Chapter 2

Three days after the wedding, I officially moved into Adrian's home.

There was no welcome party, no line of champagne bottles, and none of the nonstop music that filled Ryan's mansion. Adrian's house was quiet and clean, with books, a few paintings, and a wall of windows overlooking the city.

Adrian stood near the windows when I came in. He looked at me and asked, "Are you disappointed?"

This was exactly where Vanessa had started regretting her marriage in our last life. She had complained more than once that Adrian's home was a beautiful prison instead of a mansion.

I set down my luggage. "Why would I be disappointed?"

Adrian glanced at me. "Ryan threw a post wedding party in Miami last night. Your sister got a limited edition sports car."

I smiled at him. "People with real money don't need price tags all over the house."

His eyes stayed on my face for two seconds before he pushed a thick stack of papers toward me.

"Read the whole report."

I looked down at the cover.

It was Blackwood Group's third quarter financial report.

"You mean today?"

"Finish it tonight. Be at the office with me at eight tomorrow morning."

I looked up. "Adrian, we just got married."

"I know we did."

"And on the third day of our marriage, you want me reading financial reports?"

"The prenup includes interests in the family trust," he said calmly. "There will be documents you have to sign yourself. I will not have my wife signing papers she does not understand."

I asked on purpose, "Why don't you just make the decisions for me?"

Adrian finally looked up from his work.

"My employees can follow my decisions. My wife can't."

Then he went upstairs.

He did not comfort me or tell me to take my time.

I looked at more than two hundred pages of financial reports on the table and finally understood a little of why Vanessa had wanted to run away every day.

At eight the next morning, I sat in a conference room at Blackwood Group after getting almost no sleep.

More than a dozen senior executives were already there.

Adrian placed an acquisition proposal in front of me.

"Buy or walk away?"

I stared at him. "You're asking me?"

"Who else would I be asking?"

Someone at the table laughed under his breath.

It was obvious that nobody expected a Sterling woman who had just married into the family to understand a deal this large.

I spent more than ten minutes reading the file. The more I read, the less certain I felt.

Finally, I said, "I think we should buy it."

Adrian gave me no reaction.

"Why do you think so?"

"Revenue is growing fast, and the company is gaining market share."

"That is the wrong call."

He cut me off without raising his voice.

After the meeting ended and everyone else left, the same proposal landed in front of me again.

"Do it again."

I frowned at him. "What exactly did I miss?"

"Find it yourself."

"What if I can't find it today?"

"Try again tomorrow."

"And if I still can't find it tomorrow?"

"Then try again the next day."

I glared at him. "Are you always this hard on people?"

His expression did not change.

"The market won't stop taking your money because you're my wife."

That shut me up.

I opened the file again.

A few hours later, I finally saw the problem.

The company reported rising revenue, but it kept using short term debt to cover cash flow. The numbers showed growth, but every new expansion pushed the business closer to collapse.

I looked up. "We shouldn't buy it."

This time Adrian asked, "What changed your mind?"

I explained what I had found.

He gave a small nod. "This time, you're right."

He did not praise me or reward me. He simply placed another file in front of me.

"Keep working through it."

I did not take it.

Instead, I asked, "Aren't you even going to ask if this is hard for me?"

Adrian looked at me. "Is it hard?"

"Yes, it is."

"Do you want to stop?"

I shook my head.

"If I don't even know where my own money comes from or how I could lose it, someone could cheat me and I might not even realize it. I'd rather struggle while I'm learning than pay for being ignorant later."

Adrian was quiet for two seconds.

Then he pushed the file a little closer to me.

"Good, then we start again at six tomorrow morning. If you're late, don't expect me to go easy on you."

I almost laughed from frustration.

At that moment, I knew Vanessa had told me the truth about at least one thing.

Life with Adrian was not easy.