I stared at the hidden bag beneath my bed like it was my only escape.
My heart was pounding so loudly I was sure the walls could hear it. Adrian had assigned security. Not to protect me—but to watch me. To cage me inside a marriage he refused to let die.
My phone vibrated again.
Tonight. 9 p.m. The old café on Kingsway Street.
I hesitated.
Every instinct told me this was dangerous. But staying here was just as dangerous—and far more suffocating.
By 8:30 p.m., the mansion was quiet. Adrian hadn't come to my room. He hadn't spoken to me since dinner. That silence was worse than shouting.
I slipped on a coat, grabbed my phone, and headed downstairs.
I didn't make it past the front door.
"Where do you think you're going?"
Adrian's voice cut through the air like a blade.
I turned slowly. He stood at the foot of the staircase, arms crossed, eyes cold and knowing.
"Out," I said simply.
"At this hour?"
"I don't need your permission."
He stepped closer. "You do when you're being followed."
My stomach dropped. "You had me watched."
"I told you I would," he said calmly. "For your safety."
"That's a lie," I snapped. "You're afraid I'll leave."
Something dark flickered across his face.
"You're not ready to know what's outside these walls," he said. "And you're not going anywhere tonight."
I met his gaze, my voice shaking with anger. "You don't get to control me anymore."
For a moment, I thought he would grab me. Instead, he leaned in close, his voice dropping to a dangerous whisper.
"If you walk out that door," he said, "you won't like what you find."
I pushed past him.
"I already don't like what I've found."
The café was dim and nearly empty. My hands trembled as I stepped inside, scanning the room. Every shadow felt like a threat.
"Lena."
I turned.
A woman stood near the corner table, her face partially hidden beneath a hood. She looked familiar—but I couldn't place her.
"You came," she said.
"Who are you?" I demanded.
She hesitated, then pulled back her hood.
My breath left my body.
It was her.
The woman from the hotel.
"I'm Maya," she said quietly. "And I never meant for you to find out like that."
My chest burned. "You slept with my husband."
"Yes," she admitted. "But that's not why I asked you here."
I laughed bitterly. "Then what? To apologize?"
"No," she said quickly. "To warn you."
I stiffened.
"Adrian didn't marry you for convenience," Maya continued. "He married you because he had no choice."
My heart skipped. "What do you mean?"
She leaned closer. "Your family's company was under investigation three years ago. Adrian made it disappear."
My head spun. "That's not true."
"It is," she said. "Your father signed everything over to him. In return, Adrian married you."
The room felt like it was closing in.
"You were insurance," Maya said softly. "A shield. If things went wrong, you would take the fall."
I staggered back. "You're lying."
"I wish I were," she whispered. "And that's not all."
I shook my head. "Stop."
"He's being watched," she said. "By people far more dangerous than you know. And now… so are you."
My phone buzzed violently in my hand.
Adrian: Where are you?
My blood ran cold.
"I have to go," I said, backing away.
"Lena," Maya called. "If you stay with him, you won't survive this."
I ran.
When I got back to the mansion, Adrian was waiting.
His expression was unreadable.
"You met her," he said.
My voice broke. "You used me."
He closed the distance between us in three long strides. "I protected you."
"You lied to me!" I cried. "You turned my life into a transaction."
His hands clenched at his sides. "I had no choice."
I laughed hysterically. "That's what you told yourself to sleep at night."
For the first time, his mask cracked.
"You think I don't hate myself for it?" he snapped. "You think this was easy?"
Tears streamed down my face. "You stole my freedom."
He looked at me like a man standing at the edge of ruin.
"This marriage," he said hoarsely, "is the only thing keeping you alive."
My knees weakened.
"What did you drag me into, Adrian?"
He looked away.
And that silence told me everything