Chapter 12: Ariana’s First Move – Testing the Waters of Power
Chapter 12: Ariana’s First Move - Testing the waters of power
Ariana awoke to a different kind of morning.
No longer drowning in silent rage.
No longer a puppet waiting for fate to pull her strings.
She sat up slowly, the silk sheets sliding down her arms like a quiet reminder of everything she had lost… and everything she intended to take back.
Her mind echoed with Jesse’s parting words from the night before:
“Learn the rules, or remain a powerless piece.”
She pressed her fingers against her temples, eyes narrowing. In her past life, she had been ignorant of the game. Blind to the shadows slithering behind her, Antony's lies, Rachel’s performances, the subtle poison in their words. This time, she wasn’t going to wait for mercy.
No.
This time, she would be the game changer.
Her phone buzzed, but she didn’t immediately look. Instead, she stared at the screen, her gaze unreadable. A name hovered in her memory one she had ignored before. Someone Antony had made her believe was irrelevant. Someone she now realized was a missed opportunity.
A small, amused smirk curved her lips.
She dialed.
---
The private cafe lounge was quiet, its ambiance soaked in expensive wood scents and faint jazz melodies. Ariana sat by the window, sunlight reflecting off the glossy surface of the table as she traced small circles with her finger.
She wasn’t nervous.
But she wasn’t completely calm either.
She was treading uncharted waters.
When the door finally opened, a tall, elegant woman stepped in, her black cheongsam stitched with gold thread and her hair tied in a perfect chignon. Eleanor Cheng exuded the kind of grace money couldn’t buy earned through decades of quiet warfare in the business world.
Her sharp eyes swept over Ariana.
“This is unexpected,” she said, her voice velvet-laced steel. “I assumed you had cut ties with me.”
Ariana folded her hands in her lap. “That was never my choice.”
Eleanor’s gaze flickered. “Oh?”
“I have come to realize…” Ariana leaned slightly forward, her voice steady and respectful. “That influence means more than wealth. And that those who ally themselves with the right people can change everything.”
A silence stretched between them.
Eleanor tilted her head, her lips twitching with intrigue. You think I’m the right person, don’t you?
“I believe we share mutual interests,” Ariana added smoothly. “And I admire people who maximize their abilities. People who aren’t afraid to rewrite the rules.”
A beat.
Then Eleanor laughed, low and deep. Not mocking understanding.
“Interesting,” she murmured, eyes gleaming. “You have changed, Ariana.”
“I had to.”
Eleanor swirled the tea in her porcelain cup. Her demeanor shifted, ever so slightly. For a woman of her status, that shift meant everything.
“Lunch next week,” she said finally. “Impress me.”
Ariana nodded, the corners of her lips lifting as she sipped her tea.
One step forward.
---
The next few days passed with a quiet buzz of movement. Ariana remained patient, carefully invisible. Rachel and Antony walked through the city like peacocks, blind to the storm gathering around them.
Rachel continued her usual charade flattering socialites, pretending innocence while gathering information to use later.
Antony… was a different story. Since Jesse’s verbal takedown at the corporate meeting, he had become erratic. Investing recklessly. Digging into questionable partnerships.
They thought Ariana had faded into the background.
They were wrong.
She moved like a shadow now, collecting details.
A word here. A slip of the tongue there.
Small cracks she would turn into earthquakes.
This was her reconnaissance phase.
And soon, she’d launch her first assault.
---
That afternoon, her phone buzzed again.
This time, the message came in a velvet-lined envelope, hand-delivered by a courier in black gloves.
Ariana opened it slowly.
Elegant. Mysterious.
The invitation bore a name she didn’t recognize—yet the weight of the event was undeniable.
An exclusive gala. Private. High stakes. The kind of place where masks were worn, and secrets traded like currency.
A test?
Or a trap?
She stared at it for a long moment.
She didn’t flinch.
But someone else noticed.
Jesse.
He caught her by the elevator, eyes flicking to the card she tucked into her coat.
“You think I should be afraid?” she asked, lifting her brow with mock amusement.
His lips quirked, but the humor didn’t reach his eyes. “No. I think you should be careful who’s watching you.”
Their gazes locked.
The air between them crackled.
You stepped into the game. Now the players will start to notice.
Ariana raised her chin. “Let them. I’m not the same girl anymore.”
Jesse studied her for a long second, then turned slightly, the corner of his mouth curving into something unreadable.
“Then don’t make a move you can’t take back.”
---
That evening, Ariana stood in front of her mirror.
She stared at her reflection not just at the flawless makeup or the designer dress that clung perfectly to her form. But at the woman behind the face.
The girl she used to be the naive one who believed Antony’s lies was gone.
Trust had nearly ruined her.
This time, she would not be blind.
She would walk into the fire. Eyes wide open.
Her fingers gently traced the curve of her eyeliner, fixing it with precision.
A soft whisper escaped her lips half vow, half prayer.
“No more mistakes. Not again.”
She turned away from the mirror, heels clicking against the floor with quiet determination, and walked out into the night.
Toward the unknown.
Toward the war.