The executive hesitated, clearly unsure whether he was supposed to apologize for something or simply accept the answer.
Kianda, however, seemed completely satisfied with himself and smiled as though the entire situation were perfectly normal.
“Isn’t it wonderful?” The man opened his mouth but apparently couldn’t find a suitable response, so Kianda simply continued toward the elevators, pulling me along with him while everyone nearby tried very hard to pretend they weren’t watching.
I could feel their eyes following us, especially whenever they noticed the chains around my wrists, and I silently prayed that the elevator would arrive before Kianda found another way to make the situation even more humiliating.
Unfortunately, my prayers had apparently been ignored.
When the elevator doors opened, Kianda stepped inside with me and pressed the button for the executive floor.
As soon as the doors closed, I finally turned toward him, unable to hold my questions any longer.
“What exactly are you planning to make me do?” “Work.” “You keep saying that, but I don’t know anything about your company.” “You’ll learn.” “I don’t even know what this company does.” “You’ll learn.” “Do you have any other answer?” “No.” I closed my eyes for a moment and leaned back against the elevator wall, silently accepting that reasoning with Kianda was probably going to be one of the most exhausting things I had ever attempted.
When the elevator finally opened, we stepped onto the executive floor, and I immediately realized that this place was nothing like the estate.
The entire floor was modern, spacious and busy, with employees moving between offices and conference rooms while assistants carried documents and spoke quietly into phones.
Large glass walls separated several offices, and enormous digital screens displayed financial information and company reports.
Unlike the estate, where everyone seemed afraid to make a sound whenever Kianda appeared, this place operated according to the fast and disciplined rhythm of a major corporation, with everyone apparently knowing exactly what they were supposed to be doing.
That changed the moment Kianda walked through the doors.
People stopped what they were doing, conversations died almost instantly, and several employees lowered their heads as soon as they realized who had entered the floor.
A few looked as though they had just seen someone who was supposed to have disappeared years ago, while others simply stared at him with a mixture of shock and fear.
Kianda, on the other hand, seemed delighted by the reaction and greeted them as though he had been coming here every morning.
“Good morning.” “Good morning, Master Kianda,” several employees replied almost simultaneously.
He nodded approvingly before continuing down the corridor, dragging me behind him until we reached the largest office on the floor.
The doors opened, revealing an enormous executive office overlooking the capital, with a massive desk positioned near the windows and a long conference table occupying the center of the room.
I slowed when I saw the desk because something about the entire office immediately told me that whoever sat there was not an ordinary employee.
Kianda apparently had other plans.
“Sit.” I looked toward the enormous chair behind the desk and then back at him.
“That?” “Yes.” “But that’s your chair.” “Yes.” “Then why would I sit there?” “Because I said so.” I hesitated, but there wasn’t much point arguing with him when the chains around my wrists were still in his hands.
I eventually approached the desk, and Kianda unexpectedly pulled the chair out for me himself before waiting for me to sit down.
The moment I settled into it, I became painfully aware that several executives had followed us into the office and were now standing nearby, watching the strange spectacle unfolding before them.
Kianda walked around the desk and stood behind me, placing both hands on the back of my chair before looking at everyone in the room.
“From today onward, she is in charge.” I turned toward him so quickly that I nearly twisted my neck.
“What?” Kianda smiled as though he had just announced something completely ordinary.
“She is your new boss.” One of the executives stared at me before looking back at Kianda.
“Master…
you mean Miss Rida?” “Yes.” “The woman who arrived at the estate yesterday?” “Yes.” “The woman who was supposed to marry Supreme Alpha Kieran?” “Yes.” The man’s expression became increasingly confused.
“And now she is…
our boss?” Kianda nodded without hesitation.
“Exactly.” I slowly raised one hand, feeling the need to rescue these poor people from whatever madness was taking place.
“I think there has been a misunderstanding.” Kianda leaned slightly toward me.
“There hasn’t and won’t be there any….” “I don’t know anything about this company.” “You’ll learn.” “I don’t even know what I’m supposed to manage.” “You’ll learn.” “I don’t know how many employees you have.” “You’ll learn.” “I don’t even know how much money you have.” That question finally made Kianda pause.
He seemed to consider it for a moment before snapping his fingers and instructing one of the executives to bring him every financial record from the previous six months.
Several people immediately hurried out of the office, and I stared at him in disbelief.
“Wait.
You actually want me to manage your money?” “No.” I breathed out in relief, only for Kianda to add, “I want you to manage everything.” My relief disappeared instantly.
Before I could argue with him, the office doors opened again, drawing everyone’s attention toward the entrance.
Kieran walked inside, and although he had changed his clothes, the faint injury on his face from our earlier encounter was still visible.
His expression was already severe, but the moment his eyes landed on me sitting behind his family’s largest executive desk with chains around my wrists and Kianda standing proudly behind my chair, his entire expression seemed to harden.
His gaze moved from me to Kianda and then back to me again.
“What are you doing?” Kianda smiled innocently.
“Working.” Kieran’s brows drew together.
“She doesn’t work here.” “She does now.” “That is the Kessan Corporation headquarters.” “I know.” “You disappeared for six months, and now you walk into my company and appoint a woman who doesn’t even know what the company does as the head of everything?” Kianda’s smile widened.
“Yes.” Kieran stared at him for several seconds, seemingly struggling to decide whether he was actually serious or whether this was simply another one of his uncle’s strange games.
Then his attention shifted toward the chair beneath me, and his expression changed again.
“That is my father’s chair.” Kianda looked at the chair, then at me, before casually placing one hand on my shoulder.
“Oh.” For one brief moment, I thought he might actually reconsider.
Instead, he smiled.
“Not anymore.” The silence that followed was so complete that I could almost hear the sound of my own heartbeat.
Kieran’s expression darkened while the executives standing around the room suddenly became extremely interested in the floor, the walls, the documents in their hands—anything except the two Supreme Alphas glaring at each other.
Kianda leaned toward me and pointed toward the mountain of financial records being carried into the office.
“Rida, start with those.” I looked at the documents, then at the dozens of people waiting around the office, and finally at the man who had apparently decided overnight that I was qualified to run an entire corporation despite not knowing the first thing about it.
“Are you insane?” I asked, unable to believe what I was hearing.
Kianda’s smile widened, becoming almost frighteningly delighted, as though my question had entertained him rather than offended him.
There was something deeply unsettling about the way he looked at me, as if the more frustrated I became, the more amusing the entire situation was to him.
“Perhaps,” he said casually, before turning his attention toward Kieran.
“But at least I’m productive.” “Damn you all…
I’m fucking tired!” I finally snapped, my frustration spilling over as I slammed my chained hands against the table.
The sharp clinking of the chains echoed through the room, immediately drawing the attention of everyone who hadn’t already been watching us.
Heads turned in our direction, and for a moment, the entire room seemed to fall strangely quiet.
I pushed myself to my feet and shoved the chair away in frustration, my chest rising and falling heavily as I stared around the room.
I was tired of the chains, tired of being dragged from one situation into another, tired of having decisions made for me as though I had no say in my own life.