The bride vanished fifteen minutes before the engagement banquet began. And I was left by her to face the most untouchable man in all of Fiaris.
“Hand over Valeria. If you do not, you will take her place at the wedding in two weeks.” Ajax Grimwald slid the wedding ring toward me, his voice cold as a verdict.
Valeria ran from her engagement, so why should I sacrifice my whole life for it?
“I truly do not know where she is.” My throat tightened.
Ajax sat across from me, his tone steady. The hairs on the back of my neck still stood on end.
Downstairs, the engagement banquet between the Grimwald and Fetter families was about to start. This was not the wedding itself, yet it carried immense weight: the two houses would seal their betrothal before relatives and business partners, and Ajax would marry Valeria Fetter in two weeks.
Valeria was gone now.
And I, Penelope Vilehart, was the last person to see her. Worse still, she had fled wearing my coat.
Ajax lifted his gaze to meet mine.
I understood in that instant why women in Fiaris still flocked to Ajax Grimwald even knowing how dangerous he was.
His handsomeness carried an aggressive edge. The black suit framed his broad shoulders and narrow waist, his features deep and detached, his jawline sharp and arrogant. He only sat there with one long leg crossed over the other, yet he radiated nobility, restraint, danger. And devastating sex appeal.
“Surveillance footage captured you and Valeria swapping clothes.”
“She begged me to.” I tightened my grip on my skirt, crumpling the fabric beneath my fingers.
“She left through the back door wearing your coat.”
“She said she only needed to step outside for some fresh air.”
“The note she left states you would help her.”
I jerked my head up, a heavy weight settling in my chest.
Ajax pushed the letter across the table. The handwriting belonged unmistakably to Valeria.
【Poppy, you are my best friend. You will help me win my freedom. Once all this is over, I will come back for you.】
Those few short lines landed like a slap. My fingertips turned icy, yet anger burned inside my chest.
She had not panicked on impulse. She had planned every detail. She wanted freedom, and a stand-in to bear the consequences for her — and that stand-in was me.
Hours earlier in the lounge, she had grabbed my wrist with tear-filled eyes and begged. “Poppy, just ten minutes. I cannot breathe. Can you cover for me?” She said the engagement suffocated her, that she only wanted quiet on the terrace and swore she would return.
I believed her and handed her my coat with its hood.
Ten minutes passed, and she did not come back. At fifteen minutes, the Fetters started searching for her. At twenty, the Grimwalds pulled the surveillance footage. Then I was “escorted” up to the top floor.
The whole process stayed polite, yet black-suited bodyguards lined the hallway and every exit was sealed. This refined confinement pressed heavier than outright violence.
I stepped back instinctively to flee the moment I walked in, and a guard blocked my path at once. Ajax lifted his gaze faintly. “Stand aside. She is not a prisoner.”
The guard retreated immediately.
My tensed shoulders relaxed a little, and a flicker of hope crossed my mind. Perhaps the rumors were exaggerated, and he was not unreasonable.
That hope shattered the next second when he pushed the letter toward me. “Explain.”
He was not gentle. He only excelled at cornering people with civility.
“She lied to me.”
Ajax tapped the ring box with one fingertip. “I can choose to believe you, but the guests downstairs will not.”
My nails dug unconsciously into my palms. Sharp pain spread, and cold crept through my veins.
Ajax kept his tone even. “Guests fill the venue tonight — kin, board members, business associates. Everyone expects me to marry Valeria in two weeks. Word of this elopement will make the Grimwalds a laughingstock, breach the Fetter contract, and sink both families’ projects.”
“Then go find her!” My speech quickened, panic rising in my eyes. “I am a victim too!”
“I will search for her. But the guests downstairs need an explanation within fifteen minutes.” Ajax looked straight at me. “You have two choices.”
My heart constricted hard. My back pressed against the cool chair, and a foreboding weight settled over me.
“First, tell me where Valeria is. Second, bring her back within two weeks.”
I froze, my mind blank for a moment. “What if I cannot find her?”
Ajax slid the ring box an inch closer to me. “You marry me.”
The air seemed to drain out of the room instantly. My pupils trembled, and I wondered if I had misheard. “That is impossible!”
Ajax’s expression did not shift, as though negotiating a corporate acquisition.
“Mr. Grimwald, have you lost your mind?” I shot to my feet, my knee striking the table edge to send a dull ache through me. “I am not Valeria. I am no Fetter heiress. I do not belong to your circle at all!”
“You do now.”