BACHELOR

JAKE “Mr. Ryland,” one of them began, his voice slick with false courtesy. “The company cannot afford any more instability. Investors are jittery. The press is circling. And you—” he gestured at me, “are front-page news for all the wrong reasons.”I leaned back in my chair. “I wasn’t aware that skiing in Aspenridge was a crime now.”Nervous chuckles flickered around the table, but no one really laughed.“This isn’t about Aspenridge,” another cut in. “This is about image. You’ve been unattached for years, Jake. That was fine when the company was thriving without distractions. But now? With rumors flying about staff entanglements? We need stability. We need commitment. We need—”“A spouse,” the chairman said flatly. '' A marriage would anchor your image. Silence the speculation. Show that you’re not chasing after… fleeting distractions.” His eyes lingered just long enough to make the meaning clear.For a moment, the room was silent except for the ticking of the clock. Then I laughed. “S

Last Updated : 2025-09-17

THE GAMES BEGIN

JAKE It had been days since the board ambushed me with their ridiculous ultimatum, but the irritation still lingered.The silence of my office did little to soothe it. The skyline glittered outside my floor-to-ceiling windows, the city restless and alive, but all I saw was the reflection of their smug faces around that damned table. Marriage. I hadn’t built Ryland Global with a ring on my finger. I’d built it with sleepless nights, ruthless decisions, and a spine strong enough to take every hit and keep moving. And now they wanted me shackled because investors needed a bedtime story to sleep through their anxieties. I leaned back in my chair, loosening my tie with one hand, the other drumming against the mahogany desk.My phone buzzed once. Lily’s name lit up the screen, but it wasn’t a call—just a text: One step at a time, remember?My chest tightened, the sharp edges inside me softening. One step at a time. With her, that had meaning. With her, the chaos made sense. I was just about

Last Updated : 2025-09-18

DOUBTS

LILYThe afternoon sun slanted through the blinds, striping the walls of my apartment in pale gold. I should have been marking ski class schedules, updating invoices, anything productive—but instead, I sat curled on the couch with my phone in my hand, staring at the screen like it might bite. We’d spoken almost every night since the board meeting. Quiet conversations, sometimes only a few words, but enough to make the distance feel less sharp. He always promised the same thing—that he wasn’t bending, that he wouldn’t cave to their pressure. That one step at a time, we’d maneuver this together.I wanted to believe him.I did believe him.Until Henry called.“Don’t panic,” he said, which of course made my stomach twist instantly. “But your boy had an unexpected visitor today. Guess who?”My heart stopped. “What do you mean, visitor?”“Oh, you know,” Henry said breezily, like he was narrating a sitcom. “Tall, sharp, terrifying heels. Rich enough to buy a small island. Name starts with a C,

Last Updated : 2025-09-20

YOU'RE MINE

LILYThe office had never felt so quiet. Not in the good way, not the productive hum of keyboards and phones ringing.Because everyone could feel it. The air between me and Jake Ryland. I avoided his gaze like it might burn me. Slipped out of meetings the second they ended. Timed my coffee breaks when I knew he’d be locked in calls. If I had to pass documents to his desk, I did it quickly, my voice clipped, my eyes fixed on the folder, never on him. And he noticed.Every time I dared a glance, he was watching me. Not openly, not enough for others to point it out, but I felt it. His eyes lingering too long when I typed, the pause before he spoke to me in front of the team, the way his jaw tightened when I kept my answers short.It wasn’t just me, either. The others picked up on it. Whispers spread like static. Did something happen? Why is she so distant? Why does he look ready to bite someone’s head off every time she walks past?I buried myself in work, desperate for the numbers and re

Last Updated : 2025-09-20

NO MATTER WHAT

JAKEI stepped closer until the space between us was nothing but heat. Her breath hitched; I could hear it, feel it, like a flame inches from a dry leaf.“Enough,” I said again, softer this time but with the same steel beneath it. My hands came up—one on either side of her head on the desk—so she couldn’t move away even if she wanted to. The room tightened around us; the world outside the glass was irrelevant. There was only her, the sharp intake of her breath, the quick flutter of her pulse under my thumb.“You don’t get to walk,” I told her. “Not like this. Not when I’ve already picked a fight with the world for you.”Her eyes darted to mine, wide and wet. “Jake”“I’m serious.” My voice dropped, rough and close enough that she could hear the rasp of it. “If I told you I’d fight the board, fight the press, burn whatever needed burning—if I told you I’d give up everything rather than watch you erased—would you—” I hesitated, because the words themselves felt enormous, “—would you marr

Last Updated : 2025-09-22

HOPE

LILYI left his office feeling like I’d walked out of a storm and into glass — the air bright and painfully clear, and every shard reflecting a piece of what I’d just done.My legs felt weak and steady at the same time. I hadn’t planned to say yes. I’d gone in determined to protect him, to protect myself. I’d wanted to be the sensible one. Instead I’d let him hold me hard enough for the world to feel smaller for a moment. I’d let him ask. I’d said yes. The word still hummed in my ears like a secret I wasn’t sure I deserved.The hallway felt narrow and absurdly loud. People pretended not to notice, pretending I was just another assistant carrying a stack of reports. I wanted to tell them. I wanted to shout it down the hall — that I’d just promised to be with him, that I’d walked out of his office and belonged to someone who would fight for me. But I didn’t. We’d agreed on careful.One step at a time.Henry was waiting by the elevators, leaning against the marble with his usual lazy grin