The Ignite executive hall had never felt this suffocating.
Rows of polished chairs.
Glass walls reflecting power.
Silence heavy enough to choke on.
At the center stood Aansi Singh — hands trembling, documents clutched tight.
She did not belong here.
And everyone knew it.
Whispers drifted like smoke.
"Who is she?"
"Why is she here?"
"She looks… ordinary."
The doors opened.
Zaid entered.
The room straightened instantly.
Authority walked with him.
He didn't look at her.
He took his seat.
Then Leonid spoke.
"This marriage is not a proposal. It is a legal consolidation of interests."
Murmurs rippled.
Aansi blinked.
Marriage?
Her breath hitched.
Leonid continued calmly:
"Miss Aansi Singh will marry my son, Zaid."
Silence detonated.
Every eye turned toward her.
Her heart slammed against her ribs.
"No."
The word slipped out before she could stop it.
Leonid's gaze sharpened.
"I beg your pardon?"
"I… I cannot marry him," she said, voice shaking but growing steadier. "I don't want marriage. I… I want to live my life with dignity. I want to remain untouched until I choose otherwise. I will not be forced."
A stunned hush followed.
Executives shifted uncomfortably.
This girl had just defied the most powerful man in the room.
Leonid did not react.
But Zaid did.
A low laugh escaped him.
Cold. Disbelieving. Mocking.
Finally, he looked at her.
His gaze swept over her like a blade — assessing, unimpressed, dismissive.
"This is the woman?" he said flatly.
No warmth. No curiosity.
Only disdain.
He leaned back in his chair.
"She refuses? Good. Because I never asked for this."
Whispers exploded across the room.
Leonid's jaw tightened.
Zaid's eyes returned to her, sharp and cutting.
"You think I want this?" he continued, voice low but carrying across the hall. "Do you even understand the world you've stepped into?"
Aansi's fingers tightened around the file.
He stood slowly.
Walked toward her.
Each step deliberate.
Each echo terrifying.
He stopped inches away.
Up close, his presence was overwhelming — not warmth, not comfort — just pressure.
"I absolutely don't waana marry a black bitch," he said. "And I certainly don't marry someone who walks in here like a charity case."
Aansi flinched.
Gasps echoed around the hall.
His voice hardened further:
"This isn't a fairy tale. No prince. No love story. No miracle."
His eyes flicked over her again, unimpressed.
"You don't belong in my world. Oynx."
The humiliation burned her cheeks.
But she did not step back.
"I never asked to enter it," she whispered.
Something flickered in his eyes.
Not softness.
Resistance.
Defiance.
He leaned closer, voice like ice:
"Then refuse again."
Her heart pounded.
Her throat burned.
"I refuse."
The word rang across the hall.
Clear.
Unbroken.
Unafraid.
Silence fell like a blade.
Leonid stood.
And when he spoke, his voice carried the weight of a verdict:
"You may refuse the marriage… but you cannot refuse the consequences."
Aansi's blood ran cold.
Zaid stepped back, expression unreadable.
This was no longer a proposal.
It was a war contract.
And she had just declared rebellion.