Orion's POV

I woke with a jolt, my heart still hammering from the heated, chaotic rush of last night. The sheets beside me were empty, and I quickly scanned the room, only to find it completely still. My breath caught in my throat as panic hit me like a wave.

Where is she?

I shot out of bed, barely able to focus as I fumbled with my shirt, my mind racing. Ava. She couldn’t have just—she couldn’t have left. I had to make sure everything was okay.

I threw my shirt on, haphazardly buttoning it, my mind spinning as I fastened my belt. I grabbed my phone, dialing her number urgently, but the line went straight to voicemail. I cursed under my breath, dialing again. Same result. My pulse quickened. What did I have to do for her to really see me? To understand what I was trying to do?

I couldn’t sit there and wait as panic clawed at my chest. I stormed out of the office, making my way down the corridor and straight to the entrance. “Where is Mrs Miller?” I demanded, my voice sharp with worry.

The security guard looked up, his gaze steady as he pointed down the hall. “Meeting room, sir.”

I nodded curtly and made my way there, my steps echoing in the silent hall. When I reached the door, I paused before pushing it open, taking a deep breath to steady myself. The sight that greeted me made my heart skip.

Ava.

She was in the middle of a meeting, her sharp eyes flicking over the papers before her, but she had already changed. A red dress, so tight it clung to her body in all the right places, a perfect fit that made my blood burn with desire. I couldn’t help but imagine how easily that dress would tear off her. How I’d have her again, like last night.

Her gaze lifted, and for a brief moment, our eyes locked. I swear I saw a smile tug at her lips, something subtle but there nonetheless.

Did she just smile at me?

My heart started to pound faster, a reaction I couldn’t control. Could it be? Was she finally starting to warm up to me?

I crossed the room quickly, purposefully, and dropped into the chair beside hers. The room fell into a quiet tension for a few moments before Ava cleared her throat and introduced me to the clients. "This is Orion, my husband and co-owner of the company."

The words hit me like a tidal wave, a smile breaking out across my face, one I couldn’t stop. My heart fluttered in a way I didn’t think was possible, like I was some teenager having a crush for the first time. I am her husband.

The meeting continued, but I couldn’t focus on anything other than her—the way her dress clung to her curves, the way her lips formed words as she interacted with the clients. When it was finally over, and the clients left, I couldn’t wait any longer. I stood up, moving closer to Ava, leaning in, teasing her.

"First time calling me husband in public, huh?" I whispered, my voice low and playful. “This really calls for a celebration. I’ll reward you for this honor—wear you out tonight, just like last time."

But before she could respond, Rose, her assistant, cleared her throat from across the room. Ava and I both turned to see her standing there, her expression unreadable.

Ava’s face changed almost instantly, her eyes narrowing. A notification popped up on her phone, and when she read it, her entire mood shifted.

Her smile, the one she had been teasing with, was gone in an instant. Her hand jerked away from mine, and she stood up abruptly, the cold, icy mask returning to her face.

She didn’t look at me again. Without another word, she stormed off, Rose following close behind, casting a disdainful glance at me as she passed.

What the hell just happened? What changed so quickly?

Confused, I stood there for a moment, staring at the door, my mind racing. What was in that message? Why did she go from warm to ice cold in seconds?

Before I could fully process it, my phone rang.

It was my mother.

“Orion, I fell... I slipped on the stairs,” her voice crackled through the line, strained with pain.

A mix of worry and panic shot through me again, and I barely said goodbye before I rushed out the door. The ride to the mansion felt like an eternity, my mind still stuck on Ava, the mystery of that message, and what had just unfolded.

When I arrived, I found my mother on the couch, bandaged up, a crutch beside her. She looked up at me with a tired smile.

“I’ll be fine. The doctor said I shouldn’t put pressure on the legs until it’s healed,” she reassured me, but I could see the worry in her eyes.

I stayed with her, comforting her for a while, but my mind kept drifting back to Ava. What had happened in that meeting? What was that message about? And why had her mood changed so quickly?

I couldn’t shake the feeling that Chloe had something to do with it.

I needed to know.

I walked upstairs, my steps heavy, determined to find answers. What if Chloe had something to do with Ava’s sudden shift? What if she was pulling the strings again?

The door to Chloe’s room was slightly ajar, and I froze just outside it. What was going on in there?

I reached for the doorknob, my heart pounding in my chest. Would I get the answers I needed? Or would I find something that would shatter everything?

And just as my fingers brushed the door, I heard a voice from inside.

A voice I wasn’t expecting.

“Did you do it?”

The question hung in the air like a heavy weight. And I froze.