Chapter 74: Between Choice And Consequence
Forty-five minutes away from Gavriel’s mansion, Aliana drove swiftly towards Van Empire, yet every corner of her mind remained hopelessly occupied by him.
She had barely managed to sleep throughout the entire night and could only bla her overactive thoughts that had relentlessly replayed every single word he had spoken the previous evening, along with the cruel deadline hanging over her like a blade waiting to fall.
At least, thanks to Nigel’s frantic wake-up call and Winston’s remarkable attentiveness in preparing a fresh set of clothes for her, she would still make it to the office just in ti.
While leaving his mansion earlier, she had not caught even the slightest glimpse of the devil himself. Leaving her uncertain whether she would see him at the eting with Archon Group or not.
But honestly, that was the least of her concerns right now, because whether she liked it or not, she still had to et him before eight tonight if she intended to give him a final answer.
The thought alone made her grip around the steering wheel tighten unconsciously.
The entire night, she had done nothing but torture herself by thinking over every possible option she had if she chose to walk away from his proposal.
And the mont the word proposal crossed her mind again, she felt another nerve in her head pop.
"Just who even proposes like that?!" she hissed irritably inside the car.
"That was not even a proper proposal. It sounded more like a command, like he did not even think he needed to ask and could just blatantly throw those words at !"
A deep scowl ford on her face before she suddenly paused.
"But wait..." she muttered slowly, her brows furrowing. "Why do I even care about the way he proposed when there’s a very good chance I might not even go through with it...?"
And yet, for so reason, that thought did not bring her nearly as much relief as it should have.
Because walking away from this also ant... walking away from him forever.
His words echoed through her mind once again.
"You will simply be Aliana Vanderbilt... heiress to the Van Empire, and I will remain the chairman of Archon Group. Nothing more. Nothing else."
"And we’ll forget this ever happened."
At the mory of those words, she did not understand why her heart suddenly tightened faintly inside her chest. A strange emptiness slowly spread through her as the irritation on her features faded, replaced instead by an oddly sombre expression.
"Never seek him out again, huh?" she whispered quietly to herself, only to feel a faintly bitter taste settle in her mouth at the thought.
Why? Why was this affecting her this much?
Hadn’t she only sought him out because she needed help with her situation?
So if she chose to walk away now... then none of this should matter to her at all.
Then why was she still dwelling on him so relentlessly?
"It ans... you’ll be mine and mine alone."
The instant another tendril of his low whisper curled through her mind, her heart skipped against her chest.
Aliana’s expression slowly turned serious as she whispered under her breath, "It ans... I’ll be your wife, and it won’t just be in na."
The thought alone made her heart react strangely once again, stirring emotions within her that she could not even begin to na.
Just then, the towering Van Empire building finally ca into view ahead.
Taking a smooth turn towards the entrance, she tightened her grip on the steering wheel before muttering softly to herself, "You’ve got this, Aliana. Just get through this eting first... then you can think about everything else."
But even as she told herself that, deep down, she already knew there was absolutely no way she would be able to keep him out of her thoughts.
The gates automatically opened upon recognising her car, and she smoothly drove into the driveway.
Nigel, who had already been waiting for her, quickly rushed forward to pull the car door open. Stepping out, Aliana adjusted the olive-green silk-tailored business suit Winston had brought for her earlier.
She was honestly surprised that he had managed to get her size perfectly right, and even the style was exactly what she usually wore, making her realise the butler had truly gone above and beyond.
What puzzled her more was how he had managed to arrange clothes for her so quickly.
But then, another unpleasant thought suddenly crept into her mind.
Was this sothing he was simply accustod to doing for any woman who stayed at the mansion before her?
That single thought instantly soured her mood.
The faint smile on Nigel’s face imdiately dropped the mont he watched her expression darken without warning.
"Um... good morning, boss," he greeted cautiously.
"Morning," Aliana replied shortly before handing her car keys to the guard and walking towards the building entrance.
Nigel hurried after her, silently wondering which unfortunate soul had managed to piss her off so early in the morning.
Trying to ease the dangerously heavy atmosphere around her, Nigel cautiously comnted, "You actually made it just in ti, boss. The Archon Group still hasn’t arrived for the eting."
"Hm."
That was the only response Aliana gave as she strode towards the executive elevator without slowing her steps.
The mont the employees noticed the expression on her face, the bustling lobby instantly quietened as people instinctively. No one dared remain in the path of the infamous she-devil when she looked like she was only one bad sentence away from destroying soone’s entire career.
As soon as the elevator doors slid shut, silence swallowed the confined space.
Nigel stood stiffly beside her, practically biting his tongue to stop himself from asking where exactly she had co from. After all, she had clearly told him earlier that she was "a little far from the city".
For a brief second, he wondered whether she had spent the night at one of Miss Jade’s private properties.
But the mont that thought crossed his mind, he was abruptly pulled from his musings when Aliana suddenly spoke.
"Nigel, what are my options for getting rid of this ghost situation I keep experiencing?"
Nigel was visibly caught off guard by the sudden question and honestly had no idea how he was supposed to answer it.
After fumbling for a mont, he finally replied in a small voice, "Um... didn’t you say Mister Valentine was willing to help?"
The mont those words left his mouth, Nigel imdiately felt as though he would have been better off physically shoving them right back down his throat on eting with Aliana’s deadly glare.
Quickly raising both hands in surrender, he blurted out, "I-I’m sorry, boss, but I genuinely have no idea either... just like you."
Aliana could only sigh tiredly because she could not even bla Nigel when she herself had run out of solutions.
Pressing her lips into a thin line, she muttered quietly, "Never mind."
At that exact mont, the elevator gave a soft ding before the doors smoothly slid open, making Nigel secretly sigh in relief.
Still lost in her thoughts, Aliana stepped out first, completely unprepared for what happened next.
Her heel accidentally caught against soone else’s foot, making her stumble forward abruptly.
Before she could regain her balance, strong arms suddenly wrapped around her waist while her face crashed straight against a hard chest.
A wave of shocked gasps instantly rippled through the surrounding area at the unexpected sight before them.
"Ow," Aliana hissed softly before her nose was suddenly assaulted by an unfamiliar scent that imdiately made her brows wrinkle.
"Boss!" Nigel exclaid from behind her in alarm.
Still gripping the person she had collided with, Aliana steadied herself before finally lifting her head with an irritated scowl already forming on her face.
Only to et a pair of dull yellow eyes staring back at her.
Jacob smiled faintly before asking softly, "Are you alright, Aliana?"
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