feeling twisted low in his stomach. It wasn't fear or regret. It was something quieter. Something colder. An instinct that whispered only one word._Premonition.