A black limousine parked slowly, deliberately, in front of the Hart estate. Elegant, gleaming, and undeniably out of place on the crumbling street. The driver stepped out and opened the back door with precise timing.
And Kael Draven emerged.
Tailored black suit. Impossibly tall. Eyes like frozen steel. Power radiated from him like heat from fire, and everything in his posture said: I don't knock. I don't wait.
Inside, Evelyn's father looked up from his window and nearly dropped his phone.
"Is that—" he stammered. "Is that really him?"
Kael entered the house without being announced. The butler stepped aside, pale and silent.
"Mr. Hart," Kael said, voice smooth but commanding.
"I… I didn't expect you," her father managed.
"I know," Kael said simply.
He stepped into the sitting room, where Claudia was just walking in.
She froze, her eyes widening. "Oh my—Mr Draven?"
Kael gave a polite nod.
"I've sent multiple messages to your office," Hart said, regaining his voice. "My company's proposal—"
"I've read them," Kael replied. "That's why I'm here. I'm prepared to discuss a partnership."
The room filled with stunned silence.
"But I'm not only here for business," Kael added, voice colder. Sharper.
"I've come for a marriage proposal as well."
Hart blinked. "I… beg your pardon?"
Kael's eyes narrowed. "I am offering a contract. Both professional and personal. My company will move forward with the merger—if you agree to the match."
The temperature in the room dropped.
Claudia's eyes lit up.
Hart's mouth opened. Closed. Then opened again.
Your daughter' Evelyn' I picked interest in her and I'm here for a marriage proposal.
Mr Hart sat shocked at his words. You know Evelyn? He asked him.
That doesn't matter right.
Of course' it doesn't Claudia said.
What...' Mr Hart asked his wife.
Please excuse me Mr Draven, I need to have a private word with my husband.
Hart hesitated—then nodded and left the room.
Claudia took exactly two seconds to pounce.
"You must say yes," she whispered urgently. "Do you understand what this means for us? For your company? Our status? Your failing business is being rescued, and all you have to do is give him the girl who does nothing but disrespect us."
"She's still my daughter," Hart said quietly.
"And I'm still your wife," Claudia snapped. "This is a gift. From the gods or the devil—I don't care. Take it."
He looked at her for a long, quiet moment.
And then he nodded.
"Fine."
***
Maris had just returned from the back garden with fresh herbs when she passed the staircase and paused.
She hadn't meant to overhear.
But she heard everything.
The proposal.
The bargain.
The exchange.
And the silence after.
Her heart cracked.
She walked to his study. maris's voice trembled with rage as she stood in Evelyn's father's study, her hands balled into fists.
"You're wicked," she spat. "Do you hear me, Charles? Wicked. She's my baby, whether I gave birth to her or not. I raised her, I kept her safe when you couldn't even look her in the eye after her mother disappeared. And I will not let anyone take her from me."
Charles Hart sat behind his mahogany desk, his expression unreadable, like a man listening to background noise instead of the breaking heart in front of him.
"This is not your decision to make, Maris. It's a matter of family… business."
Maris stepped closer, leaning on the desk, her voice low and deadly. "She is my family. And if you think I'll stand by while you trade her like—" She broke off, her chest rising and falling. "You have no idea what that girl means to me."
Before he could respond, the front door creaked open downstairs.