PROLOGUE
ARIA.
The last person I expected to see when I walked into that office was the man I had spent seven years trying to forget.
And the first thing I did was ruin his million-dollar contract.
Brilliant.
The coffee tray trembled in my hands as I approached the enormous desk. I had been working at Knight Enterprises for barely three weeks, and somehow, I had already managed to irritate two supervisors, embarrass myself in front of a department head and nearly lose my job over a misplaced file.
Today, I was determined to behave.
No mistakes. No arguments. No unnecessary attention.
Just deliver the coffee, collect the empty cups and get out.
Simple.
"Your coffee, sir."
The man behind the desk didn't look up.
His attention remained fixed on the documents spread before him. A silver watch glinted beneath the cuff of his perfectly tailored suit, and his fingers moved impatiently across the pages.
I placed the tray down.
"Anything else, sir?"
"Leave."
One word. Not even a glance.
I swallowed my irritation.
Of course. Men with expensive offices apparently lost the ability to use complete sentences.
I turned to leave, but the heel of my shoe caught the edge of the carpet.
The tray tilted.
I grabbed for it.
Too late.
The cup slipped.
Coffee splashed across the desk, spreading over several documents before dripping onto the expensive leather surface.
For one terrible second, I couldn't move.
Then the man stood.
"What the hell is wrong with you?"
My stomach dropped.
"I'm so sorry, sir. I didn't…"
"Do you have any idea what you've just destroyed?"
"I can clean it. I'll get something…"
"Don't touch anything."
His voice was cold enough to stop me in my tracks.
I reached for the nearest napkin anyway, desperate to undo the damage, but he snatched the document from beneath my hand.
"Do you people ever think before you act?"
"I'm sorry."
"That's all you can say?"
I lowered my head.
I needed this job. I couldn't afford to lose it. Not with everything depending on me.
"Please, sir. It was an accident."
He let out a humourless laugh.
"Look at me."
Something in his voice made my fingers go numb.
Slowly, I lifted my head.
And the world stopped.
The face.
The eyes.
The familiar scar near his eyebrow.
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
No.
It couldn't be him.
Not here.
Not after everything.
The man standing before me was no longer the boy who used to hold my hand beneath the rain or sing our favourite song when he thought I was upset.
He was older now. Sharper. Dressed in wealth and authority.
But I knew those eyes.
I would have recognised them anywhere.
"Adrian..."
His expression changed.
Only for a second.
Then the surprise disappeared, replaced by something far more frightening.
Disgust.
"Well," he said quietly. "Look what the past dragged into my office."
My throat tightened.
Seven years.
Seven years of trying not to remember his voice. Seven years of pretending that leaving him hadn't destroyed a part of me.
And now he was standing close enough for me to see the hatred in his eyes.
"Mr. Knight," I whispered.
His jaw tightened.
"So you remember my name."
I couldn't answer.
His gaze travelled over me, taking in my cheap work uniform, my trembling hands and the coffee staining his desk.
Then his eyes returned to mine.
"Tell me, Aria. Is ruining people's lives still something you're good at?"
The words struck harder than I expected.
I deserved his anger. At least, that's what I had told myself for years.
But hearing it from him was different.
"I'm sorry about the contract," I managed.
He glanced at the ruined papers.
"That contract was worth more than you could earn in a lifetime."
"I'll find a way to pay for it."
"Will you?"
His smile was small and cruel.
"How? Another wealthy man willing to pay your bills?"
My cheeks burned.
"Please don't."
"Don't what?"
"Don't bring up things you don't understand."
For the first time, his expression hardened completely.
"You're right. I don't understand."
He stepped around the desk.
"But I understand this: you walked out of my life once without looking back. And now you've walked straight into my company."
He paused, his eyes fixed on mine.
"Do you know what I find interesting, Aria?"
I said nothing.
"After all these years, you're still asking me for something."
My chest tightened.
He picked up the ruined contract and dropped it onto the desk.
"Two years."
I frowned. "What?"
"You'll work here for two years. Every salary, every assignment, every hour will be under my supervision. Consider it compensation for the damage you've caused."
"Two years? You can't be serious."
His eyebrow lifted.
"Would you prefer I call security?"
I stared at him.
The man I once loved was offering me two years of humiliation as if he were doing me a favour.
And the worst part?
I couldn't walk away.
Not anymore.
Adrian leaned closer, lowering his voice.
"Welcome back, Aria."
Then he smiled.
It was the kind of smile that promised nothing good.
"Let's see how long you last this time.”
