SIN"With the recent arrest of your father and the apology video, I believe it's fair to say that your company is still facing some backlash and this might affect my business if I choose to work with you," Mr. Saviano says leaning back into his seat. I was surprised when they told me Mr. Saviano had come with his assistant for the briefing. He was known to come only for the actual meeting and most times he didn't even bother coming for any of them."I understand your worries Mr. Saviano but I can reassure you that all issues related to that incident have been resolved," I say. "Right now we should concentrate on building our partnership for the progress of both companies.""I'm not saying I don't believe you, but actions speak louder than words. Your company's reputation has been tarnished and that's a fact," Mr. Saviano says. "I'm not sure if I can afford to risk my company's image by associating with yours.""I assure you that we are taking every step possible to repair our reputat
SIN"I suspect Mia, from the freelance team," Ryder replies immediately. "Mia, Mia who?" Being the CEO doesn't exactly come with the skill of remembering everyone's name, I always commend Ryder for his ability to remember their names and sometimes a bit about their background. "Mia Thompson," Ryder clarifies. "She's been with us for about six months now, mostly handling our social media content and campaigns.I nod, "Handle it, Ryder. I want a report on my desk by tomorrow morning. And make it clear to everyone that this is a lesson."Ryder nods, his expression serious. "Understood, I'll take care of it."I put my hand over my lips thinking about Mae working here, it won't be long before I will have to face more people like Mr. Saviano who won't accept Mae working here. I will have to figure out a way to keep her reputation intact and not associated with Lily. Ryder's phone suddenly rings, he reaches into his pocket and brings it out to check the caller ID. "It's Miss Evelyn Scott,
THIRD PERSON'S POV"Is he dead?" Jason panicked as he stared at Sin's lifeless body in the back of Evelyn's car. When Evelyn called him to meet up at a restaurant, he was not pleased by the idea because he assumed Evelyn was up to no good but this was far worse than he imagined. "Can't you see he is breathing?" Evelyn questioned, she rolled her eyes at Jason's behavior and closed the back door of the car. "What the hell were you thinking?" Jason asked running his finger through his hair. He knew that involving Evelyn was risky but this just proved how risky it was to have gotten her involved. "Could you stop overacting?" "Overacting? Did you just say overreacting? You have a half-dead Sin in the back of your car and I am the one overacting?" Jason yelled. "What if he dies? Do you know what that means for you?" "Us, you mean us because we are in this together," Evelyn reminded him. "My plan wasn't to kill him," Jason countered still in disbelief. "I only drugged him, okay? He is
MAERyder leaves the office for a few minutes and comes back to check on me after Sin leaves. Despite telling him I am alright and just need to finish my notes on the Saviano's project he remains by the door on high alert. Once I am done, he shows me a private elevator only used by Sin and his family to get directly to the parking lot away from prying eyes. "Thank you," I say to Ryder as he helps me open the door to the car once we get to the parking lot."Welcome Ma'am, I hope you took everything but in case you forgot anything I can always come back and get it for you," he replies. "I have everything, thank you," I nod. I made sure to double-check before leaving the office.Ryder closes the door and gets into the driver's seat. As the sleek car pulls away from the skyscraper, I realize that Sin didn't tag along. "And Sin?" I ask, meeting Ryder's gaze in the rearview mirror. "He had some urgent business to attend to but he should be home soon or maybe he already is," Ryder repli
MAE"He is burning up Ryder.""He's running a fever," Ryder replies, his voice laced with concern. "But I'm sure the doctor will be able to help."I nod nervously, my gaze fixed on Sin's unconscious face. He looks so vulnerable lying there, so far from the powerful and commanding man I know."What happened to him?" I ask again, my voice barely above a whisper.Ryder hesitates for a moment, his expression unreadable. "He was drugged," he finally says. "But he's going to be okay.""Drugged?" I repeat, my heart sinking. "Who drugged him?""I don't know, Ma'am," Ryder replies. "He wasn't able to tell me before he passed out."I frown, my mind racing. Who would have done something like this to him? And why?"I'm going to stay here with him," I say, taking Sin's hand in mine. "You should go and check that lip of yours," I add staring at his bleeding lips."I will, Ma'am," Ryder nods and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.I sit down on the edge of the bed and stare at Sin's face.
MAEThe stinging sensation on my cheek jolts me back to reality. I stare at Mrs. Hayes in shock, my hand instinctively flying to my face."How could you do this to him?" she screams, her voice filled with rage. "You've ruined his life! This is all your fault."I open my mouth to defend myself, but no words come out. I'm too stunned to speak. I ruin his life? Me? How? What did Ryder tell her? Or is she just assuming things?"I warned him to stay away from you," she continues, her voice breaking. "But he refuses to listen to me, now see what you have done to him now.""I didn't do anything," I finally managed to say. "This isn't my fault, Ryder found -""Oh shut up," she yells at him cutting me off. "Your parents didn't teach you any manners before they died, right? When I am speaking you keep shut young lady.""I-I am sorry," I find myself apologizing even though I know it's not my fault. "The sooner you leave my son, the better for all of us," she adds before turning away from me, he
MAERyder exits the room quickly, still looking confused. The door clicks shut behind him, leaving just Sin and me in the quiet room.Sin squeezes my hand gently, a small smile playing on his lips despite the obvious fatigue shadowing his features. "I know it's a lot to ask, especially now. But I wouldn't ask if I wasn't sure you could handle it."I sit down on the edge of his bed, feeling the weight of the responsibility he's placed on my shoulders. The project with Mr. Saviano is not just another business deal—it could define the future of Hayes Tech, and now, seemingly, my future with the company. If I ruin this deal, it could affect not only my new job at the company but my relationship with Sin. His parents already despise me, they won't hesitate to have Sin stay away from me completely. I placed my hand on his cheek managing to smile at him, "You should get some rest, the doctor said you will have to stay in the hospital for some days," I informed him. "I will have Ryder talk
MAE6:30 AMThe sharp trill of the alarm slices through my dreams, dragging me back to reality with a jolt. Just as Ryder had said last night to set the alarm, I was too drowsy, I should have told him not to.I hate mornings! I groan stretching my hand blindly at the nightstand, my fingers clumsy and uncoordinated, fumbling to silence the darn alarm. I press the button as hard as I can silencing it as the room falls quiet again, I lie back, hoping to get just a little bit of sleep. Even if it's just for ten minutes, I feel so drained but my desire is cut short when my room door opens."Good morning Ma'am," Victoria greets standing by the door. "Victoria," I groan my voice heavy with sleep, "what time is it?""It's 6:32 AM, Ma'am," she replies. Her voice is gentle, but there's an underlying firmness that suggests it's time for me to get my ass out of the bed. I rub my eyes, trying to get the sleep off my eyes. I know there's no going back to sleep now. I turn on the bed to glance a
NOAH"Noah, I know what happened. I remember everything. And I know you saved my life. But that doesn't give you the right to leave me without a word. To break our engagement and walk away. You need to understand, I thought we had something real. Something worth fighting for," she says, her voice cracking with emotion.I nod, feeling a pang of regret. Of course, what we had was real, I sent her 500 million without batting an eye, all I wanted at that moment was her and it still is, but I..."Aria, I know I made a mistake. I owe you an explanation. I just... I don't want you to get hurt because of me, I don't want your parents to..." Aria closes the distance between us placing her hand on my cheeks, I feel the warmth of her hand zapping away the frustration and anger building up inside of me from what had happened that day and how things could have turned out worse."So, what? You are going to be a coward by allowing Melissa to get into your head.""She killed two women I was involved
NOAHI thought falling in love was complicated, no, it's loving them from a distance that is quite complicated, seeing them and being unable to hold them, touch them, or even talk to them.I've been away for two weeks, trying to clear my head and make sense of everything. The investigation, Melissa's arrest, Aria's coma... it's all been too much. I know I shouldn't have left without talking to Aria, but I couldn't bear the thought of hurting her more than I already have. I've been watching her from afar, making sure she's safe and recovering well. But now, as I'm back in town, I know I will need to face her soon. As I step towards my car at the airport, I'm bombarded by reporters. "Noah, how does it feel to be back?" "Noah, what's your response to the allegations?" "Noah, are you dating anyone new?" I ignore them and rush to my car, but one of their questions strikes a nerve in me, "Do you think Melissa will have the new person in your life killed?"I turn to stare at the reporter
ARIA"Where is Noah? Is this a joke because I do not find it funny," it's been one month, one fucking month, and the first thing he decides to do instead of being right here with me, holding my hands and comforting me is to run away and give them some stupid rule over what? "What did I do? If anyone should be keeping any distance, it should be me, his psycho friend tried to kill me," I yell."A lot of Noah's flings have all suffered their fair share, Melissa has been secretly fucking up their life. The moment she finds out they are involved with Noah," Arthur explains. "The investigation found out that two of the girls died, they were able to trace it back to Melissa," he adds.I feel a chill run down my spine as I process this information. Noah's flings? How many girls has he been involved with? Two of them are dead? And all this happened while I was in a coma.My mind is racing with questions, but before I can ask any of them, Arthur drops another bombshell."Melissa had the inten
ARIAThey say a near-death experience is different for everyone, I have read that some people wake up not remembering anything leading to their accident. The last thing I remember is seeing Noah's face before blacking out, but the memories are still sharp in my head.I wake up to the beeping of machines and the antiseptic smell of a hospital, which I hate. I try to sit up, but a sharp pain in my stomach makes me wince. I look down to see my stomach is bandaged, I look around, disoriented, and see my mother sitting in a chair beside my bed, her eyes red and puffy from lack of sleep.She gasps as she sees me awake and trying to sit up, "Aria, my child, you are awake, you are awake" she yells standing on her feet, relief washing over her face.I try to speak, but my voice is hoarse and barely audible. My mother rushes out of the room and I can hear her screaming at the top of her lungs for the doctors to come, she soon comes back in with not only the doctor but my dad and Arthur. "Ari,
NOAH"Can you make a reservation at the Haute Cuisine?" I ask, making a turn into the road leading to the cabin."Is it a business meeting, Sir?" Brian questions. "I can have it set for -""It's a date Brian, not a business meeting," I interrupt him, parking the car right in front of the cabin. For a second the phone goes silent on the other end, Brian probably wondering why I am having a date in an expensive restaurant downtown and canceling my schedule for the day."A d-date?" Brian finally says stuttering. "I mean yes Sir," he says and I am sure he is already scribbling away on his note. He has always had a thing with jotting every single word I say, well it has always been useful for him especially since I love my things done almost to perfection. "A date at Haute Cuisine tonight, what menu are we looking at?" "Do not place an order?" I am not sure what Aria would like, it will be best if she makes the order instead. Anything she orders is fine by me as long as I get to look at h
ARIAMelissa stands in the doorway, a stern expression on her face. "Well, what do we have here?" she says, her voice firm but polite. What the hell is she doing here and how did she get in? Did Noah not close the door? I am sure he wouldn't have made that mistake, to keep the door open."What the hell are you doing here and how did you get in?" I ask, my voice getting loud with each word.Melissa chuckles and walks into the room, her eyes scanning the space as if searching for something. "I have a spare key, what? Did you think you are the only one Noah has brought to this cabin?"Rolling my eyes, I kiss my teeth not answering her question, it doesn't matter who has been here before. Although, I am jealous of the idea of him sharing this space with another woman, but he has made it clear that I am all he needs in his life and that is enough for me. "Anyways," she continues. "I wanted to see Noah, I have been trying to reach him since last night but he wasn't picking up my calls."O
ARIA"This should fit just fine," Noah says handing me one of his T-shirts from the wardrobe, I don't know how he convinced me to spend the night in the cabin, if anything I should be heading home to be alone, and think about the proposal but I want to be here with him. Whenever I am with him, every other thing seems meaningless. Noah had suggested spending the night at his house first, but I was against it, at least for now. His mother would just have us married at sight, if anyone wants us paired together other than Noah, it's her.I put the towel on the hanger and wear the T-shirt over my head, the T-shirt fits like a dress, big and just above my knee. I check my face in the mirror, packing my hair into a ponytail before leaving the bathroom. I am not surprised when I find Noah in his pajamas standing by the door waiting patiently for me to come out. His eyes light up the moment I step out, his eyes falling from my face to his T-shirt on my body. "Noah, you're staring," I say, t
NOAHDammit!I have placed her in a spot, look at her eyes, I can see the desire to say yes, but also the confusion at how soon this is all happening. I knew I should have waited a bit, but I don't think I can.The thought of someone else and not me being her life is going to completely wreck me. I always have this ring, it has been in the family for ages, all I had to do was ask my mother for it. She was stunned when I asked, "Are you sure Noah? I mean I am happy you are finally asking for the ring, but are you sure you want it?" She asked."Aria, you don't have to say anything right now," I say, not wanting to get rejected. Her rejection will hurt more than her silence. "How about you think about it? I don't want to pressure you into anything okay?" I say holding her hand and placing the ring in her hand. "Y-You want me to think about it, while I hold on to the ring?" She stutters. "That's a lot of pressure Noah, and... And this ring looks like a family heirloom."Of course, she d
ARIA"So, what's it with you and this cabin?" I ask as he offers me a glass of wine before joining me on the couch. "Do you bring all your girlfriends here?" "Girlfriend?" He chuckles taking a sip from his wine glass. "I don't do girlfriends Aria, you are the first."First? I don't know if I should believe that or not. "The cabin is just a safe space for me, away from everyone," he continues."Well, the reason I wanted us to meet was because of my parents," I begin, taking a sip from my drink. He raises an eyebrow, " Your parents? Are they fine?""Yeah, they are but my dad suspects foul play, he thinks someone might be on to him and my mum. He said the accident was caused by the brake failure," I explain. "He wants his recovery with that of my mother hidden for now, he hopes this will hopefully lure out whoever is behind it."Noah takes a sip of his drink, nodding his head, "You want me to hide seeing him and your mother?""Yeah, for now of course," I say."You know, you could have