The Game Begins

Blake’s POV

I stood by the floor-to-ceiling window in my office, looking down at the city traffic below while slowly swirling the whiskey in my glass.

I couldn't stop thinking about the look on Nora’s face at the dinner table last night.

Seeing her sitting at dinner as Michael's fiancée was the biggest shock of my life. My mind still couldn't process it. Michael had always treated me like an outsider ever since we were little. Even after father married my mother three years ago, nothing changed between us. He constantly looked down on me, acting like he was superior just because he was the older, legitimate heir to the Devonte name.

This marriage was going to be fun, especially after seeing his choice of a bride.

I wasn't going to let him play his perfect little marriage game. He didn't care about Nora anyway, which only made things easier for me. That coldness was his biggest mistake. I was going to use Nora to tear his cute little world apart.

A smirk slowly spread across my face as I took a slow sip of my drink. Well, Blake, aren’t you just the luckiest man alive?

Nora was the last person I ever expected to see again. Back in high school three years ago, she was quiet and focused on her books, while I was always finding ways to tease her. But beneath that reserved front, she had a secret crush on me that she tried so hard to hide. Now that she was back in my life, I wasn't about to let her slip away a second time.

A sharp knock sounded at my office door.

"Come in," I called out, turning away from the window.

Felix, my personal assistant, walked in holding a black tablet under his arm. "You asked to see me, Boss."

"Sit down, Felix," I said, gesturing toward the leather chair across from my desk. "I have a special job for you."

He sat down, tapping his tablet to wake up the screen. "Is it about the new shipping investment project?"

"No," I replied, leaning back against the edge of my desk. "It's about my brother's new bride, Nora Nathan."

Felix paused, his fingers freezing over the screen as he looked up in surprise. "Miss Nathan? What do you need regarding her, sir?"

"I want you to track her," I said, keeping my voice calm and steady. "Find out everything about her daily routine. Where she lives, what time she leaves her house in the morning, and where she gets her coffee. I want a full update every single day."

Felix swallowed hard, looking visibly uncomfortable with the request. "Sir... if Mr. Michael finds out we’re watching his fiancée, it could cause a serious problem between you two."

"Michael won’t find out unless I want him to," I said coldly, holding his gaze until he looked away. "Besides, he doesn’t care about her. To him, she’s just a transaction to him. which means she can be useful to me, too."

Felix hesitated for a moment before bowing his head respectfully. "Understood, boss. I will have her schedule and daily routes on your desk by tomorrow morning."

"Good," I said smoothly. "And keep it discreet. I don't want Nora noticing anything suspicious."

"Yes, sir." Felix stood up quickly and left the room, closing the heavy wooden door quietly behind him.

I leaned back in my chair and looked back out at the glowing city lights.

Nora thought she could marry Michael and simply keep her head down. She thought she could ignore me like she tried to do at the dinner table last night. She was wrong, and all of that was about to change very soon.

A soft chuckle escaped my lips as I took the final sip of my whiskey. I was already enjoying this game.

Michael wanted a quiet, simple, business-like marriage. I was going to make sure he got the exact opposite. I wanted to see how long his perfect little arrangement would last once I started pulling at the cracks.

And Nora?

She had no idea what she had just walked back into. I set my empty glass on the desk and smiled.

This time, I wasn't going to let her walk away from me, And whether Nora liked it or not, she was about to be caught right in the middle of it.