HIS HEART, HER RULES

The sound of glass shattering was deafening. Aria Monroe stood frozen at the threshold of her own apartment, keys still dangling from her fingers, heart pounding against her ribs. The wine bottle she had brought for their engagement celebration now lay in a pool of red ruin across the floor, mirroring the way her world was unraveling. She hadn't meant to walk in early. She wanted to surprise Ryan, her fiancé, but what she saw was so unexpected. Right there in the room, tangled in white silk sheets and lust, was Ryan and her best friend.

Sasha's head whipped toward her, guilt flashing across her face and Ryan didn't even flinch. He just stared, as if Aria were the one who'd done something wrong. The silence in the room was louder that you could literally hear termites chewing underground. Aria didn't cry nor did she throw tantrums. She simply turned, walked back out the door, and never looked back.

Three months later in New York City, the city was cold and indifferent, and Aria Monroe was on her way to her new job. Her heels clicked across the marble lobby of Blackwood Enterprises as she clutched her thin coat tighter around herself. The building was glass, steel, and intimidating...just like the man who owned it. Damien Blackwood.

Aria had heard the rumors. She heard he was ruthless, brilliant, untouchable. A man who destroyed competitors with a smile and didn't blink twice. The kind of man who didn't waste time on kindness and certainly not on women like her. It wasn't her kind of thing but this job paid more than anything she'd ever had, and after three months of sleeping on her cousin's lumpy couch and scraping rent together, desperation had a way of dulling pride.

"Miss Monroe?" a receptionist called, perfectly polished and cold as ice. "Mr. Blackwood will see you now."

Aria stood, smoothing wrinkles from her secondhand blouse. "Thank you."

The elevator ride was swift, silent and a bit suffocating for her. When the doors opened, she stepped into a suite that felt more like a fortress than an office. There was sleek black furniture, and luxurious furniture that she knew she could buy her entire life, and the man himself standing like a shadow. Of course it is Damien Blackwood.

He didn't turn to greet her.

"Sit," he said.

His voice was deep, clipped, commanding and she sat immediately.

He finally turned, and Aria's breath caught. He was... intense. Sharp jawline, dark eyes like midnight storms, and a presence that didn't just walk into a room. It claimed the entire room.

"You've worked in marketing?" he asked, flipping through her file.

"Yes. It was a very small agency back home. I led a few campaigns and.,,,"

"You were engaged. You left your town three months ago. There is no reference from your last job." His gaze lifted, pinning her like a butterfly in a glass box. "Why?"

Her mouth went dry. She hadn't expected him to dig that deep.

"I needed a fresh start," she said softly. "I just had to move away."

A flicker of interest sparked in his eyes, but his tone remained flat. "I don't hire people running from something, I hire people running toward something."

"I'm running toward a future where I never have to rely on anyone again."

Silence hung in the air between them, thick with unspoken things. Then, to her shock, he leaned back, nodded once, and said, "You start Monday, eight sharp. Don't be late."

She blinked. "Just like that?"

"No." He rose from his chair, walking toward her slowly. "I don't believe in runaway people , Miss Monroe. If you're coming into my world, you come ready to fight." Her throat tightened, but she nodded. "I always fight. I just used to fight for the wrong people."

With her statement, a ghost of respect and amusement touched his lips.

Outside the building, the cold wind slapped Aria's cheeks, but she barely noticed. She had done it. She had landed the job. The pay was high, the hours were a bit brutal, and the boss was terrifying but it was a big step for her. She wasn't the same girl who had stood frozen in heartbreak, watching her life crumble.

That girl had died the day Ryan chose betrayal over love. This Aria? She was choosing herself. Let the city be ruthless and let her boss be cold, but she wasn't afraid anymore.

Not of brutal work hours.

Not of love.

And definitely not of Damien Blackwood.