Mia's pov
The next morning, I woke up to find Aaron already gone. It had become a routine for him to leave early, no goodbye, no explanation, just a cold absence. Honestly, it felt more like a relief than an offense. He was a ghost in his own home, and I was a stranger occupying the same haunted space.
But today was different.
Ryan's unexpected arrival last night lingered in my mind, an uneasy tension in my stomach. There was something about the way he looked at me, a smirk that suggested I was in, deeper than I realized. His presence had disrupted the fragile balance in the house, and I didn't know why, but I had a persistent feeling it wasn't just a family visit.
After a quick shower, I slipped on a simple blouse and jeans, hoping to distract myself by heading to the office. I needed to focus on work, on fixing the mess that had led me to this marriage in the first place. But as I went down the stairs, I froze.
Ryan was in the kitchen.
Leaning against the marble counter-top, he casually sipped a cup of coffee as if he owned the place. His presence felt intrusive, like an uninvited guest had walked into the quiet corners of my life, uninvited but fully aware of his power to disrupt.
"Good morning," he greeted, his voice low and smooth, holding that same unsettling charm as last night. He didn't look at me immediately, his eyes focused on the steam rising from his cup.
"Morning," I replied cautiously, keeping my distance. "Did Aaron leave already?"
Ryan finally looked up, his green eyes locking onto mine with an intensity that made me want to take a step back, even though I stood still. "He did. Early meeting. You know how it is."
Actually, I didn't. Aaron never told me anything about his schedule, and I never asked. But I nodded anyway.
Ryan studied me for a moment, then set his cup down, folding his arms across his broad chest. "You seem tense, Mia."
"I'm fine." I lied, clenching my jaw
He smirked. "Are you? Because if I were in your shoes, I wouldn't be."
I swallowed hard, my fingers curling into fists.
"What are you talking about?" I inquired tensed
Ryan stepped closer, and though he didn't touch me, the air between us felt charged with unspoken tension. His gaze didn't waver, as if stripping away my defenses, layer by layer with every passing second.
"I'm talking about this charade," he responded quietly, a low, menacing chuckle infused in his voice. "Aaron. This marriage. You." he added pointing at me.
A cold chill spread down my spine. He knew. Somehow, Ryan knew this marriage wasn't real. He saw through the contract, through the mask I had carefully constructed since the day I signed my life away. I opened my mouth to deny it, to tell him to mind his own business, but the words died in my throat when his eyes flashed with something dangerous, something far more dangerous than I had seen in Aaron
"I don't know what you think you know, Ryan," I managed, my voice steady, though inside I was anything but calm. "But you don't know me."
Ryan raised an eyebrow, his smirk widening just enough to make me uneasy. "I know more than you think. Aaron tends to underestimate people. Especially those closest to him."
His words hung in the air, thick with implication. I felt a shiver run down my spine. What did he mean? Did he think I played a great role in this complicated mess than I was aware? The thought bothered me, but I refused to show any vulnerability. I had to keep my composure, even as my heart raced.
I didn't understand what he meant by that, but I didn't want to ask. I was already entangled in whatever game the Montgomery brothers were playing, and I wasn't about to let Ryan pull me in further.
"You should leave," I said, my voice firm, straining against the tension that sizzled between us. "If you have business with Aaron, handle it with him. I'm not involved."
Ryan's expression didn't change, but there was a spark of something in his eyes, something cold, and calculating. It was the kind of gaze that implied he was always several moves ahead, sending an involuntary chill down my spine.
"Oh, Mia. You're more involved than you realize." he spoke
With that, he turned and walked past me, his shoulder brushing mine just slightly as he left the kitchen. I stood there, frozen, my heart pounding. What did he mean? And why did it feel like Ryan knew more about my marriage than I did?.
There was a weight to his words, a knowing that made my stomach twist. What secrets lay beneath the surface of this marriage? What truths about Aaron did Ryan hold? The thought weighed at me, but I pushed it aside. I had my own battles to fight, and I didn't need to be pulled into their fraternal rivalry.
Later that day, I sat in my office at Hartley Enterprises, struggling to concentrate on the mountain of paperwork piled in front of me. Despite my best efforts, my mind kept drifting back to Ryan's unsettling words and his discomforting presence. The way he had looked at me, with that penetrating gaze, made me feel like a pawn in a game, I didn't even know I was playing. The stakes felt dangerously high, and I couldn't shake the feeling of foreboding that lingered around me like a shadow. Every time I glanced at the paperwork, I wondered if I was missing something crucial, a detail that could change everything.
I had thought marrying Aaron would be the solution to my problems—that once we secured the deal, I could go back to fixing the company and rebuilding my life. But now, I wasn't so sure. Ryan's sudden appearance had thrown everything into question, and I couldn't shake the feeling that there was more going on than I understood.
A knock on the door pulled me from my thoughts. I looked up, expecting to see my assistant, but instead, Aaron walked in. His presence caught me off guard. He rarely visited to my office, he preferred to keep our lives as separate as possible.
"Aaron," I said, surprised. "What are you doing here?"
He closed the door behind him, his expression as unreadable as ever. "I wanted to check in."
Check in? Since when did he care enough to check in?
"How's the company?" he asked, his tone emotionless.
"The same," I replied, wary of his sudden interest. "We're still working on stabilizing things, but it's going to take time."
Aaron nodded, his eyes scanning the room briefly before settling on me. "Good. We need it to stay afloat."
I bristled at his choice of words. We? The only reason Hartley Enterprises was still standing was because of his support, our marriage. Without it, my family's legacy would have crumbled months ago.
"What do you want, Aaron?" I asked, tired of his cold demeanor, tired of pretending this was anything but a business arrangement.
He stared at me for a long moment, his jaw tightening. "I want to make sure you understand your role, Mia."
I blinked, taken aback. "My role?"
"Yes," he said, stepping closer, his gaze hardening. "You're my wife now. And that means you're part of this family. You have responsibilities, not just to Hartley Enterprises, but to Montgomery Enterprises as well. To me."
My heart pounded in my chest. This was new. Aaron had never spoken to me like this before, as though I owed him something beyond our contract. As though I were bound to him in ways I hadn't anticipated.
"You've never cared about what I do," I shot back, my voice rising slightly. "Why now?"
Aaron's eyes darkened, a flash of anger crossing his face. "Because things are changing, Mia. You need to be prepared."
"Prepared for what?" I asked, my frustration boiling over. "You don't tell me anything, Aaron! You married me to save my company, but you've kept me in the dark about everything else. What's going on?"
He didn't respond right away. Instead, he took a step back, his gaze cold and distant once again. "Just do your part," he said, his voice was sharp. "That's all I ask."
With that, he turned and walked out, leaving me standing there, confused and angry. What was happening? What had changed? And why was Aaron suddenly acting like this marriage was more than just a transaction?
As I stood there, trying to make sense of his cryptic words, my phone buzzed on the desk. I glanced down and saw a new message from an unknown number.
You're playing a dangerous game, Mia. Be careful who you trust.
I stared at the screen, my heart racing. The message was unsigned, but I didn't need a name to know who it was from.
Ryan.
He was watching me. And whatever game he was playing, I had just been dragged into the middle of it.