Chapter 2 SilverStone Realty

The next morning, Avery sat across from Ace again - only now, it was in the shimmering glass boardroom of SilverStone Realty.

She had signed the contract.

Her fingers still trembled slightly, hidden under the polished mahogany table. Her mother's medical bills weren't going to pay themselves, and her sister's college tuition wouldn't just disappear. This wasn't just a choice. It was survival.

This marriage - if one could even call it that - came with metaphorical handcuffs. Cold. Binding. Elegant. For now, at least.

The heavy glass door clicked open.

Betty strutted in, heels like gunshots against the tile. Tall, blonde, and dressed to kill. Avery knew instantly - this woman didn't just work for Ace. She wanted him.

Betty's eyes swept over her like a scanner. "You're the new... secretary?" she asked, her voice honeyed with poison.

"Yes," Avery replied, tone just as sugary. "Nice to meet you."

Betty gave a tight-lipped smile that didn't touch her eyes. "Charming."

She turned to Ace, placing a crisp folder on the table. "I brought the reports, sir."

He didn't look up. "Leave them. And cancel my 3 p.m."

Betty's smile twitched. "Yes, sir."

She left without another glance.

Avery released the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

The air crackled.

Betty didn't know it yet-but Avery Caldwell was no longer just an employee.

She was Mrs. Ace Brown.