Chapter 4: The First Meeting

The deep voice from the other side sent a small jolt through her.

Selena tightened her grip slightly against the metal handles before slowly pushing the doors open. They were heavier than she expected. Cool air drifted against her skin as the scent of cedar and expensive leather settled around her almost immediately. For a brief second, Selena forgot how to breathe properly.

Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked the glowing skyline of Ashbourne while warm amber lighting reflected softly across dark wood shelves lined with neatly arranged books and crystal decanters. 

An expansive desk sat near the center of the office, its surface organized with almost intimidating precision.

The entire room felt expensive, controlled, and quiet in the same way private museums often felt. 

And sitting behind the massive desk was Adrian Kingston. 

His black hair had been neatly combed away from his face, revealing sharp features that looked almost unfairly composed beneath the warm office lighting. Dark eyes lifted toward her slowly beneath strong brows while a sharply defined jawline only added to the naturally intimidating aura surrounding him.

He was undeniably attractive. 

But that wasn’t what unsettled her most. 

It was the stillness.

Adrian Kingston barely moved, yet the entire office somehow felt arranged around his presence, as though everyone who entered the room instinctively understood who controlled it without needing to be reminded. 

His fingers turned another page before setting the document aside neatly.

“Selena Reed.”

Her name sounded strangely different in his voice. Calm. Certain. Not a question, but a statement.

“Yes,” Selena said awkwardly. “Hi.”

Adrian closed the file resting in front of him.

“Sit.”

The single word sounded calm. Not harsh or raised, yet somehow it still carried the kind of authority that made refusal feel impossible.

Selena hesitated only briefly before forcing herself forward. The leather chair across from his desk felt far softer than she expected as she carefully lowered herself into the seat.

Silence settled over the office almost immediately afterward, heavy in a way she couldn’t quite explain.

Across from her, Adrian studied her quietly.

She looked smaller than he expected, with soft features and a petite frame that contrasted sharply against the intimidating atmosphere of the office.

Strands of brown hair framed a face that lacked the polished sophistication common among wealthy socialites and heiresses. Her large almond-shaped eyes carried a nervousness she could not quite hide, frequently darting away whenever they met his gaze.

Finally, Adrian broke the silence.

“You graduated from Ashbourne University.”

Selena blinked slightly.

“Yes?”

“You earned a degree in finance.”

“…Yes.”

“You currently work as a senior financial analyst at Hartwell Financial Consulting.”

She stared at him for a moment before letting out a quiet breath.

“I’m starting to feel like I walked into a job interview.”

Something almost resembling amusement flickered briefly behind Adrian’s eyes before disappearing again.

“How long have you worked there?”

“Almost five years.”

“Stable employment. No criminal record. No significant debt outside of your mother’s medical expenses.”

Selena stared at him.

A sudden flare of irritation tightened inside her chest.

Here she was being dissected like a case file while knowing almost nothing about the man sitting across from her beyond what she had managed to find online.

“Do you normally investigate every woman your family tries to marry you off to?”

A faint silence followed.

Adrian didn’t react immediately.

“I investigate anything connected to the Kingston name.”

“No,” Selena replied quietly. “That wasn’t what I asked.”

Adrian leaned back slightly in his chair. The movement was small and controlled, yet somehow it made his attention feel far more direct than before.

“No,” he said calmly. “Normally my family doesn’t arrange marriages for me.”

Selena hadn’t expected a real answer.

Adrian’s gaze remained steady on her.

“What exactly do you think you agreed to, Ms. Reed?”

The question caught her slightly off guard.

Selena looked down briefly toward her hands before answering carefully.

“A contract.”

Adrian said nothing.

She slowly looked back up.

“An arrangement,” she corrected more quietly. “One that your family wants and my mother needs.”

“And you’re comfortable with that?”

Selena almost laughed at the question.

Comfortable?

There was nothing comfortable about any of this.

“I think comfort stopped being part of the situation a while ago.”

Something unreadable flickered briefly across Adrian’s expression.

Outside the windows behind him, the city lights continued glowing beneath the darkening evening sky while distant traffic moved far below like streams of gold.

After a brief silence, Adrian spoke again.

“You agreed very quickly.”

Selena let out a slow breath.

“My mother was running out of time.”

“That wasn’t what I meant.”

Her gaze lifted back toward him.

“Most people would’ve negotiated for more,” Adrian continued evenly. “Money. Property. Security arrangements.”

Selena frowned slightly.

“My mother was about to lose access to surgery,” she said quietly. “I wasn’t thinking about vacation homes.”

For the briefest moment, Adrian fell silent. Not because her answer surprised him, but because it didn’t fit what he expected.

Every person who approached the Kingston family usually wanted something, whether they admitted it openly or not. Status, money, influence, or proximity to power.

Yet sitting across from him, Selena seemed almost uninterested in wealth altogether. It made her strangely difficult to read.

Across the desk, Selena studied him carefully for a moment before speaking again.

“Do you even want this marriage?”

The question lingered quietly between them. After a long moment, Adrian finally spoke.

“What I want has very little to do with this arrangement.”

The answer should have sounded cold.

Instead, it sounded exhausting.

And strangely, that unsettled Selena far more than indifference would have.

Adrian’s gaze settled back on her calmly.

“You’re nervous.”

Selena let out a quiet breath that almost resembled a laugh.

“I’m sitting in the office of a billionaire I agreed to marry three days ago,” she replied softly. “I think being nervous is a pretty reasonable reaction.”

Something almost resembling amusement flickered briefly across Adrian’s expression before disappearing again. 

Then he reached across the desk and pressed a button near the intercom.

A few moments later, a sharp knock sounded against the office doors.

“Come in.”

Nathan stepped inside smoothly.

“Yes, sir?”

“Arrange image preparation sessions for Ms. Reed.”

Selena blinked.

“Image preparation?”

Her gaze instinctively lowered toward her own outfit before lifting back toward Adrian.

He continued without pause.

“Wardrobe consultations. Personal stylists. Etiquette training. Media preparation.”

Nathan nodded immediately.

“I’ll begin arranging everything tonight.”

Only then did Adrian look directly toward Selena again.

“If you’re going to represent the Kingston family publicly, Ms. Reed, you’ll need to be prepared.”

The words settled heavily in Selena’s chest.

Until now, everything had still felt strangely distant, nothing more than a contract signed out of desperation and necessity.

But suddenly, it felt real.

Painfully real.