"Please, Shane. Don't tell Grandfather about this. I have no idea how it happened. I've never seen this kid before."
Ava was visibly shaking, hugging the silk bedsheets tightly around her naked body to cover herself as her brother Shane and his men barged into the room.
Shane threw his head back and laughed. "Sorry, Ava. Grandpa has a right to know what a slut you are if he's going to put you in charge of the family business."
"Slut shaming? Really?" Aiden interrupted, rising to Ava's defense. "Besides, nothing happened between us. I don't even know how I got here—"
Before Aiden could say anything more, Ava and Shane's grandfather, Harvey Stone, stormed into the room. As soon as he saw Ava in bed with Aiden, his eyes turned dark with anger.
"It's not what it looks like, Grandpa. Please, let me explain!" Ava begged him.
Harvey shook his head. "Your actions speak for themselves. When Shane told me what you were up to, I didn't believe him, but there's no way to deny what I see right now with my own two eyes. You know very well what my rules are, and you also know what happens when you break them," Harvey scolded.
"But your rules are so old-fashioned… and unfair," Ava protested, her eyes welling up with tears.
"I'm the one who decides what's fair and unfair in this family," Harvey growled. "Whether you like it or not, there is a certain code of conduct expected of business leaders. I was taking a big risk tapping you to be the next CEO of StoneCo. No woman has ever held that position. Your behavior today proves you are not fit to serve. You will have to withdraw your candidacy immediately."
"But… how would anyone even know about what happened if you don't tell them?" Ava pointed out. "Not that anything did," she added.
Shane snickered. "How do you think we found out about it? This little love fest started long before you got to the room. Drunken makeouts in the bar, public displays of affection. My friends are never going to let me hear the end of it."
"I… don't remember any of that…" Ava stammered.
Aiden shook his head. "Neither do I."
"Exactly," Harvey exclaimed. "Your behavior was completely irresponsible, with no consideration whatsoever of the damage it might do to StoneCo's reputation."
Ava began to sob. "What about my shares in the company? I worked so hard for them. You won't really take those away too for something like this, would you?"
"Those shares come with the position. No CEO job, no shares. You knew exactly what the stakes were, yet you chose to do this anyway. There are no exceptions. Unless…?" Harvey stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"What is it, Grandpa? Tell me… I'll do whatever you want," Ava pleaded.
Harvey pointed at Aiden. "There is one way we can still save your reputation. If this man agrees to marry you, I'll let you keep your shares and keep you in the running for CEO. If not, you're on your own."
I don't know what happened last night, but I don't want to ruin this woman's life, Aiden thought. Besides, Ava is beautiful, and the Stones seem to be very rich. How bad could it be? Growing up as an orphan, Aiden had always wondered what it would be like to have a family.
"I'll marry you," Aiden volunteered, but when his eyes met Ava's, he felt like he was staring death in the face.
Harvey nodded. "Very well. From now on, you are her husband and a member of the Stone family."
Ava huffed. "Don't I get any say in the matter? I'm the one who will have to spend the rest of my life with him."
"Of course you do. But if you say no, you're out of the running for CEO, and your shares in the company will go to Shane. It's that simple."
"But Grandpa—"
Harvey cut her off. "End of discussion."
Ava huffed. "Fine. I'll marry him."
Harvey nodded. "Wise decision. There's a big party at Cyrus's place tonight. I want you to bring him there. It will be the perfect chance for the two of you to announce your engagement. We need to make this whole… unfortunate incident… seem like it was intentional. Come on, boys. Let's let these two lovebirds have some privacy."
Shane and his men followed Harvey out of the room. Shane sneered at Ava on his way out. "Congrats on the new husband, sis."
The door slammed shut behind them.
As soon as they were gone, Ava looked at Aiden, tears streaming down her face. "You ruined my life!" she wailed. "This is all your fault!" She ran into the bathroom and shut the door.
"But… I really don't know how this happened either," he shouted through the door.
Aiden wondered if she would ever come out, but after a few minutes she reappeared, sniffling and dabbing at the corners of her eyes with a tissue. She threw Aiden a towel to cover himself up.
"This engagement is only temporary, until I can figure a way to get us out of this. Until then, we need to act the part. Come on, get dressed. If we're not at that party tonight, things will only get much worse for both of us."
That night, Ava arranged for one of her drivers to pick Aiden up at his apartment so they could go to the party together.
When the car arrived outside his building, Aiden took one last look in the mirror. He only had one nice piece of clothing in his closet — a blazer he had inherited from his father. It was old, but it still looked good on him. It would have to do.
He met the driver downstairs, then they went to Ava's house to pick her up. Aiden looked up in awe as the car pulled to a stop in front of a huge mansion in a famous exclusive neighborhood.
When Ava got in the car, it was obvious how much she hated him. She didn't even say hello.
Still, I have to admit she looks beautiful, Aiden thought. And she must be even richer than I imagined. Her shoes alone are probably worth more than I earn in a month.
As they drove to the party in silence, Aiden grew nervous. He fidgeted with the ring on his finger, rotating it in circles.
"You should take that ring off before we go in," Ava said suddenly. "It's ugly." It was the first thing she had said to Aiden since she got in the car.
Aiden shook his head. "This ring is very important to me. I can't take it off."
Ava rolled her eyes and let out a huff. She didn't speak to Aiden again for the rest of the trip.
As soon as they arrived at the party, Ava got out of the car and started walking toward the house. As Aiden hurried to catch up to her, he noticed that Cyrus's house was like a fortress. Men carrying semi-automatic weapons were patrolling the grounds and flanking the entrance.
What the hell? What kind of a party is this? he wondered. Is Ava's family tied to the mob?
He followed Ava into the house and was shocked to see a familiar face.
"Hey! What are you doing here, loser?" It was Vanessa's new boyfriend Derek, who was just as surprised to run into Aiden at the party as Aiden was.
Aiden smirked when he noticed that Derek was wearing a bandage on his face. Oh good. I must have broken that jerk's nose when I punched him.
"Be nice, Derek!" Aiden warned, clenching his fists. "Remember what happened last time…"
Derek got into a fighting stance. "You got lucky, that's all. This time, I'm ready for you."
Suddenly, a well-dressed man appeared and wedged himself between Derek and Aiden. "What the hell is going on here?"
"This man snuck into your party, Cyrus," Derek replied. "He doesn't belong here."
Cyrus looked Aiden up and down. "It's true that I've never seen you before. Who are you, and why are you here?"
Aiden stood there speechless for a moment. "Honestly, I have no idea why I'm here," he admitted.
"He's with me," Ava admitted reluctantly.
Derek's mouth fell open. "Ava? Why are you hanging out with this guy? He's a joke!"
Suddenly, Cyrus noticed Aiden's ring, and his expression immediately changed.
"Come with me. I want to speak to you alone," he told Aiden.
Aiden looked around at the armed guards standing nearby and realized he didn't have a choice. He followed Cyrus to his office.
Derek was smirking as he watched Aiden go. "Thanks, Cyrus! And Ava, you should stay away from him, too, if you know what's good for you."
"Oh, shut up, Derek," Ava snapped. She watched nervously as Aiden disappeared into Cyrus's office.
The muffled sounds of the party faded as the door swung shut behind them.
"Can I see that ring you're wearing?" Cyrus asked Aiden as soon as they were alone.
Aiden covered the ring with his hand protectively. "Why?"
"Don't worry, I'm not going to steal it. I just want to see something. Please?"
Aiden finally took off the ring and handed it to Cyrus, who studied it carefully.
When Cyrus saw the "T" inscribed on the inside of the ring, his mouth fell open.
"Tiger! It's you! It's really you!" he shouted.
Aiden was in shock. The only other person who had ever called him Tiger was his father in the recurring nightmare he had every night. But how could Cyrus know that?
"I can't believe we finally found you! I have been looking for you for years! Eighteen years, to be exact," Cyrus exclaimed.
"Did you know my father?" Aiden managed to sputter, his heart pounding in his chest.
"I didn't just know your father." Cyrus pointed to a picture of three men hanging on the wall. In the photo, Aiden's father, Samuel, was standing next to Cyrus and a third man Aiden didn't recognize at first.
"We were business partners. The three of us built a business empire together worth billions of dollars."
Why does that other man look so familiar? Aiden wondered. Suddenly, he noticed the scar on the man's face, and it all came back to him.
In the dream he woke up to every morning, Aiden's father begged him to remember the face of the man who shot him. There, on the wall, was the man who had betrayed Samuel and killed him in cold blood.
No… it can't be…
Aiden's eyes flashed with rage.
Don't worry, Dad. I'll find that bastard and make him pay, just like I promised.