Aria woke up before her alarm.
That alone unsettled her.
For a few quiet seconds, she lay still in her bed, staring at the ceiling, half-expecting the memory of yesterday to dissolve like mist. The office. The grey eyes. The way her instincts had screamed at her to run.
But the memory stayed.
Clear. Sharp. Real.
She sat up slowly.
Today was the briefing.
Her phone buzzed on the bedside table.
Ethan:
"Morning. Free today? Let's spend some time."
Her chest softened a little at the normalcy of it. Ethan was safe. Ethan was familiar. Ethan was childhood summers and scraped knees and shared secrets.
She typed back quickly.
"I start my internship briefing today."
His reply came almost instantly.
"At Obsidian Holdings? I saw the news about their recruitment.
I'll drop you off."
She hesitated.
Obsidian Holdings.
The name alone made her stomach tighten.
But refusing him would raise questions she wasn't ready to answer.
"Okay." She agreed and texted him her address.
The ride was calm.
Too calm.
Ethan talked about an upcoming interview, about rehearsals, about a brand deal. His voice was warm, animated. Famous now. Polished.
Yet every time Aria looked at him, she saw the boy who used to climb mango trees with her.
"Relax," he said lightly when he noticed her fidgeting. "You look like you're about to face a dragon."
'If only you knew.' she thought.
"It's just nerves," she muttered.
The car pulled into the parking lot of Obsidian Holdings.
The building rose into the sky like a monument to power. Glass. Steel. Cold perfection.
Her heartbeat sped up.
The engine stopped.
She opened the car door.
And then...
"Is that Ethan Manois?!"
The shriek sliced through the air.
Aria froze.
Three girls near the curb were already lifting their phones.
"Oh my God, it's him!"
Click.
Click.
Click.
The sound multiplied like a swarm.
Ethan stepped out from the driver's side, a quiet sigh slipping past his lips before his public smile slid perfectly into place.
More people were turning.
A delivery man paused.
Two women across the street began recording.
A group of students hurried closer.
"Who's the girl with him?"
"She came out of his car!"
Her pulse pounded in her ears.
This was bad.
Ethan leaned closer to her and murmured, "Stay close."
He draped an arm around her shoulders, protective, instinctive.
The cameras went wild.
"They're hugging!"
"Is that his girlfriend?"
"She's so pretty!"
Aria wanted to disappear.
"I'm sorry," she whispered.
Ethan gave a small chuckle. "It's fine. Comes with the job."
But she saw it, that brief flicker of annoyance in his eyes. Not at her. At the exposure.
Fans were crossing the street now.
"Ethan! One picture please!"
He obliged, stepping slightly away from Aria to create distance, but the damage was done.
Phones kept turning back to her.
Zooming in.
Recording.
Documenting.
Her name would trend before lunch.
Her chest tightened.
What if he sees this?
Her eyes instinctively drifted toward the building.
And that was when she saw it.
A sleek black limousine glided into the lot.
Silent.
Controlled.
Dangerous.
The door opened.
A tall figure stepped out.
Black tailored suit.
Black gloves.
Black mask.
The world seemed to quiet around him.
Even the chaos of fans felt muted.
He didn't look at Ethan.
He didn't look at the crowd.
He looked at her.
Even behind the mask, she felt it.
That gaze.
Cold. Assessing.
Possessive.
Her breath caught.
Judging by the physique alone, broad shoulders, commanding posture — she knew.
The CEO.
He wore a mask to work.
Meaning no one had seen his face.
Not the employees.
Not the media.
No one.
Except her.
And suddenly the paparazzi didn't feel like the biggest problem anymore.
Because that masked figure stood still for one second too long, watching her step out of another man's car.
Watching Ethan's arm around her shoulders.
Watching.
"Aria."
Ethan nudged her gently.
She blinked.
The limousine door shut.
The masked CEO turned without a word and walked toward the entrance. Each step calm. Controlled. Powerful.
Untouchable.
A shiver slid down her spine.
"You zoned out," Ethan said softly.
"I'm fine," she lied.
But she wasn't.
Not when she could still feel that unseen gaze lingering like a brand on her skin.
She thanked Ethan quickly and stepped away from him, putting distance between them just as flashes of light burst again.
As she walked toward the building, she didn't dare look back.
But she knew.
He had seen everything.
And for reasons she couldn't explain...
It felt like a mistake.
The inside of Obsidian Holdings felt different today.
Quieter.
Heavier.
Aria forced her shoulders back as she approached the reception desk.
"You're one of the selected interns," the receptionist confirmed with a polite smile. "The briefing room is on the fifteenth floor."
The elevator ride felt too long.
When the doors opened, she spotted the other two interns immediately.
A tall girl with sleek hair and sharp eyes, confident, observant.
A bespectacled guy flipping nervously through a small notebook.
They both looked up when Aria entered.
"You're the third one, right?" the girl asked.
Aria nodded, offering a small smile. "Yeah."
For a moment, things felt… normal.
They introduced themselves. Made small talk. Laughed lightly about how competitive the interview process had been.
For two hours, HR walked them through company policies, expectations, confidentiality agreements. The tone was strict but standard.
No public scandals.
No data leaks.
No misconduct.
Nothing unusual.
Nothing about relationships.
Nothing about—
"Miss Aria Vale?"
Her name cut through the room.
She turned.
A man in a tailored suit stood by the door. Expression unreadable.
"The CEO requests your presence."
Silence fell.
The other two interns stared at her.
The CEO? Again?
Her stomach dropped.
"I—" Her throat felt dry. "Now?"
"Yes."
Her palms began to sweat.
She stood slowly, aware of every curious gaze following her out of the room.
The walk to the executive floor felt like walking toward something inevitable.
The door to his office opened.
She stepped inside.
And froze.
Kael Draven sat behind his massive desk, back straight, suit immaculate. The mask lay on the desk beside him.
His face was visible.
Those grey eyes lifted to meet hers.
They weren't red.
They weren't glowing.
They were calm.
Cold.
Deadly quiet.
A large screen behind him displayed something.
Her breath caught.
It was a news article.
A picture of her stepping out of Ethan's car.
His arm around her shoulders.
Flash captured mid-hug.
Headline in bold:
"Celebrity Ethan Manois Spotted With Mystery Girlfriend at Obsidian Holdings — Secret Relationship Exposed?"
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
The room felt smaller.
Kael didn't speak immediately.
He simply stared at the screen.
Then at her.
Then back at the screen.
Silence.
It was worse than shouting.
"It's not what it looks like," she said quickly. "He's just— we grew up together. It wasn't planned. I didn't know people would—"
"It is against the conduct of Obsidian Holdings," he interrupted calmly, "for any employee's love life to be public."
Her brows furrowed. "That wasn't mentioned in the briefing."
"It was not."
She blinked.
"Then how was I supposed to—"
"It is a rule," he said evenly, eyes locking onto hers, "that was made for you."
Her pulse skipped.
"For… me?"
He leaned back slightly, fingers steepled.
"You attract attention, Miss Vale."
The way he said her name made her skin prickle.
"I didn't do anything wrong," she whispered.
His gaze dropped briefly to the image of Ethan's arm around her shoulders.
Something unreadable flickered in his eyes.
Then it vanished.
"You will not be interning under general management," he said coolly.
Her stomach twisted.
"You will intern directly under me."
Her breath caught.
"As my personal assistant."
The room went silent again.
Personal assistant?
"That wasn't part of the selection criteria," she said carefully.
"No," he agreed.
"It is now."
Her mind raced.
This wasn't normal.
Nothing about this was normal.
"You can't just change—"
"You may decline."
Her heart pounded.
"But understand," he continued calmly, "positions here are limited. Easily replaced."
The implication hung heavy in the air.
Her internship.
Her future.
Dangling.
Her fingers curled into her palms.
Why me?
Why isolate me?
Why bring me closer?
Her thoughts spiraled.
And then something hit her.
Why would he risk showing her his face again?
The media had never captured it.
The employees whispered about it.
Yet here she stood.
Looking at him.
Unmasked.
Unless—
Unless he wasn't worried about her speaking.
Unless he knew she wouldn't.
Or couldn't.
A chill crawled up her spine.
His eyes didn't leave hers.
"Report to my office tomorrow morning," he said softly. "Eight sharp."
She didn't answer.
Because suddenly, terrifyingly—
She wasn't sure if she was being promoted.
Or trapped.
And as she turned to leave, his voice stopped her.
"Miss Vale."
She froze.
"If another headline like this appears…"
A pause.
"Your internship will not be the only thing you lose."
Her breath hitched.
She didn't look back.
But as she stepped out of his office, one thought echoed in her mind—
Was this about company policy…
Or was this about Ethan?
And why did it feel like Kael Draven had just moved her from the outside world…
Into his?