Chapter 5 Paper Hearts

The sun hung high over Havenport, burning off the morning mist until Diamond University's campus glowed with a rare, golden heat. Normally, this was Caroline's sanctuary, but today, the peace was shattered by a single figure standing in front of the lobby.

Harrison Marcus had tried to dress "casually" at Caroline's request, but his version of casual was an error. He stood like a statue of marble and silk, his height and that unmistakable blue-eyed charm acting like a magnetic north for every girl in the vicinity. Groups of students were "lingering" near the bike racks, and more than a few professors were casting curious glances at the man who looked like he'd stepped off a yacht and onto a campus.

"Caroline, tell me you see that," Maya Santoso, Caroline's closest friend and startup partner, whispered. They were looking down from the second-floor glass gallery.

"I feel like disappearing," Caroline replied, her voice flat.

"Wait." Maya's eyes widened, her sharp mind connecting the dots. "You're staring at him with that specific look of dread... Caroline, don't tell me that's him. That's the fiancé?"

Caroline nodded slowly, the movement heavy with resignation. Maya was the only one who knew the truth about the arrangement-well, parts of it. She helped Caroline manage "Scripted Hearts," and she was the one who kept the books when Caroline was too busy designing. Seeing Harrison in the flesh, Maya's usual carefree attitude vanished, replaced by a fierce, protective curiosity.

"You better get down there," Maya advised, patting Caroline's shoulder. "Before someone tries to 'help' him find the library. Half the freshmen are already circling like sharks."

"I'm going," Caroline muttered.

As she neared the lobby, she stopped, hiding behind a large concrete pillar. The lobby was a hive of activity. She saw a group of girls approaching Harrison, their smiles bright and practiced.

Instead of walking up to him, she pulled out her phone and hit his contact.

"I see you," she said the moment he picked up, her voice a sharp whisper. "I'm going to walk past you in a second. Do not greet me. Just turn around and follow me like you're a regular person."

"Excuse me?" Harrison's voice was a low rumble on the other end. "Who do you think you're talking to?"

"The man currently being hunted by the entire Design department," she retorted. "Stop talking to those girls. They aren't trying to help you find anything; they're trying to find your Instagram handle. If you like the attention, stay there. If you want to leave, follow my lead."

"They were just being polite," Harrison said, though Caroline could hear the girls' giggles through the phone. "I feel like a fraud standing here, Caroline. You took too long, and for the record-"

The call cut out as the girls grew louder. Harrison offered them a polite, practiced smile and they practically melted. Caroline felt a surge of irrational heat in her chest. She closed her phone, stepped out from behind the pillar, and walked past him without a single glance.

She felt him fall into step five paces behind her. She didn't stop until they reached the edge of the campus gardens, where the crowds thinned. Her phone buzzed again.

"Why are you calling?" she snapped, not turning around. "I'm right here."

"Because I don't like following," Harrison said, his voice closer than she expected. He had closed the gap. "Especially not you. Where is the car?"

"The parking lot. And why are you so obsessed with who walks in front? It's a sidewalk, Harrison"

"The order of things matters," he said, moving past her to take the lead. "This time, I'm in front. I don't follow, Caroline. Not even for a 'stupid contract marriage,' as you so eloquently put it in your last text."

They reached the black luxury sedan idling in the shade. Steven was already in the driver's seat, his expression a mask of professional patience. As soon as the doors closed, the cool, filtered air of the Marcus world reclaimed them, erasing the scent of sun-baked grass and student life.

Caroline took a deep, shaky breath, her anger simmering down into a dull ache. "I told you to be inconspicuous," she said, looking at Harrison's outfit. He was wearing a navy polo that probably cost three months of her rent and a watch that could buy a house.

"I followed your request," Harrison countered, his jaw set. "I didn't wear a suit. I got out of the car. I stood under a tree like a common loiterer for two hours because your class ran late."

"You didn't even call to say you were there!"

"A person in class should have their phone off. I assumed you were being a diligent student. Or," his blue eyes narrowed, "I suspect you were actually hiding from me."

"I wasn't hiding."

"Do you have a boyfriend on campus?" Harrison asked suddenly, his tone shifting into something unreadable. "Is that why you're so ashamed? You don't want the 'real' boyfriend to see the 'contract' one?"

"No! That's not it at all," Caroline cried, frustrated by his leap in logic. "I just don't like to be the center of gossip. My friends will make a spectacle of it. And besides, why did you have to wear that 'Sky brand' stuff just to come to a university? It's tacky."

"Sky brand?" Harrison echoed, looking genuinely perplexed. He turned to the front. "Steven, what is a Sky brand?"

Steven didn't miss a beat as he pulled the car into traffic. "Sir, it means your attire and general aura are... too high for the common ground."

Harrison looked down at his shoes, then back at Caroline. "What? This is casual. This is what people wear."

Steven and Caroline shared a synchronized sigh.

"Never mind," Caroline intervened, rubbing her temples. "Let's just focus. Steven, you mentioned there were things to discuss?"

"Yes," Steven said, his tone turning business-formal. "Ypur grandparents, Mr. Harrison are growing impatient. They want the wedding concepts finalized by the end of the week. Specifically, the dress fitting this Saturday."

"I can't do Saturday," Caroline said firmly. "I have a routine meeting with my startup team. We have orders to fulfill."

"Mr. Harrison?" Steven prompted, clearly hoping his boss would take the reins.

"I remind you, Steven, not to call me 'Mr.' in a car with only three people," Harrison grumbled. "I am thirty and unmarried. You make me sound like my grandfather."

"You act like him," Steven muttered under his breath.

Suddenly, Steven swerved the car to the left, pulling over onto a quiet shoulder of the road. He put the car in park and turned around, his expression uncharacteristically sharp.

"I request permission to leave work early today," Steven said, staring Harrison down.

"Request denied," Harrison replied instantly. "You have a schedule to maintain."

"You're really out of line today, Harry," Steven said, dropping the formal "sir" entirely.

Caroline's jaw dropped. Harry?

"Oh, sorry, Miss Caroline," Steven said, noticing her shock. "You must be confused. Harrison and I went to the same university. I was his senior by two years."

"Wait... you were his senior?"

"Yes," Steven said with a dry, wicked smile. "Back then, no one dared to be his friend because he was prickly and arrogant. I was the only one brave or stupid enough to handle him. And now, after a decade of trying to escape his orbit, I've been forced to become his assistant just to keep him from accidentally starting a war."

"Steven was forced into an assistant role," Caroline muttered, looking at Harrison. "And I was forced into a wife role. We should start a club."

"Don't let him fool you," Harrison said, looking uncomfortably cornered. "Steven loves the paycheck. Now, can we please drive? Caroline is about to faint from hunger; I can hear her stomach from here."

"Aargh... I am hungry!" Caroline admitted, her outburst finally breaking the tension.

They ended up at a white-themed restaurant on the Havenport docks. They ate in a silence that was surprisingly comfortable, born from a shared, ravenous hunger.

As Caroline finished her cupcake, she looked at the two men. Steven was busy taking notes on a tablet, while Harrison was watching a group of students at a nearby table. They were laughing, taking selfies, and sharing a giant bowl of fries. Harrison's gaze was curious, almost longing, as if he were observing a different species.

"What kind of wedding do you actually want, Caroline?" Steven asked, breaking the quiet.

"Something simple," she said, her voice small. "Close family. A few friends. No cameras. No 'Sky brands.'"

"Impossible," Harrison said, his voice returning to its boardroom chill. "The Marcus Group doesn't do 'simple.' There will be at least one gala for two thousand stakeholders. It's a merger, Caroline. We have to treat it like one."

Caroline's heart sank. "Two thousand people? I'll be a widow in two years, Harrison. Why do we need to perform for two thousand people?"

Harrison caught the flash of pain in her eyes.

"How old are you, exactly?" he asked, his voice softening just a fraction.

"I'll be twenty in three months," she answered.

Harrison paused. She was so young. At twenty, he had been in London, already being groomed for the CEO position. She was a child, yet she was running a business and facing down a dynasty. She just needs a mentor, he thought. She has the spark, but she's being smothered.

"Steven," Harrison said, his mind clicking into gear. "The wedding invitations. Grandpa wants them to be special, right?"

"He mentioned it," Steven agreed.

"Caroline, I want 'Scripted Hearts' to design the invitations. Personally."

Caroline shook her head. "No. I can't. I won't do it."

"Why not?"

"It's a rule in design," she said, her voice trembling. "You never design for yourself. Especially not for a project you... you don't believe in."

"I'm sure your team can handle the bulk," Harrison pushed, his business instincts taking over. "This is an opportunity, Caroline. The Marcus wedding invitations will be seen by the most influential people in the country. This will upgrade your brand overnight. You'll go from a campus startup to a national name."

"I am the only designer on my team, Harrison. The others handle assembly and logistics."

"Then push yourself," he said, his blue eyes challenging her. "If this marriage ends in a divorce, what will you have left? A failed startup? Or a brand that the whole world knows? Use us, Caroline. If you're going to be a Marcus, even for a moment, use the name to build your own mountain."

Caroline looked at him. For the first time, she saw the CEO, the man who knew how to find leverage in any situation. "How many invitations?" she asked Steven.

"At least two thousand. For the main gala."

Caroline felt a wave of vertigo. Her largest order to date had been three hundred, and that had nearly broken her. "Two thousand 3D, hand-assembled invitations? That's impossible in this timeframe."

"Don't worry about the cost," Harrison said, leaning in. "We will pay double. Triple. Whatever it takes to hire extra hands for the assembly. Just give me the design. Show the world what a paper heart can actually do."

Caroline looked out at the students laughing in the sun. She thought about her dreams, about Maya, and about the "widow" she would become at twenty-two.

"Okay," she said, her voice steadying. "I'll do it. But Harrison?"

"Yes?"

"If I do this, you stay away from the studio. I don't want Sky brands ruining the ink."

Harrison smirked, a real, dimpled smile that actually reached his eyes. "