Ella's POV:
Sitting on my bed, I stared blankly at the ceiling, the events of the day swirling in my mind like a storm that refused to pass. I had been feeling off-balance ever since that lunch with Arec, the one where he stood up to Klaus on my behalf.
That moment had shifted something in me, a subtle but undeniable shift in how I saw him. I'd always respected Arec as my boss, but seeing him defend me with such quiet strength, against someone who had once meant so much to me, had stirred up emotions I wasn't prepared to deal with.
But now this? A proposal for a contract marriage? It felt like the rug had been pulled out from under me. Did he really think so little of me that he could casually suggest something so ludicrous, like I was some piece in a business transaction? My mind kept circling back to that question, trying to make sense of it.
