The following morning, Avery arrived at Sinclair Interiors with a slight headache from the previous night. The girls’ night had been exactly what she needed, but the reality of her situation came crashing back the moment she opened her emails.
A formal invitation sat at the top of her inbox.
Engagement Party
Ferdinand Parker and Avery Sinclair
Date: Two weeks from today
Venue: The Grand Ballroom, Parker Tower
Her stomach twisted. Everything was moving so fast. She had barely processed the forced marriage, and now there was already an engagement party. Her father had forwarded the email with a short note: “This is important for the families. Please cooperate.”
Lila walked into her office carrying two cups of coffee. “You look like you need this more than I do.”
Avery accepted the coffee gratefully. “They’ve scheduled the engagement party. In two weeks. I haven’t even agreed to any of this out loud, and they’re already sending invitations.”
Lila sat on the edge of the desk. “Have you considered telling Ferdinand exactly how you feel? Maybe if he sees how much you hate this, he’ll call it off.”
Avery shook her head. “You didn’t see his face yesterday. He’s completely shut down. I don’t think anything I say will change his mind. This is all business to him.”
She spent the rest of the morning buried in work, finalizing designs for the Parker executive floors. By afternoon, Claire called to request her presence at Parker Tower for an urgent meeting about the project.
When Avery arrived, she was led straight to Ferdinand’s office. He was standing behind his desk, reviewing documents. He did not look up when she entered.
“You wanted to see me?” Avery asked, keeping her voice steady.
Ferdinand finally lifted his gaze. His expression was as cold as ever. “The engagement party is in two weeks. My mother has arranged everything. You will attend and behave appropriately. There will be important guests from both families and key business partners.”
Avery crossed her arms. “And what exactly does ‘behave appropriately’ mean to you?”
“It means you will stand by my side, smile when necessary, and not cause any scenes.” His voice was flat and commanding. “This is not the time for your sharp tongue.”
Avery felt anger rising but forced it down. “You really expect me to play the happy fiancée in public while we both know this is nothing but a transaction?”
Ferdinand walked around his desk slowly. He stopped a few feet away from her, hands clasped behind his back. “Yes. That is exactly what I expect. Our families need this merger. Your father’s company needs this. Do not make things difficult, Miss Sinclair.”
The use of her last name felt deliberately distant. Avery studied his face, searching for any hint of warmth. There was none. Only the same icy mask he always wore.
“Do you ever feel anything?” she asked quietly. “Or did Sophia really kill every part of you that could care about another person?”
Ferdinand’s eyes darkened, but his face remained completely still. “Do not speak her name again. You know nothing about what happened.”
“I know enough,” Avery replied. “You loved her. You hid who you really were because you wanted real love. And when she betrayed you, you decided no one else would ever get close. Now you’re punishing me for something I didn’t do.”
For a long moment, Ferdinand said nothing. The silence stretched between them like a frozen lake. When he finally spoke, his voice was lower and colder than usual.
“My past is none of your concern. This marriage will be beneficial for both families. You will gain wealth, status, and security. I will gain the merger I need. That is all there is to it.”
Avery stepped closer, refusing to be intimidated. “And what about us as people? Don’t we deserve more than this emptiness?”
Ferdinand looked down at her. His dark eyes held no emotion. “I stopped believing in what people deserve a long time ago. Accept your reality, Miss Sinclair. Fighting it will only make you miserable.”
He turned away from her and returned to his desk. “Claire will send you the details for the engagement party. Make sure your dress is appropriate. I expect you to look the part.”
Avery stood there for a few seconds, staring at his rigid back. Then she turned and left without another word.
That evening, Ferdinand sat alone in his penthouse. The city lights twinkled far below, but he found no peace in the view. Avery’s words kept echoing in his mind. The way she had challenged him again and again. The way she had defended herself at the rooftop bar.
He remembered the small twitch at the corner of his mouth when he saw her knee that man. Claire had noticed it. His assistant had looked genuinely shocked. Ferdinand Parker, the man whose cold stare could silence boardrooms, had almost smiled.
He hated how easily Avery was getting under his skin.
His phone rang. It was his mother.
“Ferdinand, the engagement party preparations are going well. Avery’s dress will be delivered to her tomorrow. Have you spoken to her?”
“Yes,” he replied curtly. “She will attend.”
Elena paused. “She is a strong young woman. Perhaps in time, she can help you heal from what Sophia did to you.”
Ferdinand’s grip on the phone tightened. “There is nothing to heal. I am exactly who I want to be. Do not expect more from this marriage than what I have promised.”
He ended the call and walked to the window. For years, he had kept his heart locked away. He had hidden his identity once, hoping for genuine love, only to have it thrown back in his face. Sophia had loved him when he was ordinary. When the money and power appeared, she had chosen someone else without hesitation.
Avery was different. She knew who he was and still challenged him. Still looked at him with fire instead of fear or greed.
It unsettled him deeply.
He poured himself a drink but left it untouched on the table. Emotions were dangerous. They made men weak. He had learned that lesson the hardest way possible.
Yet as he stood there in the silence of his luxurious penthouse, Ferdinand could not completely ignore the small crack Avery Sinclair was creating in his carefully built walls.
He told himself it meant nothing.
It had to mean nothing.