Chapter 2 The clause

ADRIAN'S POV

She walks in, looking as beautiful as ever.

I know she's surprised to see me she definitely didn't

expect me to be here. I can see the brewing fire of spite in

her eyes, but beyond that, beneath it all, I can still see the

sadness she's trying to hide by burying herself in work.

And I know it's because of that fucker who broke her

heart. But beneath all of that, she still looks effortlessly,

irritatingly, beautiful.

Oh, fuck no. If she could hear my thoughts about her, or if

anybody did, I would be mortified. She thinks I really

hate her. And she's not wrong not entirely. We've always

had this undercurrent of rivalry, like oil and water forced

to sit in the same glass. But even under all that tension,

I've always thought she was well, damn near perfect.

Annoying as hell, but perfect.We're supposed to be rivals in this space. It's crazy, but

sometimes, when she's arguing with me and her voice

goes up that one extra octave, I actually want to kiss her

just to shut her up. I wonder what her reaction would be.

A slap? Maybe. Or maybe she would kiss me back.

Probably not. But damn, I'd love to find out one day.

In another life, maybe.

I still can't help but feel the guilt of my betrayal. If she

ever finds out what I did, I know she'll hate me even

more ten times over. So this secret? I'm taking it with me

to the grave, straight to the underworld. I don't think I

could stand her hating me more than she already does.

And that's saying a lot.

I've been eyeing a partnership with DREAMSPACE for

over a year now. Their market leverage and strategic

alignment with my company, ADOVE, would be a dream

come true. This collaboration could open up international

markets in ways my current setup never could. I've

worked too damn hard building ADOVE from the ground

up after my father's death. After I turned 25 and inheritedthe controlling shares, I had to fight those power-hungry

board members tooth and nail just to claim what was

mine.

Those men never wanted a young CEO. They wanted

someone they could manipulate, someone like

themselves. Instead, they got me calculating, patient,

ruthless when I have to be. I had to kick out almost half of

them before I could breathe freely in my own company.

Christine's family and mine have always had history. Our

mothers? Practically sisters. I remember growing up with

the pressure of expectations hanging over us everyone

always saying how cute we'd be together, how we were

meant to be. It got annoying. We were kids, for God's

sake. But somewhere along the line, we just... didn't

work. We were too competitive, too different. Or maybe

too similar.

I remember when she got together with Brian. Everyone

sighed like it made sense. He was charming, polite, sweet

on the outside and utterly full of shit on the inside. I knew

from the beginning. I didn't like him, and not just because

he got close to her. The guy's fake. Strategic, calculated,

fake. People like Brian don't love they leech. And she

didn't see it until it was too late.Now that the relationship's over, I've seen my mother

trying to pitch me to Christine again. I didn't even flinch

when she said she'd "accidentally" set up this meeting at

DREAMSPACE. I knew exactly what she was doing. She

wants a merger. Of companies and hearts.

She means well, but she doesn't know the whole story.

She doesn't know that something stands in the way

something I did. Something unforgivable.

Still, I came. Because if there's one thing I want more

than forgiveness, it's to protect Christine from ever being

forced to run back to someone who treated her like an

option.

Her father walks in. Regal, calm, and already carrying the

air of retirement on his shoulders. Mr. Paige is one of the

few men I genuinely respect in this industry. A titan in

business, and a surprisingly loving father. That's rare. I

know how much Christine looks up to him how

desperately she wants to prove herself worthy of the CEO

seat without people assuming it was handed to her.

And then he speaks.He doesn't waste time. He jumps straight into the purpose

of the meeting. Talks about his plans to retire. Talks about

succession. Talks about Christine.

Then, like a bomb, he drops the clause.

For Christine to inherit the full control of DREAMSPACE

and assume the CEO role, she must be married before her

next birthday.

The room goes silent. It's like someone cut the oxygen. I

look at Christine she's frozen, lips parted in disbelief, her

fists clenched on the table. No one dares to speak. Not

even the board members. This is wild, even by corporate

standards.

Eight months. That's all the time she has.

I can already guess what the next move will be. Brian.

Her dad might not say it, but the way he's glancing at her

with regret in his eyes? He thought Brian was the one.

Maybe he still hopes he is.But I can't let that happen.

I won't.

She deserves more than going back to someone who left

her just because she dared to be ambitious.

And maybe just maybe this is my chance. A second

chance. A stupid, reckless, batshit idea starts forming in

my head. It's insane, but it might just work.

If I can pull this off maybe I can make it right.

Maybe I can protect her.

Maybe, somehow, she'll never have to find out what I did.