Chapter 54: A Cubicle World

Astrid’s POV

The next day at work was the best day I’d had in a long time. And the day after that was even better.

Drifting into the parking lot in my new car was a feeling I couldn’t put into words. Did I forget to mention that I finally beat Ethan in a car race? After he’d beaten me too many times to count. I guessed the losses had been teaching me something all along ... patience, precision, the art of waiting for the right moment to strike. Every second I spent with that man felt like gold.

I loved the way he prioritised me. Took me as his one and only, like there was no one else in the room even when the room was full. That was exactly how a woman wanted to be loved and cherished. He didn’t slack in that department ... not even a little.

We watched television together, cooked together, went out together, stayed in together. All manner of fun, both indoors and out. People took pictures of us whenever we were outside, but who cared? Let them look.

The one thing still hanging over everything was the fact that he hadn’t officially met my parents ... particularly my dad. My father had made his feelings very clear. He said I had entangled myself with a divorced man after helping scatter someone else’s home.

I went to visit them one afternoon. I was no longer living there, but the house was still familiar in a way that hurt a little. They looked fine ... physically. But something was off. Quieter. Like the house had been missing something since I left. Probably me.

The visit turned sour fast.

"Dad, how can you say that?" I snapped the moment he brought it up again. "I didn’t break their home. He was the one who asked me out."

"I didn’t expect this kind of thing from you, daughter," he said, his voice cold. "In fact, I don’t think I know you anymore."

"Dad, you’re being insensitive right now. Please just let me be and let me live my life. I’m not little anymore."

The slap came hard and fast. My face stung before my brain even registered what had happened. He raised his hand for another one, but my mom stepped in and grabbed him.

"How dare you speak to me like that?" His voice was shaking. "I carried you when you were just a little pup, and now you have the nerve to talk to me like this?"

I sobbed ... just a little. Just enough to embarrass myself. What had happened to my sweet daddy?

"Dad... you slapped me?"

He had never done that. Not once in my entire life, as far back as I could remember.

"No matter how old you get, you will never be older than your father," he said. "So give me some respect."

I turned to my mother. "Mom, goodbye."

I went straight to my old room, grabbed everything that was still there, shoved it into bags, and walked out.

My mother was begging behind me, her voice cracking. "Astrid, we’re your only parents and you’re our only child. Please reconsider what you’re doing."

I stopped at the door. Turned around just long enough to say what I needed to say.

"No, I’m not your only child." I let that sit for a second. "And watch how I survive without you."

I got into my car and drove like something was chasing me. Fast, sharp, precise ... the kind of driving that burned off anger. I loved the thrill of it, but underneath the thrill the anger was still there, hot and tight in my chest.

It hadn’t cooled by the time I pulled up to Ethan’s place.

"What’s wrong?" he asked the moment he saw my face.

I didn’t want to talk about it. I shook my head and said nothing, but he kept asking in that calm, steady way of his that was impossible to shut out.

"My dad and I had an argument," I finally said. "It was serious."

"Oh, I’m sorry," he said.

He was quiet for a moment. Then ... "Whatever the issue is, please try and make up with him. He’s your parent, no matter what."

I let the words settle. He was right, and I hated that he was right, but he was. Ethan had a way of being wise without making you feel small for not seeing it yourself.

He pulled me close and held me there. We stayed like that until I dozed off against his chest, and somewhere along the way he fell asleep too. I woke up at 2am, reached for my phone out of habit, and saw the notification I’d somehow missed earlier.

A meeting. With the Bloodmoon parliament minister of foreign affairs.

The brief laid it all out ... we were sitting down with the current presiding officers to deliberate on launching the territory’s first interterritorial satellite. One that would receive news signals from every district and broadcast them across the board. A unified communications grid. Clean, forward-thinking, exactly the kind of innovation that made this job feel like it actually meant something.

The meeting was scheduled for that same morning. I set an alarm, put the phone down, and let myself fall back asleep with something close to excitement sitting in my chest.

Morning came fast.

I got dressed, grabbed everything I needed, and headed out. Ethan drove his car. I followed in mine this time.

Pulling into the office complex was another war entirely. The press were already positioned outside like they had been camped there all night.

Why? Ethan wasn’t the most high-profile person in the territory ... not by any measure I knew of. So why were they constantly on our case?

Right. Because we’d been seen together. In public. At the beach, at restaurants, just living. Apparently that was enough to make us a story.

"You went to the beach with your boyfriend, Ms. Astrid ... tell us about the experience! What are the stakes now, given your new position at work?"

I kept walking. Didn’t even look in their direction.

"Can you guys please shut up and mind your business?" Ethan cut in before I could say something I’d regret.

"This is our business, sir," one of the male reporters shot back.

Ethan looked at him. Slow, unbothered. "You’re stupid, then."

We walked into the building with their voices trailing behind us, still firing questions. I won’t lie ... some of them were tempting enough that I almost turned back. But I couldn’t be late. Not today.

I got to my desk and filed everything that needed filing. I also put the finishing touches on the official documents I’d been asked to prepare for the minister and his team. The paperwork for the finance side ... which Mr. Liam had already briefed me on ... was clean and ready. Just a few more deliberations and the signatures would follow.

When the minister’s convoy was close, a meeting was called across all the relevant departments. Every minister involved and their secretaries gathered in the main room.

I stood at my position and waited.

He walked in.

My heart nearly left my body.

I blinked. Looked again. No ... it was real. It was actually him.

The minister of foreign affairs was Raven. My betrothed mate. Raven.

What the hell.

"Welcome, sir, welcome, sir" was flying all over the room as people surged forward to greet him. He was still making his way around when I had to step up ... custom demanded it.

"Welcome, sir." The words came out of my mouth like they weighed something.

He looked up.

He saw me.

For just a flash, the composure cracked. He was as thrown as I was. But he recovered fast ... smooth, professional, exactly how you’d expect a minister to handle an unexpected situation.

"Thank you," he said, and moved on.

Raven had become the minister of foreign affairs. When had that happened? The last time I’d seen him, he was still grinding his way through the telecommunications sector. He had climbed ... and he had climbed fast.

He looked different too. Sharp. Expensive suit, hair immaculately done, the kind of polished look that only came with having somewhere important to be every single day.

"Shall we get into it?" he said, addressing the room. "Mr. Liam ... your secretary has prepared the bill?"

"Yes, she has," Mr. Liam replied.

Raven led the presentation. He spoke about the satellite launch with the kind of command that made the room lean in. I handed over the bill when it was time, went through my part without stumbling, and somehow made it to the end of the meeting without falling apart.

But I was starstruck the entire time. I tried to hide it. I wasn’t sure I managed.

This was the man I had rejected. And now he was standing at the top of a mountain I hadn’t even known he was climbing.

The moment his team began to file out, I moved.

"Raven!"

He turned. Extended his hand ... a handshake, clean and professional, nothing more.

"It’s nice to meet you again, Astrid." He was already moving as he said it, his team flowing around him like a current.

And then he was gone.

They say the world is a small place. Standing in that hallway watching him walk away, I finally understood exactly how small. Not just small ... cubicle small. The kind of small where there was nowhere left to hide.