Twelve Years Ago – The Vale Estate
"One day, you'll marry her."
Jaxon didn't flinch. He stood straight in the cold marble hall, only twelve, but already learning how to keep his face blank. His father poured two glasses of scotch, handed him neither.
"Her name's Aria Langford. She's five years younger. Wild blood. Langford's only child."
Jaxon said nothing.
"The Langfords are reckless with money but strong in power. They run half the coast, and her father—he'll want someone strong enough to keep her under control."
That part stuck. Control. Like Aria Langford was a loose dog someone had to leash.
"You'll meet her when the time is right," his father said. "Until then, become someone who can't be ignored."
Jaxon nodded once.
He didn't think of her again—until twelve years later, when a scandal-ridden heiress with a knife-sharp smile showed up in a tabloid, middle finger raised to the camera, cigarette between her teeth.
Aria Langford.
He closed the paper and smiled.
Time to meet his future wife. On his terms.