Chapter 2 Chapter 2: Your Selected Betrothed.
Chapter 2: Your Selected Betrothed.
Nova-
I sat at my desk, staring blankly at the screen.
The code in front of me blurred, morphing into nothing but meaningless symbols. Every time I forced myself to focus, my mind snapped back to last night—playing it over and over again like a loop I couldn’t shut off.
My parents had sold me.
Not metaphorically. Not emotionally.
Literally.
Sold me into the Lottery system…with the help of my now ex-fiancé.
“Ummm…earth to Nova…you here today?”
A hand waved inches from my face.
I blinked and looked up, forcing a small smile as Janet came into focus.
“Yeah,” I said, voice slightly hoarse. “I’m here.”
She frowned, clearly not convinced. “You sure? You look like you haven’t slept…or like you want to commit a felony.”
A soft breath escaped me—almost a laugh. Almost.
“If you only knew,” I muttered.
“What was that?”
“Nothing.” I shook my head. “Just…rough night.”
Rough night.
That was one way to put it.
After I got home, Ethan had blown up my phone. Call after call. Message after message. Apologies. Excuses. Justifications.
I ignored every single one.
I had no interest in hearing him play the martyr—sacrificing himself for my “fragile” sister. The same sister who’d been sleeping with him behind my back.
My stomach twisted. Unwanted. That word had followed me my whole life.
I leaned back slightly in my chair, my mind drifting despite my best effort to stay anchored in the present.
My parents had been married over thirty years. five years into their marriage, my mother gave birth to twins—Jordan and Tanya.
Perfect, according to her. A complete set. They’d never planned on having more children. Then I came along. A mistake. An inconvenience. Something they were forced to tolerate.
Growing up, that reality had never been hidden from me. It was something they made sure I understood—subtly at first, then blatantly as I got older.
Tanya didn’t even have to try. She’d just cry. That was it. A few tears and suddenly I was the villain—cold, cruel, heartless. The “big bad wolf.”
I swallowed, pressing my lips together.
They hated that I was smarter. That I excelled where their precious twins struggled. My mother especially hated that I looked like her own mother—a woman she’d spent her entire life trying to distance herself from.
By middle school, I’d had enough. I’d asked to move in with my grandmother. It hadn’t fixed things. If anything, it made the fracture worse. But I didn’t regret it.
Living with my grandmother had been the only time in my life I’d felt…wanted.
She lived in Elgin by then—the city my mother had quietly relocated her to, hiding her existence like something shameful. A reminder of where she came from. Of poverty. Of a past she’d buried.
My father wasn’t elite, but he’d grown up comfortably. Upper-middle-class, respected. He ran a successful freight brokerage.
Status mattered to them. Image mattered. And I…I was never part of that image. I exhaled slowly. While my siblings coasted through life, indulged and overcompensated for their mediocrity, I worked. I graduated high school two years early. Earned a double master’s in medical technology and software engineering.
Secured a position at OmniCore in research and development. None of it mattered. To them, it wasn’t success. It was competition. Proof that I was trying to outshine their “perfect” children. A flicker of bitterness curled in my chest. Years of enduring their abuse—for my grandmother’s sake.
And in the end…They still sold me off.
My hand tightened slightly on the edge of my desk.
The text from my mother flashed in my mind again.
You’ve been selected.
No warning. No discussion. They’d already entered my name. Already handed me over. And the man who had chosen me—
My throat tightened.
Kieran Sinclair.
One of the most ruthless heirs in South-Bay.
Spoiled, indulged, callous, abusive—those were only a few adjectives that described him. There was also cruel. Control. Power used without restraint.
A man no one wanted to marry. Which meant, of course… He got me.
Heat stung behind my eyes. Not here. Not now. I stood abruptly.
“I need some air,” I muttered.
“Hey—” Janet straightened. “You okay? Do you need me to—”
“I’m fine.” I forced a smile. “Just stepping out for a bit.”
She hesitated, then nodded. “Okay…don’t disappear on me.”
“No promises.”
I walked quickly out of the office, my vision blurring slightly as I blinked back tears.
My chest felt tight. Heavy.
Like something inside me was cracking—and I didn’t know how much longer I could hold it together.
I turned a corner—
And slammed straight into someone.
CRASH.
The impact knocked the air from my lungs.
My phone clattered across the floor, papers scattering everywhere as my face collided with something solid—warm—unyielding.
“Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry!” I blurted, already crouching to gather the fallen documents.
My fingers scrambled over smooth sheets—
Then froze.
My breath hitched. I recognized the formatting immediately. The structure. The modeling. My stomach dropped. This wasn’t just familiar. This was mine. Slowly, I stood, eyes scanning the page in disbelief.
“This…” I murmured, frowning. “Where did you get this from?”
Silence.
A heavy, deliberate kind of silence. I lifted my gaze. And forgot how to breathe.
He stood there, towering slightly over me, his posture relaxed yet commanding. Dark eyes locked onto mine—sharp, assessing, as if dissecting me layer by layer.
For a moment, the world went completely still.
“C-CEO— I—I’m sor—”
“May I have those papers back?”
His voice was low.
Controlled.
Not loud—he didn’t need to be.
Authority bled through every word.
My fingers tightened on the documents before I quickly handed them over. “Yes—sorry—I didn’t mean—”
“Why are you asking about these documents?”
The question cut cleanly through my apology.
I hesitated.
Another man stepped beside him, glancing between us, curious but silent.
Oh God. Of course there’s an audience.
“Do you plan on answering?” he pressed.
I straightened slightly, forcing my voice to steady.
“Yes. Sorry. It’s just…” I exhaled. “That work—it’s mine. My research.”
A flicker of something crossed his expression.
Surprise.
Gone as quickly as it appeared. He stepped closer. Close enough that I could see the sharp lines of his face. The calculated stillness in his eyes. The smell of his expensive cologne.
Intoxicating.
“You’re Nova Pierce.”
Not a question. A statement. My pulse spiked.
“Guilty,” I said lightly, though my voice betrayed the tension curling underneath.
His gaze lingered on me for a moment longer. Then dropped to the papers.
And just like that—He turned and walked away. No explanation. No acknowledgment.
Nothing.
I stood there, stunned, watching his retreating figure.
“What the hell…” I whispered under my breath.
My heart pounded violently against my ribs.
A cold realization slid into place.
OmniCore. One of the top Medical technology and engineering companies. Created and ran by none other than,
Nicolai Moreau.
My boss.
The man I had just crashed into…
Shit! They weren’t lying…he is extremely scary!
Still….
He is really gorgeous.
The invisible led in my feet finally lifted, I quickly dashed to the bathroom to get myself together.
———
As they stepped into the conference room, Nicolai handed the documents to his assistant, Aaron, his expression as unreadable as ever.
“Find out everything you can on Nova Pierce,” he said evenly. “Then… set up a meeting with her.”
Aaron’s brow lifted, a hint of amusement slipping onto his face.
“Interested in her?”
Nicolai shot him a look, irritation sharpening his features.
“Try going a single day without being ridiculous.”
Aaron rolled his eyes, completely unfazed.
“Of course. Strictly professional.”
“I’m interested in her nano-thesis,” Nicolai replied flatly.
Aaron’s lips curled into a knowing smirk.
“Mm-hmm… whatever helps you sleep at night.”
Nicolai’s gaze darkened, drifting toward the floor-to-ceiling window across the room. For a brief moment, unbidden and unwelcome, he imagined how quiet things would be if Aaron were suddenly no longer standing beside him.
He said nothing.
Interested.
The word lingered, faintly irritating.
Not even remotely. His attention was on her research—nothing more. A promising body of work, nothing beyond that.
And yet…
The thought refused to settle.
His mind replayed the moment in the hallway—the way she had looked, startled and flustered, but composed enough to stand her ground. The recognition in her eyes when she saw the documents. The way her voice had tightened, just enough to betray something underneath.
And then—
That flicker.
Something he hadn’t been meant to see.
Aaron shifted beside him, waiting for further instructions, but Nicolai barely noticed.
Because, despite himself, one question kept circling back.
Why was she crying?
