Chapter 11
Liam’s sneer never wavered. “Actually, she is my concern.”
A dangerous hush settled between them.
Adrian’s gaze turned back to Aria, searching for something–anything.
But she was already turning away.
Walking toward Liam. Walking away from him. Adrian’s chest constricted. She wasn’t coming back.
And this time, he wasn’t sure he could chase her.
Aria sat in her office, fingers tapping against the polished oak desk, her intellect keen as she scanned the document in front of her. The words printed on the paper were confirmation of what she already knew.
Adrian Marsden was delving into her life.
Her phone vibrated, and she peered at the screen. Keira’s message flashed across it.
Keira: It’s worse than we expected. He’s deploying private investigators, prying into financial documents, pulling strings in government offices. He wants everything on you.
Aria’s jaw clenched. She should have expected this.
Adrian was never the kind of man who let things go. He had spent months lamenting her, pursuing her ghost. Now that he knew she was alive, he wasn’t going to sit back and watch her construct an empire.
He wanted control.
But what he didn’t know was that this time, she was ten steps ahead.
Her gaze strayed to another document sitting on the edge of her desk—a legally binding contract Adrian had no idea he was about to sign.
She smirked. If Adrian chose to play dirty, she would bury him in the dirt.
Adrian sat in his apartment, flipping over the latest information his staff had gathered. His jaw constricted as he read through them.
Aria–Isabella–had constructed an empire in just a few months.
She had purchased properties, secured investments, and forged powerful alliances–Liam Carter being the greatest one.
It didn’t make sense.
How had she come this far, this fast?
He tossed the folder onto the coffee table, his head hammering.
He had always known Isabella was intelligent. But this? This was warfare.
And what disturbed him the most?
She didn’t even hesitate to go against him.
A knock at the door took him from his thoughts. His assistant, Charlotte, stepped inside, looking uneasy.
“Sir, you have a meeting request.”
Adrian frowned. “From who?”
Charlotte hesitated. “Aria Laurent.”
Silence. Adrian’s entire body became still. She was coming to him? After everything, she was finally willing to talk?
His grip tightened over the armrest of his chair.
“Set it up,” he instructed.
Charlotte nodded and exited, but Adrian didn’t move.
His mind was already churning, calculating. Why now?
Why after weeks of silence–after their disagreement, after Liam Carter–was she suddenly reaching out?
There was only one way to find out.
The restaurant was quiet, intimate–the kind of place where powerful bargains were struck behind closed doors.
Adrian arrived first, his back straight, his demeanor inscrutable. But behind the surface, he was blazing.
Then, the door opened. Aria walked in, unrushed, unbothered and untouchable.
She wore a dark blue dress, her shoes tapping quietly across the marble floor as she approached the table.
Adrian stood as she reached him, watching her closely.
“You’re late,” he mumbled.
Aria smirked, settling into her seat “You should be used to waiting for me by now.”
A searing pang hit his chest, but he forced it down. He didn’t have time for emotions.
“You wanted to meet,” Adrian replied, leaning back into his chair. “Why?”
She tied her head slightly, eyeing him with those chilly, unreadable eyes. “I thought it was time we talked.”
He watched her, trying to see past the walls she had created
“Talk abeast what?”
She sighed, tapping her nails lightly against the glass of wine in front of her. “This fight between us is exhausting, Adrian. I don’t want a war.”
His jaw clinched You started it” She lifted a brow “Did (?”
Adrian breathed charply, taking a hand through his hair “What do you want, Bella?”
Het lips curved slightly “Atruce”
He narrowed his eyes. “You disappear for months, come back, erase the from your lite, and now you want a truce?”
112
Chapter 11
2/2
She shrugged. “I want to live my life without constantly looking over my shoulder. You’ve been investigating me, probing into my business. I’m offering an opportunity to put it all behind us.”
Adrian studied her closely. Something felt odd. She was too calm. Too collected.
But the reality was, he was tired, bored of chasing, bored of losing.
If this was a way to keep her close, to find a way back to her… he would take it.
“Fine,” he responded after a lengthy pause. “No more interference.”
Aria smiled slightly and reached into her bag, pulling out a folder.
“Good,” she murmured casually, handing the document across the table. “Then let’s make it official.”
Adrian scowled, looked at the papers. “What is this?”
“A business contract,” she added nonchalantly. “A small agreement. It outlines that none of us will intervene in each other’s enterprises moving forward.”
Adrian skimmed the contents. Everything appeared normal.
A non–compete provision, a mutual agreement to end hostilities, a partition of corporate interests.
He picked out a pen and signed at the bottom without a second thought.
“Done,” he murmured, pushing the folder back to her.
Aria accepted it, her fingers barely brushing across his. She smiled, not gently. not warmly.
But like a woman who had just checkmated her opponent.
“Pleasure doing business with you,” she muttered.
Adrian felt uneasy. But before he could say anything, she was already standing and already walking away.
Leaving him with the lingering impression that he had just made a dreadful mistake.
The next morning, Adrian’s world collapsed.
Charlotte stormed into his office, her face pale, holding a stack of documents.
“Sir,” she gasped. “You need to see this.”
Adrian frowned, accepting the papers.
And then-
His blood ran cold. The contract he had signed last night… It wasn’t merely a truce arrangement. It was a corporate purchase.
He hadn’t just signed a paper vowing to remain out of Aria’s way.
He had signed over crucial assets–properties, investments, and shares–directly to Laurent Global Investments. Directly to her.
