The morning headlines were already waiting for her.
Aaliyah sat at the long dining table, her phone resting beside an untouched cup of tea. Sunlight poured through the floor-to-ceiling windows, painting the penthouse in gold, but the warmth didn't reach her.
She stared at the screen.
ROWAN BLACKWOOD DEBUTS MYSTERY PARTNER
WHO IS AALIYAH MOORE?
BILLIONAIRE CEO STEPS OUT—AND SHE'S NOT ALONE
Her stomach twisted.
There were photos—dozens of them. Rowan stepping out of the car. Rowan's hand on her back. Rowan leaning in to whisper something by the balcony. And then there was Aaliyah herself, frozen mid-smile, eyes bright under the flash of cameras.
She didn't recognize that girl.
"Eat."
Rowan's voice cut through her thoughts.
Aaliyah looked up. Rowan stood across from her, already dressed in a crisp white shirt and dark trousers, sleeves rolled up as usual. She looked as composed as ever, as if the internet wasn't dissecting her life in real time.
"I'm not hungry," Aaliyah said.
Rowan's gaze flicked to the phone. "You will be."
She pulled out the chair opposite Aaliyah and sat, setting her own tablet down. "Your name is trending."
Aaliyah's fingers curled around the edge of the table. "I saw."
"You handled yourself well," Rowan continued. "Public reaction is mostly positive. Curious, but positive."
"Positive," Aaliyah repeated faintly.
Rowan tilted her head slightly. "This is what success looks like."
Aaliyah laughed before she could stop herself. It came out sharp and brittle.
"This feels like being swallowed alive."
Rowan studied her for a long moment. "You agreed to this."
"I know," Aaliyah said quickly. "I'm not saying I didn't. I just—" She stopped, searching for the right words. "I didn't realize how fast it would happen."
Rowan leaned back. "The faster it happens, the less time people have to question it."
Aaliyah nodded slowly, though the logic did little to calm her nerves.
A knock sounded from the hallway.
"Come in," Rowan said.
Elise entered, tablet in hand, her expression efficient as ever. "We need to finalize today's schedule. There's been a change."
Rowan's eyes narrowed slightly. "What kind of change?"
"The board has requested a private luncheon," Elise replied. "They want to meet Aaliyah."
Aaliyah's breath caught. "Meet me?"
"Yes," Elise said. "They feel it's… appropriate."
Rowan's jaw tightened. "It's premature."
Elise hesitated. "They insist."
Silence fell.
Aaliyah felt suddenly very small. "What does that mean?" she asked quietly.
Rowan looked at her then, really looked at her, as if reassessing.
"It means," Rowan said carefully, "you're no longer just a public image."
Aaliyah's pulse quickened. "Then what am I?"
Rowan stood. "You're a variable."
The word sent a chill through her.
Rowan reached for her jacket. "Finish breakfast. We leave in forty-five minutes."
"For where?"
Rowan paused at the doorway. "For the part of my world that decides who stays… and who gets erased."
The door closed behind her.
Aaliyah stared after her, heart pounding.
The headlines on her phone refreshed automatically, new articles stacking on top of old ones. New photos. New speculation.
She hadn't just stepped into Rowan Blackwood's life.
She had stepped onto a battlefield.
And something told her—
This time, smiling wouldn't be enough.
The boardroom was colder than the penthouse.
Not in temperature, but in feeling.
Aaliyah felt it the moment she stepped inside—an invisible pressure, sharp and watchful, pressing in from every direction. The room was long and narrow, dominated by a polished black table that reflected the faces seated around it like a dark mirror.
Six people.
All of them watching her.
Rowan walked in first, her presence immediate and commanding. Aaliyah followed half a step behind, acutely aware of how small she felt in comparison to the space—and the people in it.
"Good morning," Rowan said evenly.
Murmurs of greeting followed.
"Ms. Blackwood," an older man at the head of the table said. His hair was silver, his gaze calculating. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."
Rowan inclined her head. "You wanted to meet my partner."
The word landed with a quiet finality.
Aaliyah forced her shoulders back.
The man smiled thinly. "Indeed. Aaliyah Moore, isn't it?"
"Yes," she said. Her voice was steadier than she felt.
"Please," a woman to his right added, gesturing toward an empty chair. "Sit."
Aaliyah glanced briefly at Rowan.
Rowan nodded once.
She sat.
The chair felt too large, the table too far away. She folded her hands in her lap, reminding herself to breathe.
"We don't usually involve ourselves in Ms. Blackwood's personal affairs," the silver-haired man continued. "But given recent media attention, discretion is… advisable."
"I understand," Aaliyah said.
Another board member leaned forward. "You come from a modest background," he said bluntly. "No corporate ties. No public history."
Aaliyah felt the words like a spotlight.
"That's correct," she replied carefully.
"Then why you?" the woman asked. "Why now?"
The question hung in the air.
Before Aaliyah could answer, Rowan spoke.
"Because I chose her."
Every head turned toward Rowan.
"She is intelligent," Rowan continued calmly. "Adaptable. And she understands boundaries."
Aaliyah's chest tightened at that last word.
The silver-haired man tapped a finger against the table. "And she understands the expectations?"
Rowan's gaze flicked briefly to Aaliyah. "She does."
All eyes returned to her.
Aaliyah swallowed. "I know my role," she said. "And I intend to protect Rowan's reputation, not damage it."
The words tasted rehearsed—and a little hollow.
Silence followed.
Then the woman smiled faintly. "Good."
The meeting continued, shifting into discussions Aaliyah barely followed—shareholder confidence, public perception, long-term optics. She became a topic, not a person.
A strategic asset.
When it was over, Rowan stood without hesitation. "We're done."
No one argued.
In the elevator afterward, the silence was thick.
"You did well," Rowan said finally.
Aaliyah let out a shaky breath. "They didn't want to meet me. They wanted to evaluate me."
"Yes."
"And?" Aaliyah asked.
Rowan looked at her. "You passed."
The relief that washed through her was immediate—and unsettling.
"That shouldn't matter this much," Aaliyah whispered.
Rowan's expression softened for just a fraction of a second before hardening again. "It does."
The elevator doors opened.
Back in the penthouse, Aaliyah retreated to her room, closing the door behind her. She leaned against it, heart racing, mind spinning.
She had survived the cameras.
She had survived the board.
But the realization settled heavy in her chest—
Every day in Rowan Blackwood's world would demand something from her.
And one day…
It would demand too much.
Aaliyah didn't leave her room for the rest of the afternoon.
She lay on the bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying the boardroom over and over again. The way their eyes had weighed her. Measured her. Decided whether she was worth keeping.
You passed.
The words echoed in her head, hollow and unsettling.
She wasn't sure when passing had become survival.
A soft knock broke the silence.
"Aaliyah."
Rowan's voice.
Aaliyah pushed herself upright. "Yes?"
The door opened slowly. Rowan stepped inside, her jacket gone, her posture less rigid than it had been in the boardroom. She looked… tired.
"You disappeared," Rowan said.
"I needed space," Aaliyah replied carefully.
Rowan studied her for a moment, then nodded. "That's fair."
The admission surprised her.
Rowan moved farther into the room, stopping near the window. For the first time since they'd met, she didn't seem entirely in control of the space.
"The board won't interfere anymore," Rowan said. "Not unless something changes."
"And something always changes," Aaliyah said quietly.
Rowan's lips pressed together. "Usually."
Silence stretched between them.
Aaliyah hesitated, then spoke before fear could stop her. "Do they get a say in everything you do?"
Rowan's gaze remained fixed on the city below. "They get opinions," she said. "I decide whether to listen."
"Today… it didn't feel like that."
Rowan turned to face her fully. Her eyes were sharp, but there was something else there now—something raw, almost defensive.
"You think I enjoy that?" Rowan asked.
Aaliyah blinked. "I didn't say that."
"You don't have to," Rowan replied. "Everyone assumes power means freedom. It doesn't."
The confession hung between them, fragile and unexpected.
Aaliyah swallowed. "Then why do it? Why live like this?"
Rowan's jaw tightened. "Because letting go costs more."
Aaliyah felt a strange ache in her chest. "You talk about control like it's protection."
"It is," Rowan said immediately. "For me."
"And for everyone else?" Aaliyah asked softly.
Rowan didn't answer.
She turned away again, shoulders tense. "You should rest. Tonight was… a lot."
"You keep saying that," Aaliyah said. "Like it's supposed to make it easier."
Rowan glanced at her. "Does it?"
Aaliyah shook her head. "No."
Rowan studied her for a long moment, as if debating something she rarely allowed herself to consider.
"You won't survive here if you take everything personally," Rowan said at last. "You'll have to harden."
Aaliyah's voice was quiet but steady. "I don't want to lose myself just to survive your world."
The words landed.
Rowan's expression shifted—just slightly. Not anger. Not dismissal.
Conflict.
"Then learn when to bend," Rowan said. "And when not to."
She moved toward the door, pausing with her hand on the handle.
"You did well today," she added. "Not because they approved of you."
Aaliyah looked up. "Then why?"
Rowan hesitated.
"Because you didn't apologize for existing," she said finally.
Then she left.
Aaliyah sat there long after the door closed, her heart pounding softly against her ribs.
For the first time since signing the contract, something inside her stirred—not fear, not obedience.
Defiance.
She didn't know how long she could survive in Rowan Blackwood's world.
But she knew one thing with sudden clarity—
If she was going to be tested every day, she would not keep passing by disappearing.
And somewhere, deep beneath Rowan's control and careful distance, Aaliyah had glimpsed something dangerous.
A crack.
And cracks, she knew, were where change began.