UNVOICED LOVE

CHAPTER - 12

Hannah’s P.O.V.

“Ann, I need to tell you something,” Emma said, her voice trembling slightly.

“Go on,” I replied, noticing the seriousness in her eyes.

“Do you know Jones Black?”

“Yeah! The CEO of Black Corporation. Uncle’s collaborating with them on the upcoming project.”

“They’re cancelling it.”

I froze. “What? Why? If they cancel—”

“Our company will go bankrupt,” she interrupted. “Dad will be jailed… and we’ll be on the streets.”

“But… they can’t just back out like that. Didn’t they give a reason?”

Emma hesitated before speaking again. “He wants me to marry his one and only heir—Lucas Black.”

I stared at her, speechless.

“We’re not even graduated yet,” I said. “There has to be another way.”

“There is,” she sighed. “I have to find another company willing to collaborate. But the problem is time—I have just one month.”

“Why such a short window?”

She swallowed hard. “Do you remember when I went to the village without telling you? I wasn’t visiting Granny. I went to meet Lucas. I thought maybe… if I spoke to him, he’d reconsider. He told me to meet him at his farmhouse. At first, I was scared, but I thought it was better to talk than be forced into marriage. So, I lied to my parents and went.”

She looked away, her eyes glossing over. “He… he…”

“Em, don’t say anything if you’re not ready,” I said softly.

“No, I have to. It haunts me every single day.” She broke down, and I hugged her tightly. Once she’d calmed down a little, I gave her a glass of water. She took a deep breath and continued.

“He tried to sleep with me. When I refused—told him I didn’t want to marry him—he… he forced himself on me. I managed to escape. Later, he sent me this.”

She showed me the message on her phone:
“Count your days. I’ll make sure you become my slave for the rest of your life.”

“When I returned home, Dad said my engagement’s next month,” she whispered, holding my hand. “Please, Ann… help me.”

“Em… first, stop crying. I’ll talk to Aaron. We need to cancel this engagement and find another collaborator. Do you know who Black’s biggest business rival is?”

“Yeah,” she nodded. “The Smiths. James Smith—CEO of Queens Corporation.”

“Liam’s father,” I muttered. A plan began forming in my mind. “This might actually be easier than I thought. Em, don’t worry. I’ve got an idea.”

I explained it to her. At first, she was completely against it. But when I asked her for a better plan and she had none, she hesitantly agreed.

“Wait,” she said, “now tell me—what’s going on between you and Aaron?”

I thought she’d forgotten.

“For Mia’s engagement, his mom was trying to set him up on blind dates. Even though he’s just 23, she wants him settled already. To avoid that, he said he’s dating me. And… I didn’t want him to actually date anyone else, so I agreed. Now, we’re pretending.”

“Are you insane?” she snapped. “Have you seen what people are saying online? If he really liked you, he wouldn’t have faked it. He’d just ask you out.”