The morning haze hadn't even lifted from the city when Michael took Hazel by the hand, pulling her into his private study. His face was stone, but his eyes… they burned.
"I can't protect you from this unless you know everything," he said quietly, locking the door behind them.
Hazel crossed her arms. "Then tell me."
Michael hesitated — a rare thing for him — and Hazel saw for the first time the weight he carried. The battles he fought in boardrooms and back alleys. And now, here she was, thrown straight into the middle of a war that had started long before she entered his life.
"Our marriage wasn't random, Hazel," he said finally. "It wasn't about tradition. It was a move. A shield."
Hazel's brow furrowed. "What do you mean?"
Michael took a breath, then tossed a file onto the table. It slid open, revealing old photographs, contracts, and a single, damning name.
Gideon Carter. Vanessa's father.
Hazel's stomach sank. "What does he have to do with this?"
"Everything," Michael growled. "He's been trying to destroy my family's empire for years. Nexus was the one company standing between him and complete monopoly over the city's corporate sector. My father knew he was planning something… so he made a deal with your father."
Hazel stared, her throat dry. "To marry us."
Michael nodded. "Your father owed him a debt. And in return for wiping that slate clean, your hand in marriage was the price. But what neither of us knew… was that you were never meant to survive in this world, Hazel. You were supposed to be a pawn."
Hazel's heart hammered in her chest. "A pawn?"
Michael's jaw clenched. "They thought you'd fold. That you'd run, or break. It was a way to destabilize me — make me vulnerable."
Hazel felt like the floor tilted beneath her. All this time… she'd thought she was an afterthought in this high-stakes world. But she wasn't. She was bait.
"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered.
"Because somewhere along the way," he said softly, stepping closer, "I stopped seeing you as a pawn. And started seeing you as everything."
Hazel's throat tightened, the pain sharp and raw. "And Vanessa? What's her play now?"
Michael's eyes darkened. "To finish what her father started. To tear me down. And you're in her way."
A knock shattered the moment.
A slip of paper slid beneath the door.
Hazel picked it up, her hands trembling.
"Meet me at Club Verra. Tonight. No security. No husband.
— V."
Hazel's blood chilled. It was a trap. Every instinct screamed it.
And still… a smile ghosted her lips.
"Good," Hazel murmured. "Let's see how she handles a pawn who refuses to play."
Michael grabbed her wrist. "Hazel—"
"I'm not asking for permission, Michael," she said, her voice razor-sharp. "This is my fight now too."
And for the first time since he'd known her, Michael saw it.
The fire.
The recklessness.
The survivor.
And God help them all — he was falling for it...