Chapter 3

The boardroom sat at the far end of the executive floor, sealed off behind a wall of tinted glass. From the outside, it looked calm. Orderly. From the inside, Evelyn would later realize, it was anything but.

She arrived early, notebook tucked under her arm, the unfamiliar weight of expectation pressing down on her shoulders. The table stretched longer than necessary, polished to a mirror finish that reflected the ceiling lights like watchful eyes. Chairs stood evenly spaced, already claiming their occupants before anyone arrived.

Lucian entered without announcement.

He didn’t look at her as he took his seat at the head of the table,his jacket buttoned, expression unreadable. The room seemed to adjust around him, conversations quieting before they had a chance to begin.

Others followed. Board members she recognized only by name. Faces she had passed in hallways without learning their stories. And then Sophia Lane walked in, heels clicking softly, confidence trailing her like perfume.

She smiled at Lucian.But he didn’t return it.

Sophia’s gaze slid to Evelyn, lingering just a second too long before she took her seat across the table. Her smile remained, unchanged, but something behind it sharpened.

Theo arrived last.

He caught Evelyn’s eye immediately, relief crossing his face. He gave her a small nod reassuring her that everything was going to be okay,as if he knew she was afraid of something and he was there to fix it. The familiar gesture eased a knot in her chest she hadn’t realized was there.

“Let’s begin,” the chairman said.

The meeting opened with numbers,charts projected onto the screen,words like growth and stability repeated until they blurred together. Evelyn wrote quickly, her pen gliding over the page, grounding her in the task.

She focused on recording, not listening.

That lasted until her name surfaced.

“The secretary,” one of the board members said casually, tapping a finger against the table. “Ms. Brooke, is it?”

Evelyn looked up. “Yes.”

“You’ve been with the company for……” a pause, brief and deliberate “...two days?”

“Yes.”

A murmur rippled through the room.

Sophia leaned back in her chair. “She’s very efficient.”

Lucian’s head turned sharply. “That wasn’t your assessment to make.”

Sophia met his gaze calmly. “I disagree.”

The chairman raised a hand. “Enough. Ms. Brooke is here because she needs to be.”

Evelyn’s pen hovered above the page.

“Needs to be?” she echoed quietly.

Theo leaned forward. “This discussion involves public perception,” he said. “Internal restructuring.”

Lucian’s jaw tightened. “You’re crossing lines”he said

Theo’s voice softened. “I’m trying to help.”

“By blindsiding me?”

Sophia interjected smoothly. “Lucian, the company is under pressure. Investors are uneasy. We need to reassure them.”

“And how,” Lucian asked, tone cool as ice, “do you plan to do that?”

The room stilled.

The chairman folded his hands. “By presenting stability.”

Evelyn felt it then, the subtle shift in the air. The way the room leaned forward, waiting.

“Family,” the chairman continued. “Commitment. Permanence.”

Lucian stood abruptly, chair scraping against the floor. “You’ve already decided.”

“We’re offering a solution,” Sophia said. “One that benefits everyone.”

Evelyn’s heart began to pound.

She set her pen down carefully. “I think there’s been a mistake.”

Theo turned to her. “Evelyn”

“I’m not part of this,” she said, her voice steady despite the way her hands trembled beneath the table.

Lucian looked at her then. This time he really looked. Something flickered in his eyes. Warning. Frustration. Something else she couldn’t name.

“You are,” the chairman said gently. “Whether you intended to be or not.”

Sophia’s lips curved. “A public commitment would quiet speculation. And given your… history with the family, it would appear organic.”

Evelyn stared at her. “My history?”

Theo inhaled sharply. “She doesn’t know everything.”

Lucian’s gaze snapped to him. “What exactly have you told her?”

Theo hesitated.The hesitation was loud.

Evelyn pushed her chair back and stood. “I’m leaving.”

Lucian moved at the same time. “This meeting is over.”

“It is not,” the chairman said. “Sit down, Lucian.”

Lucian didn’t.

Sophia’s voice softened. “You don’t have to decide today. But the board expects cooperation.”

Lucian laughed once, humorless. “You expect obedience?””

Evelyn backed toward the door, her head spinning,she couldn't believe what happened inside. She didn’t wait for permission. She walked out, heels striking the floor too loudly, breath shallow.

The hallway felt endless.

She reached the elevator and stabbed the button harder than necessary. The doors opened just as footsteps approached behind her.

“Evelyn.”

Theo.

She turned, anger burning hot beneath her ribs. “Did you know?”

He looked pained. “Not like this.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I knew the board was considering something,” he admitted. “I didn’t think they’d involve you so directly.”

“You didn’t stop them.”

He stepped closer. “Lucian won’t let anything happen without your consent.”

She laughed, bitter. “You say that like you know him better than I do.”

His expression faltered.

Behind them, Lucian appeared,his eyes dark.

“Go home,” he said to Evelyn quietly. “I’ll handle this.”

She looked at him.

For the first time, he didn’t look in control.

She shook her head. “I don’t want you handling anything for me.”

His jaw tightened. “I said go home Evelyn “. Lucian tone was commanding.

“I know what you said.”

Theo stepped between them. “Enough.”

Lucian’s gaze hardened. “This doesn’t concern you.”

Theo scoffed. “It concerns all of us.”

Sophia’s voice echoed from the boardroom doorway. “You’re making this worse.”

Lucian turned slowly. “You don’t get to speak to her.”

Sophia smiled. “I just did.”

Evelyn’s chest tightened. The walls felt closer now, the air heavier.

“I need space,” she said.

No one stopped her this time.

Outside, the city felt too bright, too loud. She walked without direction, the rhythm of her steps uneven. Her phone buzzed in her bag, but she ignored it.

“Marriage”?.

The word settled like a bruise.

She had come to Cross Corp looking for stability.

Instead, she had walked straight into a war she didn’t understand, surrounded by people who claimed to know what was best for her.

Behind her, in a glass building that reflected

nothing back, decisions were already being made.

And none of them asked what she wanted.