PROLOGUE
Athena pinched the bridge of her nose and closed her eyes for a moment.
The numbers on the page were starting to blur together.
Contracts.
Reports.
Financial projections.
Every time she cleared one stack from her desk, another seemed to appear in its place.
Afternoon sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind her, painting the office in warm gold. Normally she liked the view. Today, she barely noticed it. The city stretched beyond the glass, busy and alive, while she remained trapped behind a mountain of paperwork that seemed determined to outlive her.
She flipped another page.
Then another.
A dull ache pulsed behind her eyes.
“Just one more file,” she muttered to herself.
Her phone suddenly rang, breaking the quiet concentration that had settled over the room.
A small smile immediately appeared on her lips when she saw the caller ID.
Trixie.
Athena answered without hesitation.
“Yes, babe?”
“Hey, baby.” Trixie’s voice flowed warmly through the speaker. “How’s my baby doing?”
Athena leaned back slightly in her chair.
“I’m good. Although I’m currently drowning in paperwork.”
A soft laugh echoed from the other end.
“Don’t work too much, okay? Rest if you have to.”
“I’ll try.”
Athena glanced at the mountain of documents beside her and immediately knew she was lying.
“So,” she continued, shifting a file aside, “how’s the business conference in London?”
“It was fine. Too much information packed into too little time, but I learned a lot.” Trixie paused before her voice softened. “The worst part is that I really miss you. I can’t wait to come home.”
Athena’s expression warmed.
“I miss you too,” Athena admitted. “Just a few more days and we’ll see each other again.”
“Ugh.” Trixie groaned dramatically. “I can’t wait to hug you and kiss you.”
Athena laughed, already imagining Trixie throwing herself into her arms at the airport.
“Me too—”
The words never finished.
Athena’s smile was still lingering when a deafening crash split the air.
She jerked in her chair.
The office door slammed open hard enough to rattle the framed certificates on the wall, the sharp impact echoing through the spacious, elegantly furnished room.
The warmth from Trixie’s voice vanished beneath a rush of adrenaline as Athena straightened in her seat.
“What the—”
Behind the door stood her secretary, Amira, looking both stressed and apologetic.
“Ma’am, you cannot go in there!”
But the woman standing beside her paid absolutely no attention.
She simply walked inside.
Confidently.
As though she belonged there.
As though nobody in the world had the authority to stop her.
Athena’s words died in her throat.
For a moment, she simply stared.
The reports scattered across her desk, the sunlight streaming through the windows, and the phone pressed against her ear all seemed to fade into the background.
For a moment, she forgot the conversation she had been having.
There was something about the woman that caught Athena off guard, an effortless confidence in the way she carried herself that made it difficult to look away.
Athena’s breath caught.
She had not expected to be so captivated by a stranger.
The sort of woman who drew attention without having to ask for it, leaving people staring a second longer than they intended.
Dark long hair spilled over one shoulder. Sunlight caught on a gold necklace at her throat, scattering brief flashes of light whenever she moved.
The red dress should have looked excessive for the middle of a workday.
Instead, it looked as though the entire office had been designed around it.
Athena blinked.
Once.
Then again.
Because surely that was not the first thought she should be having about a complete stranger who had just broken into her office.
“Babe?”
Trixie’s voice pulled her back.
“What is that?”
Athena cleared her throat.
Her heart was suddenly beating much faster than it had any reason to.
“Uh...” She glanced between the woman and her phone. “I’ll call you back.”
Before Trixie could respond, Athena ended the call.
Amira looked mortified.
“I’m sorry, Ms. Athena. I really tried to stop her.”
Athena finally managed to gather herself.
“It’s fine, Amira. I can take it from here.”
Her secretary looked unconvinced but nodded anyway.
“Yes, ma’am.”
A moment later, the office door closed behind her, leaving Athena alone with the woman.
Silence settled between them.
The woman looked around the office before turning her attention back to Athena.
One perfectly shaped eyebrow lifted.
“You’re not going to offer me a seat?”
Athena stared for half a second too long.
“Oh. Right. Sorry.”
She gestured toward the chair in front of her desk.
“Please.”
“Thank you.”
The woman smiled.
It wasn’t a polite smile.
It was the kind that carried confidence and just a hint of amusement.
Athena watched as she crossed the room.
Graceful.
Unhurried.
Every movement seemed deliberate.
The click of her heels echoed softly against the floor.
Athena hated that she noticed.
And hated even more that she couldn’t seem to stop noticing.
The red dress.
The elegant posture.
The faint scent of expensive perfume that lingered in the air as she passed.
Focus.
Athena straightened in her chair and forced herself to look at the woman’s face instead.
Athena finally managed to regain enough composure to speak.
“What brings you here?”
The woman settled comfortably in the chair across from her desk, crossing one leg over the other with effortless elegance.
Then she smiled.
Not warmly.
Not politely.
It was the kind of smile that belonged to someone who already knew how the conversation would end.
“I came for you.”
Athena blinked.
“For me?”
The woman’s red lips curved further upward.
“Yes. You.”
Athena let out a small laugh, more from confusion than amusement.
“Okay... what exactly do you want from me?”
Her brows tightened slightly.
“And how do you even know where to find me?”
The woman tilted her head slightly, as though Athena had asked a ridiculous question.
“Of course I know where to find you.”
A pause.
“Why wouldn’t I know where to find my future wife?”
Silence.
Athena’s brain abruptly stopped processing information.
She stared.
The woman stared back.
Completely serious.
Athena blinked once.
Twice.
Then pointed at herself.
“...Your what?”
“My future wife.”
The answer came immediately.
Smooth.
Confident.
As if she were simply stating an undeniable fact.
Athena actually looked behind her for a second.
Maybe there was someone else in the room.
Maybe she had walked into the wrong office.
Maybe Athena had finally worked herself into a stress-induced hallucination.
Unfortunately, the woman remained sitting directly in front of her.
Still gorgeous.
Still smirking.
Still apparently insane.
“Wife?” Athena repeated, completely caught off guard. “Wait... is this some kind of joke? A prank?”
The woman merely smiled.
No.
Smirked.
It was a slow, confident curve of red-painted lips that immediately put Athena on edge. The woman looked far too pleased with herself for someone who had just barged into a CEO’s office unannounced.
“No, Athena.”
Athena’s stomach tightened.
The stranger’s unwavering gaze remained fixed on her, confident and unhurried, as though she had all the time in the world.
Then, as if discussing something perfectly ordinary, she said,
“I want to be your wife.”
Athena exhaled sharply through her nose.
Once more, her mind tried—and failed—to make it make sense.
The woman continued.
“And I expect you to marry me as soon as possible.”
Silence.
The ticking of the clock on the wall suddenly seemed deafening.
Athena stared at her.
The woman held her gaze without a trace of hesitation, her smirk never wavering.
As though this conversation was already over.
As though the decision had already been made.
As though Athena marrying her was the most natural thing in the world.
Athena’s mouth parted.
Her heart skipped a beat.
“What?!”
