Malissa woke up to noise.
Not silence.
Voices.
Low. Controlled. Present.
For a moment, she lay still, her body heavy with exhaustion, her mind slow to catch up.
Then it registered.
This wasn't the quiet of the penthouse.
Something had changed.
Her eyes opened slowly.
Sunlight streamed through the tall glass windows, spilling across the polished floors and soft furnishings of the room. The ocean beyond the cliffs shimmered faintly under the morning light, calm and endless. Pacifica Heights was already awake.
Her chest tightened slightly.
Something felt different.
She pushed the covers aside and stepped out of bed, slipping into a robe before walking toward the living room. The closer she got, the clearer the voices became. A television. News. And Mike's voice, calm but alert.
She stepped into the living room.
The television screen glowed brightly against the modern interior, the news anchor speaking with sharp excitement. Mike stood near the window, a tablet in his hand, his expression serious.
Malissa followed his gaze to the screen.
And froze.
#Mysterious Woman spotted with Alexander Marquez.#
The headline stretched boldly across the screen.
The image beneath it was unmistakable.
Her.
Another headline flashed.
#Unknown Woman Appears at Marquez Birthday Dinner.#
Another.
#Who is she?#
Her breath caught.
More images appeared. Photos from the night before. Her standing beside Alexander. Her stepping out of the car. Her face, captured from every angle.
#The Woman Beside Pacifica Heights' Most Powerful Bachelor.#
# Rumors surround Marquez Heir's Private Relationship.#
Her chest tightened painfully.
"They are not even sure," she whispered, "It's just speculation."
Mike stepped closer and handed her the tablet. "It's everywhere."
Her fingers trembled slightly as she took it. The screen was filled with articles, photos, and comments. Headlines. Speculation. Analysis. Questions asking who she was again and again.
She swallowed hard. "I didn't expect this."
Her voice felt distant, like it belonged to someone else.
From behind her, a calm voice answered.
"You should have."
Alexander entered the room as if nothing was unusual. His expression was composed, his movements steady, as though this level of attention was simply part of his everyday life.
He glanced at the screen, then at her.
"You are part of my life now," he said. "The media comes with it."
Malissa looked at him.
He was calm.
Completely calm.
As if the entire world watching her was nothing.
Her fingers tightened slightly around the tablet.
For her, everything had changed overnight.
For him, nothing had.
By mid morning, the situation had only escalated.
The internet was alive.
Photos from the dinner had spread across every platform, every news outlet, every gossip page. Comments flooded in faster than they could be read.
Malissa sat on the couch, scrolling slowly, her expression growing tighter with each comment.
@White Lotus: [ She's beautiful.]
@DramaLover789: [She's lucky.]
@IHateGoldDiggers: [She's a gold digger.]
@VelvetTea:
WHO IS SHE??? Since when does he attend events with women?]
@DramaLlama99: [Wait… isn't he famously single?? I smell something BIG.]
@CEO_Watcher: [Checked all the major heiress lists. She's not from any known wealthy family.]
@BillionaireBride: [No because why is she standing that close to him like they're familiar??]
@CapsLockQueen: [WITH HIM???
OH THIS IS NOT A DRILL 🚨🚨🚨]
@HiddenLotus: [Contract relationship or real? Place your bets 👀]
@WhisperNet: [Insider here. Heard she arrived WITH him, not as a guest.]
@Dayce_xo : [The way he's looking at her in that second photo… that's not fake.]
@SavageSociety: [Another woman chasing money.]
@TeaOverflow: [If this turns out to be his girlfriend, the internet is going to EXPLODE.]
Her chest tightened with every line.
People she had never met. People who knew nothing about her. Judging her. Deciding who she was.
Her images trended on the internet for everyone to dissect.
'I can't do this anymore'.
At Aurora Publishing, the reaction was immediate.
Phones buzzed. Screens lit up. Staff gathered in small groups, whispering and scrolling.
"That's her."
"She works here."
"She's his girlfriend?"
Mrs Grant stood near her desk, staring at her phone in disbelief, her lips pressed tightly together.
"No," she muttered under her breath. "That can't be…"
The world Malissa knew was colliding with the world she had just entered.
And there was no separation anymore.
In the study, Alexander sat behind his desk, already working.
Mike stood across from him, tablet in hand, taking notes quickly.
"Control the narrative," Alexander said calmly.
"No speculation about her personal history."
"Yes, sir."
"Remove anything related to her family from public platforms. I don't want her father's case circulating."
Mike nodded. "Already in progress."
"No confirmation yet," Alexander said. "Let them speculate. It keeps attention controlled."
"Yes, sir."
Alexander leaned back slightly, his voice steady.
"Prepare a clean public profile for her," Alexander continued. "Occupation, education, interests. Nothing controversial. Pending the confirmation release."
Malissa stood quietly near the door, listening.
It felt unreal.
Hospitals. Lawyers. Banks. Media.
He controlled everything.
He remained calm.
Alexander glanced briefly toward Malissa.
"This is temporary chaos," he said. "It will settle."
She nodded, though her chest still felt tight.
Temporary for him.
Overwhelming for her.
That evening, the city felt different.
Pacifica Heights came alive at night in a way that was both beautiful and intimidating. Skyline Avenue glowed under golden lights, luxury boutiques reflecting in polished glass windows. Cars moved smoothly along the streets, and the ocean stretched dark and endless beside the cliffs.
The car stopped in front of The Glasshouse.
The rooftop lounge rose above the city, its glass walls reflecting the skyline and the night sky. Inside, soft music played, and silhouettes of well dressed guests moved under warm lighting.
Before Malissa could fully process where they were, the doors opened.
And the cameras came.
Flashes. Voices. Shouts.
"Mr. Marquez is she the woman from the dinner?"
"Are the rumors true?"
"Miss, are you his girlfriend?"
"Over here!"
Malissa froze.
Her body went still, her breath catching as the flashes lit up the night around her.
They didn't know. They were guessing. And somehow, that made it worse.
Then she felt it.
Alexander's hand closed around hers.
Firm. Steady. Grounding.
"Walk," he said quietly.
She swallowed and moved forward.
His presence beside her was solid, controlled, unshaken by the chaos around them. His grip on her hand tightened slightly as they moved through the crowd of paparazzi. Then let's go.
"Smile," he murmured.
She forced her lips to curve slightly.
The flashes continued.
But this time, she did not stop.
Inside, the atmosphere shifted immediately. The noise faded, replaced by quiet conversation and soft music. People turned to look, their eyes lingering longer than necessary.
No one asked directly. No one dared. But every glance carried the same question.
Alexander guided her to a reserved table near the glass wall, overlooking the city.
From there, Pacifica Heights stretched endlessly below them. The ocean shimmered faintly in the distance, and the skyline glowed like something out of a dream.
Malissa sat down slowly, her heart still racing.
Alexander took his seat beside her, his hand resting lightly at her waist as people watched. It was brief, but then he withdrew it.
His touch was subtle.
But it was protective. Natural.
As if it belonged there. She noticed.
And something in her chest shifted.
Across the city, in the Marquez mansion, the atmosphere was very different.
Clarissa paced across the room, her heels clicking sharply against the floor.
"This is ridiculous," she said, her voice tight with anger. "She is not suitable."
Helena sat calmly, a glass of wine in her hand, her expression composed.
"No," she said softly. "She is not."
Clarissa stopped, turning toward her. "Then why is she still there?"
Helena's eyes narrowed slightly. "Because Alexander allowed it."
Clarissa clenched her fists. "She is nothing. An outsider. An embarrassment."
Helena smiled faintly.
"Then we find her weakness."
Clarissa's eyes lit slightly. "I want everything. Her background. Her family. Her past."
Helena nodded slowly. "We will investigate. Quietly."
Clarissa's voice dropped. "I will expose her."
Helena's gaze remained calm.
"And when you do," she said softly, "make sure it destroys her completely."
Back at The Glasshouse, Malissa sat quietly, her glass untouched in front of her.
The noise from outside had faded, but she could still see the occasional flash through the glass walls.
She turned slightly toward Alexander.
"Why are we here?, There are too many prying eyes"
He looked at her, his expression unreadable.
"I prefer to see how the world reacts before deciding what it deserves to know" he said.
Her chest tightened slightly.
Of course.
He needed to be in control.
Everything came back to that.
From outside, a voice rose faintly. Someone shouting something unclear, followed by laughter.
Alexander's arm shifted slightly around her, pulling her just a little closer.
"Ignore it," he said calmly.
His voice was steady. Protective.
She looked at him.
Really looked at him.
And for the first time, something felt different.
Not fear. Not anger. Something else.
Her lips curved slightly.
Not forced. Not practiced.
Real. Alexander noticed.
His gaze lingered for a brief moment longer than necessary.
The city lights reflected in her eyes.
And for the first time since this arrangement began, something unfamiliar passed through his thoughts. Not control. Not calculation.
Something quieter.
Something he did not immediately understand.
Outside, the city continued as it always did.
Inside, something had shifted again.
And neither of them said a word about it.
But silence, for the first time, did not feel empty.