All Chapters of MARKED BY THE ALPHA CEO: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

Elara's point of view“We’ll discuss that,” Aeron Blackwood said, “very soon.”For a second, I just sat there, frozen in the chair like I’d been unplugged. My lips parted yet nothing came out. Out of words to explain it to him.Sure, Mr. Blackwood, take your time. I’ll just sit here and panic quietly until you decide what price you’re charging for saving my career.I stood stiff while Aeron didn’t look away. His eyes stayed locked on me, calm and unreadable, like he’d said something harmless. Like he hadn’t just dropped a sentence that would haunt me for the rest of the day.“After work ends, come back. I want to discuss something important.”My heartbeat stumbled. “Yes, sir,” I said, because professionalism was the only thing holding my spine together. And just like that, I was dismissed.Back at my desk, I tried to work. I opened the Zenith Expansion file. I reviewed the numbers. I cross-checked Margaret’s notes. I made adjustments, highlighted key areas, drafted a summary.I did ev

Elara’s point of viewMy feet were trembling when I left the office. Aeron’s proposal was ringing in my head. The thought of becoming his girlfriend kept me on my toes, but the danger it carried. I will be in the eyes of people for bragging a CEO, some will call that I definitely had slept my way up.But didn’t he assure me he could never let get a stain on his company, and me too? I don’t know what to do. I am confused as hell. My heart didn’t beat anymore. Like it was trembling inside my chest, confused and furious, as if it couldn’t decide whether Aeron Blackwood’s proposal was the beginning of my salvation… or the beginning of my downfall.I fumbled with the keys at Emily’s apartment, and my hands felt like they were made of rubber. When the door opened, I stepped inside and immediately felt the silence. Emily’s apartment was usually loud in its own way. Music playing. Netflix running. Her voice on the phone with someone. A mug abandoned on the counter.Tonight, it felt… empty.I

Aeron's point of viewI kept the smirk on my face long after the soft click of the door told me Elara Vale had actually left my office. Only then did my gaze drop to the document still resting between my fingers. Her signature. Clean. Certain. Decisive. A temporary girlfriend. My temporary girlfriend. The absurdity of it brushed against my ribs, sharp and dangerously close to amusement, and a quiet breath of a laugh was already forming in my chest when the weight of the paper suddenly vanished from my hand.“Wow. You didn’t even laminate it. I’m disappointed.”I almost groaned as I turned. Lucian stood far too close to my desk, already flipping through the pages like he had every right in the world to do so. I dragged a hand down my face and muttered, “Do you practice material theft as a hobby now, or is this a professional upgrade?”He didn’t bother answering. His eyes skimmed the first line. Then the second. Then—he slowed. “Elara… Vale,” he read softly, the name rolling off his ton

Elara's point of view I dropped into my chair like nothing in my life had just fractured in front of an entire department.My screen glowed back at me, patiently waiting for competence I wasn’t sure I still owned, and I forced my hands to move even though they felt disconnected from the rest of my body. Slide after slide of the project presentation blurred together as I corrected fonts, adjusted spacing, fixed a bar chart that had shifted by a few millimetres. It was ridiculous how easily I could focus on margins when my dignity had been paraded across the internet only hours ago. But numbers didn’t stare at me with pity. Slides didn’t whisper. And if I let my mind wander for even a second, the memory of my own face frozen on someone else’s phone would drag me straight back into that suffocating helplessness I had promised myself I would never accept again.The soft chime from my laptop sliced through my thoughts.A notification.I clicked it without thinking, my pulse already climbi

Elara's point of view “You’re on time.” His voice reached me before I could fully register the quiet tension of the parking lot.I stood there for a second, frozen beside the sleek black car, the underground lights reflecting sharply against its polished surface, my heart still unsettled from the way I had walked out of his office earlier. “I… I didn’t know we were going out this suddenly,” I admitted, my fingers tightening around the strap of my bag. Everything about this felt rushed.“I had something planned already,” Aeron replied calmly, unlocking the car. “The photographs need to be done today.”Just like that, there was no room for discussion. I nodded because there truly wasn’t any other option left for me. He opened the passenger door for me. The small, strangely polite gesture caught me off guard more than it should have. I slid inside quietly.The interior was nothing like any car I had ever sat in before. It had dark leather, soft lighting along the edges, a subtle scent t