Chapter 3 Chapter 3

Seline’s Pov

The silence in my office was deafening. I stared at her. “You’re joking, right?" I asked in disbelief.

“I wish I was. The consortium is old-school; they believe it ensures ‘stability and aligned interests.’ They’ve already approached both sides. Augustus Riker is apparently very interested.”

I laughed bitterly, running a hand through my hair. Of course Knox’s father would love this. The Rikers had been trying to expand their influence into media for years.

“So let me get this straight,” I said slowly. “I either marry Knox Riker for a year and a half… or I lose the biggest opportunity this company has ever seen?” I asked, and she nodded grimly. I walked over to the floor-to-ceiling windows, staring out at the city skyline. Knox Riker. The man I had spent the last year trying to destroy, and now they wanted me to marry him? Suddenly a dark, twisted smile slowly spread across my face. “Fine,” I whispered. “If he wants war this badly… let’s get married.”

Present 

Seline’s POV

Three Months Before the Divorce

The conference room on the 52nd floor of Riker Tower felt more like a battlefield than a place of business.

I was sitting on one side of the long black table with my team. Ashley was on my left; my father, Beaumont Whitmore, the undisputed king of the media world, was on my right. Eli was beside Ashley, and two of our best lawyers were beside them. Across from me was Knox Riker, flanked by his father Augustus and his ruthless attorney.

Knox looked infuriatingly good in a charcoal suit, his dark hair styled back, those slate-blue eyes locked on me like I was prey. The marriage contract draft was in the middle of the table like a loaded gun.

“Let’s be very clear,” I said, my voice calm but sharp. “This is a business arrangement and nothing more. I will not be playing happy wife for you, Riker.”

Knox leaned back in his chair, a dangerous smirk playing on his lips.

“You think I want you playing happy wife?” He let out a low, mocking laugh. “The only reason I’m even entertaining this circus is because of the fifty billion dollars on the table.”

Augustus Riker cleared his throat. “The consortium demands a legal marriage, cohabitation, and public appearances as a united front. We cannot afford to look weak.”

“Seline will be on her best behavior. We are Whitmore, and each family has an image to protect.” My father said from beside me.

I smiled coldly. “Fine. But I want separate wings in whatever prison you call a house. I’m not sleeping in the same bed as this manwhore.”

Knox’s eyes darkened. “Careful, Whitmore. Keep insulting me and I might demand you sleep wherever the fuck I want you to.”

The temperature in the room dropped. Ashely kicked me under the table, but I ignored her. I leaned forward, staring directly into his eyes. “You don’t own me, and you will never own me. If you think putting a ring on my finger gives you the right to touch me, I will burn both our empires to the ground before I let you.”

For a second, something hot and volatile flashed in his gaze. He stood slowly from his chair and walked around the table like a predator stalking its target. He stopped right beside me, towering over my seat, close enough that I could smell his cologne.

“You talk so much shit for someone who’s about to become Mrs. Knox Riker,” he said quietly, his voice low and rough. “Tell me, Seline… does it piss you off that you’re going to have my last name?”

I stood up slowly, refusing to let him intimidate me. We were now chest to chest. “It pisses me off that I have to breathe the same air as you for eighteen months,” I hissed. “But don’t worry, darling. The second this contract ends, I’ll wipe every trace of you off me.”

His eyes dropped to my lips for a fraction of a second, and the air between us thickened with pure hatred mixed with something filthy and unspoken.

One of the lawyers cleared his throat nervously. “Perhaps we should discuss the fidelity clause…”

Knox didn’t move away from me. “There will be no fidelity clause,” he said, still staring at me. “I’m not going to stop living my life just because I have to put a ring on this spoiled princess.”

I laughed in his face. “Good. Because I have no intention of keeping my legs closed for you either," I said, and his jaw clenched hard, and for a moment, I thought he might grab me. Instead, he smiled slow, dark, and terrifyingly sexy.

“We’ll see about that,” he murmured so only I could hear. “Eighteen months is a long time, Whitmore. I wonder how long that pride of yours is going to last when you’re living under my roof.” he asked,

I stepped even closer until my heels touched his shoes. “Longer than your dick can stay hard for the same woman, Riker.” I said, and the entire room went dead silent, and his eyes were burning with fury… and raw lust.

This was going to be hell. The tension in the room was so thick it felt like it could snap at any second. Knox was still standing way too close to me, his blue eyes locked onto mine like he wanted to either strangle me or fuck me right on the conference table. Maybe both.

Augustus Riker tried to regain control. “Let’s get back to the terms…”

“No,” Knox cut his father off, still staring at me. “I want to hear more about how she plans to ‘keep her legs open’ while married to me," he said, and I smiled, cold and sharp. “Worried, Riker? "Afraid I might actually enjoy someone who isn’t you?” I asked, and his hand came down on the table beside me with a loud smack, making two lawyers flinch. He leaned in closer to me, his voice dangerously low.

“Let me make one thing crystal fucking clear, wife.” The way he said the word ‘wife’ was pure venom. “While you’re married to me, every man who even thinks about touching you will have to deal with me. I don’t share what’s mine.”

“I’m not yours,” I snapped, jabbing a finger into his chest. “I’m a business partner with a very expensive ring. That’s it, and if you think you can control who I fuck, I will personally leak every dirty little secret you have to the press.”

His smirk returned, but it was darker this time. “You really think you can threaten me?”

“I don’t threaten, Riker. I deliver.”

Ashely whispered urgently beside me, “Seline, maybe tone it down…" but I ignored her.