Aria’s POV
“My mother is in a hospital bed, and the machine decides how long she survives, and you are
worried about the contract?” I yell on top of my voice as I speak to Adrian.
Aria Bennett stands in the middle of Adrian Blackwood’s office. Her breath comes sharp. Her
chest rises fast. Her voice echoes off glass walls. She does not lower it.
Adrian does not move.
“Sit.
”
“No.
”
Lucas Hayes shifts near the door. He stays silent.
I step forward again.
“You pulled my mother’s medical file. Explain that.
”
Adrian slides a document across the table.
“Read it.
”
“I will not read anything from you.
”
“You will,
” Adrian says.
“Your time is limited.
”
I laugh once. No humor.
“Money is all you think about.
”
“It fixes access,
” he replies.
“My mother needs treatment, not access.
” “Then sign.
”
I grab the file. My eyes move fast. Hospital records. Payment gaps. Contract terms. Six months.
My hands tighten around the paper.
“You want me to pretend to date you.
”
“Yes.
”
I throw the file back onto the table.
“No.
”
Silence drops.
Lucas exhales quietly.
Adrian steps forward.
I freeze.
“Treatment stops within hours without approval.
”
My voice drops.
“Do not use her.
”
“I am not using her,
” Adrian says.
“I am controlling damage.
”
“You do not control people.
”
“I control outcomes.
”
Door opens.
Vanessa Cole enters.
No knock. No permission.
Her eyes land on me first. Slow. Sharp.
“So this is the replacement,
” Vanessa says.
I turn.
“Who are you?”
Vanessa smiles.
Adrian’s voice cuts through.
“Someone who knows Adrian longer than you have been in this room.
”
“Vanessa. Leave.
” She ignores him.
She walks closer to me.
“Temporary.
”
I stiffen.
“I am not part of this conversation.
”
“You already are.
”
Lucas steps forward.
“This is not your space.
”
Vanessa tilts her head.
“Everything here has my history attached to it.
”
I turn to Adrian.
“Answer me. Is that true?”
Silence.
That silence answers everything I do not want to hear.
Something shifts inside me.
I grab the pen.
“One condition,
” I say.
Adrian watches me.
“My mother gets treatment approval before anything starts.
”
Adrian nods once.
“Done.
”
I sign.
Ink hits paper.
Final.
My phone rings.
Hospital number.
I answer fast.
“Payment cleared. Treatment resumed.
” I close my eyes for one second.
Relief hits.
Then disappears.
Adrian speaks.
“We leave in two hours. Press announcement.
”
I open my eyes.
“Announcement for what?”
Adrian adjusts his cuff.
“You are my girlfriend now.
”
Silence breaks again.
I stare at him.
“You just ruined my life,
” I say quietly.
Adrian answers without hesitation.
“No. I saved it.
”
I stare at him longer than I should.
“You saved it,
” I repeat.
“By turning it into yours.
”
He does not deny it.
Lucas steps closer.
“Aria, step outside.
”
“I am not going anywhere.
”
Vanessa watches from the door.
“She will not last.
”
I turn sharply.
“Leave.
”
“Make me.
”
Adrian’s voice drops.
“Vanessa. Out.
”
She leaves.
Slow. Controlled. Like she still owns something in this room.
Silence returns. I exhale hard.
“Explain what just happened.
”
Adrian moves back to his desk.
“You agreed.
”
“I agreed to help my mother. Not this.
”
“It comes together.
”
Lucas speaks.
“There is no alternative right now. I checked.
”
I turn on him.
“So you all discussed my life without me.
”
Lucas does not answer.
I laugh once. Empty.
“Of course.
”
Adrian picks up the contract.
“We leave in two hours.
”
“Where?”
“Press briefing.
”
“No.
”
“You already signed.
”
My phone vibrates again.
Hospital update.
TREATMENT ACTIVE.
My shoulders drop slightly.
Another notification follows.
MEDIA ALERT: BLACKWOOD CEO ANNOUNCES PUBLIC RELATIONSHIP.
My stomach tightens.
“They already know,
” I whisper.
“Yes,
” Lucas says. I look at him.
“You planned this.
”
“No.
”
I turn to Adrian.
Lucas adds,
“He did.
”
Adrian does not deny it.
⸻
Two hours later.
Roof of Blackwood Enterprises.
Wind hits my face.
Cameras surround me.
Reporters shout.
Lights blind me.
I stand beside Adrian without preparation, without space, without control.
A stylist adjusted my clothes earlier. Someone fixed my hair. Someone told me where to stand.
None of it feels like mine.
Adrian leans slightly toward me.
“Do not speak unless necessary.
”
“I did not agree to this part,
” I whisper.
“You agreed to all parts.
”
Microphones wait.
A reporter shouts.
“Who is she?”
Adrian steps forward.
“Next six months, Aria Bennett will be my public partner.
” My name enters public air.
Too loud.
Too fast.
Too permanent.
Questions explode.
“Is this love?”
“Is this business?”
“Is she replacing Vanessa Cole?”
I feel my breath tighten.
Adrian answers.
“Both.
”
My head snaps toward him.
That was not inside anything I signed.
He steps back.
Cameras capture my expression.
Confusion.
Shock.
Realization.
This is not private anymore.
This is exposure.
Adrian turns slightly toward me.
“This starts now.
”
I whisper,
“And ends when?”
“When I decide.
” My chest tightens.
Something clicks inside me.
There is no exit shaped into this.
Only direction.
⸻
Inside the elevator.
Silence.
I turn on him.
“You exposed me without warning.
”
“You handled it.
”
“I froze.
”
“You did not fall.
”
Lucas speaks.
“This will trend within minutes.
”
I look at him.
“Trend?”
He shows his phone.
My name.
His name.
Connected.
I look away.
“I want my life back,
” I say.
Adrian replies.
“You do not have it yet.
”
⸻
Hospital. I move fast.
No permission.
No hesitation.
Inside, everything slows.
“Miss Bennett,
” a nurse says.
“Treatment resumed.
”
I stop.
“Is she stable?”
“Yes.
”
I step closer to the glass.
My mother sleeps.
Alive.
For now.
A doctor approaches.
“Payment came from Blackwood Enterprises.
”
I close my eyes.
Even this is not mine.
⸻
Blackwood Penthouse.
I enter without waiting.
He is already there.
“You went to the hospital,
” Adrian says.
“Yes.
” “And?”
“She is stable.
”
He nods once.
“You paid.
”
“Yes.
”
“I did not ask you.
”
“You did not need to.
”
My voice rises.
“Stop deciding what I need.
”
Silence.
No Lucas.
No buffer.
Just pressure.
Adrian moves to the table.
“Board expects consistency.
”
“So I am inside your system now.
”
“You already are.
”
“I want boundaries.
”
“State them.
”
I hesitate.
“No medical access again.
”
“Accepted.
”
“No public moves without warning.
”
“Conditional.
” My eyes narrow.
“This is not a relationship.
”
“It is both.
”
“Then tell me what I am to you.
”
He pauses.
Longer than before.
“Necessary.
”
The word lands cold.
A knock interrupts.
Lucas enters fast.
“We have a problem.
”
Adrian turns.
“What.
”
Lucas lifts his phone.
“Vanessa released footage.
”
My stomach drops.
“And she is claiming you replaced her within days.
”
Lucas adds,
“Board meeting tomorrow.
”
I look between them.
“So this starts already,
” I say.
Adrian answers.
“It never waited.
”
I stand still. Everything moves around me.
Nothing moves for me.