Contract Marriage With My Billionaire Boss (Venus and Aaron) novel Chapter 34

Chapter 34

AARON

Venus was taking too long in the bathroom.

I wouldn’t put it past these snakes to try something reckless, so I left the ballroom, pushing through the clusters of overdressed liars and social climbers. The moment I turned the corner into the hallway, I caught the tail end of a voice I’d recognize even in my sleep-Caroline. That icy tone, wrapped in faux elegance but sharp enough to cut bone.

My steps slowed.

She had Venus backed into a corner. Not metaphorically-literally. I lingered in the shadows just long enough to catch her next words, low and poisonous: “How much did he offer you?”

My jaw clenched.

She was really doing this? Offering money like it was a transaction? Accusing her?

I should’ve stepped in right then. But I didn’t. I watched. Not because I didn’t trust Venus but because some twisted part of me needed to know. Would she take the bait? Sell me out? Break the illusion?

She didn’t.

She stood her ground. Fierce. Unflinching. God, she was good. So good that if I didn’t already know every detail of our fake arrangement, I’d have believed her too. The way she cut Caroline down. Cool, sharp and devastating, was something even I hadn’t seen before. People usually cowered in front of my stepmother. Not Venus. She called her bluff and left her speechless.

But when Caroline’s voice rose again, and her hand shot forward too fast, I moved.

Not because Venus needed saving but because I suddenly hated myself for putting her in that position in the first place.

What started as strategy-clean, calculated-was now collateral damage. Her. The red marks on her skin. The look in her eyes. Caroline didn’t just wound. She corroded.

As we stepped back into the glow of the hallway, her arm curled into mine, I leaned closer. “You should stay away from Caroline,” I muttered.-

Venus shot me a look; unshaken and defiant. “I handled myself just fine.”

She did. And I hated how much I liked that.

“Venus! Aaron! Come on, the donations are about to start!” Sabine called from inside, waving.

She looked radiant. She always did.

You’re probably wondering how I could loathe Caroline and still care about her daughter.

It’s complicated.

Sabine is Dorian’s younger sister. Caroline’s second child. She’s three years younger than me. I was ten when Richard and Caroline took me in. She was seven-wide-eyed, sweet, always trailing behind me like sunshine trying to warm a storm cloud. Dorian, on the other hand, was fifteen and already a hurricane. Arrogant, entitled, vicious. He didn’t need words to make you feel small. And when he did speak, you wished he hadn’t.

I hated Dorian. But not as much as I hated Caroline.

And no, don’t chalk it up to step-family drama. It wasn’t teenage angst or some warped Cinderella complex. People remarry. People move on. I could’ve handled that.

What I couldn’t handle was betrayal. The lies. The manipulation. The way Caroline could smile at you with blood on her hands. The way Richard could twist the truth until even you started to question your sanity.

But the worst?

What they did to Rosemary.

My mother.

That’s a story for another night. One I’ll bury until I’m ready to make them choke on it.

What matters now is this-Caroline’s little ambush tonight? Her accusations? Her desperate attempt to buy Venus off?

It means she’s losing her grip. She’s scared. And if Caroline Sinclair scared, that means I’m winning.

But I can’t afford to get careless. Not now.

Successfully unlocked!

So I pull Venus in closer. Press my palm to the small of her back. Let them all see.

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Chapter 34

Chapter 34

AARON

Venus was taking too long in the bathroom.

I wouldn’t put it past these snakes to try something reckless, so I left the ballroom, pushing through the clusters of overdressed liars and social climbers. The moment I turned the corner into the hallway, I caught the tail end of a voice I’d recognize even in my sleep-Caroline. That icy tone, wrapped in faux elegance but sharp enough to cut bone.

My steps slowed.

She had Venus backed into a corner. Not metaphorically-literally. I lingered in the shadows just long enough to catch her next words, low and poisonous: “How much did he offer you?”

My jaw clenched.

She was really doing this? Offering money like it was a transaction? Accusing her?

I should’ve stepped in right then. But I didn’t. I watched. Not because I didn’t trust Venus but because some twisted part of me needed to know. Would she take the bait? Sell me out? Break the illusion?

She didn’t.

She stood her ground. Fierce. Unflinching. God, she was good. So good that if I didn’t already know every detail of our fake arrangement, I’d have believed her too. The way she cut Caroline down. Cool, sharp and devastating, was something even I hadn’t seen before. People usually cowered in front of my stepmother. Not Venus. She called her bluff and left her speechless.

But when Caroline’s voice rose again, and her hand shot forward too fast, I moved.

Not because Venus needed saving but because I suddenly hated myself for putting her in that position in the first place.

What started as strategy-clean, calculated-was now collateral damage. Her. The red marks on her skin. The look in her eyes. Caroline didn’t just wound. She corroded.

As we stepped back into the glow of the hallway, her arm curled into mine, I leaned closer. “You should stay away from Caroline,” I muttered.

Venus shot me a look; unshaken and defiant. “I handled myself just fine.”

She did. And I hated how much I liked that.

“Venus! Aaron! Come on, the donations are about to start!” Sabine called from inside, waving.

She looked radiant. She always did.

You’re probably wondering how I could loathe Caroline and still care about her daughter.

It’s complicated.

Sabine is Dorian’s younger sister. Caroline’s second child. She’s three years younger than me. I was ten when Richard and Caroline took me in. She was seven-wide-eyed, sweet, always trailing behind me like sunshine trying to warm a storm cloud. Dorian, on the other hand, was fifteen and already a hurricane. Arrogant, entitled, vicious. He didn’t need words to make you feel small. And when he did speak, you wished he hadn’t.

I hated Dorian. But not as much as I hated Caroline.

And no, don’t chalk it up to step-family drama. It wasn’t teenage angst or some warped Cinderella complex. People remarry. People move on. I could’ve handled that.

What I couldn’t handle was betrayal. The lies. The manipulation. The way Caroline could smile at you with blood on her hands. The way Richard could twist the truth until even you started to question your sanity.

But the worst?

What they did to Rosemary.

My mother.

That’s a story for another night. One I’ll bury until I’m ready to make them choke on it.

What matters now is this-Caroline’s little ambush tonight? Her accusations? Her desperate attempt to buy Venus off?

It means she’s losing her grip. She’s scared. And if Caroline Sinclair is scared, that means I’m winning.

But I can’t afford to get careless. Not now.

So I pull Venus in closer. Press my palm to the small of her back. Let them all see.

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Chapter 34

Because fake or not, she’s mine.

And I don’t lose to anyone-least of all the people who taught me how to lie.

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