Crown of the Empire

Chapter 4

Chapter 4

If hell had chandeliers, it would look like the Shangri-La ballroom.

Golden ceilings, crystal dripping like melted ice, and enough smug faces in one room to power an entire city's humidity. And in the middle of it, me, Mariya Elena Vergara, standing under the spotlight like I had been ordered here for my coronation. Except it wasn't a crown waiting for me—it was chains.

The Department of Health and ASEAN Business Council had pulled their little stunt. A "joint task force." Their words, not mine. Apparently, the optics were irresistible: the Banking Heiress and the Pharma King. Fire and Ice. "The two youngest titans of Asia, united for the good of the people."

What a joke.

I didn't sign up for this marriage of convenience. Neither did he.

And yet here we were, forced into a press conference like puppets in bespoke suits.

Flashes went off, reporters shouted questions, the podiums gleamed with both our logos side by side. I hated it already.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the health secretary declared, smiling like this was his personal triumph, "today we welcome a new era of cooperation. Vergara Bank and Takedo Pharma will spearhead the Southeast Asia Healthcare Access Initiative—a public-private partnership to ensure funding and distribution for medical facilities in underserved regions."

Applause. Cameras. Whispers.

I forced a smile, lips like razors. If anyone noticed my death grip on the podium, too bad.

Beside me, Nikolai Sebastian Takedo stood as if sculpted. Black suit. White shirt. Posture straight enough to hang paintings on. He didn't fidget, didn't blink, didn't even react to the flashes. Just... stillness. Cold, perfect, infuriating stillness.

My turn.

"Vergara Bank is committed to providing the infrastructure necessary for accessible healthcare," I said, voice cutting across the room. "Because without financing, hospitals cannot function, clinics cannot expand, and medicines cannot move beyond warehouses."

Applause again. Good.

Then him.

"Takedo Pharma," Nikolai said smoothly, "is committed to ensuring that medicines reach the people who need them. But distribution and loans mean little without the medicine itself. Without the heart, the skeleton cannot live."

Applause louder. Always louder for him.

I clenched my jaw. He did not just recycle the heart metaphor again.

When the moderator invited questions, a reporter shot up, grinning like he'd been waiting all week. "Miss Vergara! Some critics say you're out of your depth, that you're better suited to ribbon-cuttings than boardrooms. How do you respond?"

The room held its breath.

I smiled sweetly, leaning into the mic. "I respond by reminding them that I am a certified CPA lawyer, licensed in two countries, with degrees from Oxford. I could dismantle this entire banking system in my sleep if I wanted. But sure, let's pretend I'm just here to smile for the cameras."

Gasps. Laughter. Flashes. The reporter sat down, red-faced.

Beside me, I swore I saw it—the faintest twitch of Nikolai's mouth. Not amusement. Recognition.

Another reporter pounced. "Mr. Takedo! How do you feel about working with the Vergara heiress?"

I rolled my eyes. Heiress. Always heiress. Never lawyer, never strategist, never threat.