The first thing I noticed was that nobody was calling me the moment I woke up.
I lay there for a moment, staring at the silent phone on my nightstand.
No missed calls from Mrs.
Knox.
No frantic messages from Kristen.
No unknown numbers demanding to know where I’d been for the past week.
Just one message.
[Sis, are you okay?] Kyle.
I reached for the phone and checked the time.
5:17 a.m.
The past week had been ridiculous enough that I still wasn’t sure which part I should be angry about first.
The wedding?
The monster that nearly ate me?
Falling off a mountain?
Apparently, surviving all of that had earned me five hours of sleep before life started misbehaving again.
I smiled despite myself when I remembered yesterday.
Dylan had taken my phone from my shaking hand, listened to my stepmother scream through the speaker, and blocked her without asking permission.
For once, someone had made the decision to protect me instead of making me feel guilty for needing protection.
That thought was almost enough to ruin my morning.
I sat up, pushed the blankets aside and reached for Kyle’s message again.
[Sis, are you okay?] My smile faded, the guilt of not reaching out weighed me down but I promised myself that I would do better for my baby brother.
I typed back.
[I’m fine, Kyle.
Please don’t worry about me.
Focus on your studies and take care of yourself.
I’ll call you soon.] I locked the phone before I could change my mind.
Today, I was going back to work.
I wasn’t going to spend my first morning back in civilization hiding under a duvet.
I showered, pulled on a tailored purple suit and kept the jewellery simple.
The olive-green handbag came last.
It was the one I’d bought with my first serious business profit.
I checked my reflection.
Better.
I looked like myself again.
The woman who had a payroll to meet, clients to overcharge and an entire firm waiting for her to return.
Downstairs, the house was silent save for the clinking of porcelain in the dining room.
Dylan was already awake, sitting at the long table with a cup of coffee and a fresh stack of intelligence reports.
Of course he was already working.
Apparently, even terrifying military commanders didn’t believe in sleeping past dawn.
The man was the dictionary definition of a workaholic.
He looked up as my heels clicked against the hardwood floor.
His eyes traveled slowly over my purple suit, taking in the structured jacket and the olive bag on my arm, but he didn’t say a word.
I walked over to the side table, poured myself a cup of coffee, and turned to face him.”I’m going to the office today.” Dylan set his cup down.
“How are you getting there?” “I’ll call a driver.” “One of mine will take you.” “I can arrange my own transport.” “I know.” That stopped me.
I narrowed my eyes.
“Then why do you want me to go out with two guards?
Can’t the driver be the guard?” “Because reporters are still outside the estate.” “Oh.” He picked up his coffee again.
I studied him over the rim of my cup.
“Was that your way of being considerate?” “No.” “Right.
Of course.” “You’ll have two guards with you.” I nearly choked on my coffee.
“Two?” “One driver.
Two guards.” “I’m going to an accounting firm, Dylan.
Not a war zone.” His expression didn’t change.
“Our house isn’t a war zone either.” I opened my mouth.
Closed it.
“Fine.
Two guards.” “Three.” “Absolutely not.” “Two.” I pointed at him.
“Don’t negotiate against yourself.
It’s confusing.” Dylan stood up, adjusting his jacket.
“I’ll come with you.” I paused with the mug halfway to my mouth.
After seven days of forced proximity, I had been hoping for at least a few hours where I wouldn’t have to wonder what the Apex Hunter was thinking.
“You don’t need to come,” I said carefully.
“I’ll have two of your guards, apparently.
That’s already enough security to escort me through a small war.” “I want to see where you work.” “You’ve seen it on the internet.” “I haven’t.” I stared at him.
“You’ve never looked up my company?” “No.” There was something oddly refreshing about that answer.
He hadn’t researched me to find a weakness, and apparently hadn’t even cared enough to research me.
I lowered my mug.
“Fine.
But you’re not allowed to intimidate my employees.” Dylan’s brow lifted.
“I don’t intimidate people.” I gave him a long look.
“Intentionally,” he amended.
I sighed.
“That’s not reassuring.” Has he forgotten that we’re meant to be planning a divorce?
Well, I certainly hoped he was planning it.
I couldn’t bring it up myself for fear of poking the sleeping tiger inside my head—the massive migraine that had been blissfully dormant for a few days shouldn’t be poked.
I preferred to keep it that way.
I let out an internal groan.
Didn’t he have a city to command?
Monsters to track?
Anything at all that he was doing before our wedding nearly caused a national crisis?
”Let’s go then,” I said tightly.
♡´･ᴗ･`♡ The drive to the commercial district was uneventful.
Reporters were still gathered outside the estate, but the guards cleared a path before we reached the main road.
I watched Raven City come alive through the tinted window.
The morning train rattled somewhere beyond the buildings while vendors opened their carts along the pavement.
People moved around each other with the casual urgency of a city that had somewhere to be.
I hadn’t realised how much I’d missed it.
My chest tightened when I saw the familiar streets.
I’d only been away from The Bizard for a week.
Somehow, it felt longer.
I missed my office and the people in it.
I’d missed this ridiculous little company we’d somehow built from nothing.
Mostly, I missed belonging to something that had nothing to do with being a Knox.
The Bizard was the one thing I’d built without the Knox name opening a door for me.
Their corporate trust had never been mine anyway.
In their eyes, I was a Knox by blood and nothing else — no gift, no use, just an awkward anomaly they’d rather not claim.