I woke up the next morning in Alexander's penthouse, and for a moment I thought I was dreaming.
The bed I was lying in was bigger than my entire dorm room back at Northwestern. Egyptian cotton sheets that probably cost more than my car wrapped around me like a cloud, and through floor-to-ceiling windows, I could see all of Chicago spread out below like a glittering toy city.
Then reality crashed back down on me. This wasn't a dream. This was my new life.
My phone was buzzing on the nightstand - a nightstand that looked like it was carved from a single piece of black marble. I grabbed it and saw seventeen missed calls from the hospital.
My heart stopped. Something was wrong with Dad.
I called back with shaking fingers.
"Northwestern General, this is Dr. Martinez."
"This is Emma Sterling. You called about my father?"
"Miss Sterling! Thank God. I've been trying to reach you all morning. Your father's surgery was a complete success. The tumor was smaller than we expected, and we were able to remove it entirely. He's asking for you."
I nearly dropped the phone. "He's okay?"
"More than okay. He's going to make a full recovery. I have to say, Miss Sterling, I've never seen anyone bounce back from this type of surgery so quickly. It's almost like a miracle."
A miracle. Or maybe it had something to do with my new husband and whatever kind of power he wielded.
"Can I see him?"
"Of course. He's in the VIP wing now, room 2847. But Miss Sterling?"
"Yes?"
"The person who paid for your father's treatment also arranged for a private recovery facility in Switzerland. The best cancer treatment center in the world. All expenses paid, including your travel and accommodation. Your father could be there by next week if he agrees."
Switzerland. The best treatment in the world. All because I'd signed my life away to a stranger.
"I'll discuss it with him," I said quietly.
After I hung up, I sat on the edge of that massive bed and tried to process what had happened. Twenty-four hours ago, I was digging through trash and watching my boyfriend cheat on me. Now I was in a penthouse that probably cost more than most people made in a lifetime, married to a man I didn't know, and my father was going to live.
The bedroom door opened, and Alexander walked in carrying a cup of coffee and wearing nothing but black silk pajama pants.
Jesus Christ.
I'd known he was handsome in that expensive suit last night, but seeing him like this - his chest bare, his dark hair slightly mussed from sleep, his muscles moving under his skin as he walked - made my mouth go dry.
"Good morning, wife," he said, handing me the coffee.
Wife. The word sent a weird thrill through me that I tried to ignore.
"Good morning," I managed to say. "Thank you. For the coffee. And for my father."
"How is he?"
"The surgery was successful. The doctor called it a miracle."
Something flickered across Alexander's face - just for a moment - before his expression went neutral again.
"I'm glad," he said. "We should visit him before the wedding."
"The wedding?" I nearly spilled coffee all over those expensive sheets. "That's today?"
"This afternoon. I told you I don't believe in waiting."
"But I don't have a dress, or flowers, or—"
"All taken care of," he said calmly. "My assistant has arranged everything."
"Your assistant?"
"Victoria. You'll meet her shortly. She's been handling the details while you slept."
I looked around the enormous bedroom, at the luxury that surrounded me, at this beautiful man who had literally bought me like I was a piece of property.
"This is really happening," I said quietly.
"Having second thoughts?"
I thought about my father, alive and recovering because of this man. I thought about the ten million dollars that would be mine in a year. I thought about Marcus and Lisa, and how they'd react when they found out broke little Emma Sterling had married a billionaire.
"No," I said. "No second thoughts."
He smiled, and there was something predatory about it that made my pulse quicken.
"Good. Because there's no going back once we sign the official papers."
"Speaking of papers," I said, "shouldn't I read the contract before I sign it?"
"Of course." He walked to a desk in the corner of the room and picked up a thick manila folder. "Take your time. Ask questions if you have them."
I opened the folder and started reading. Most of it was standard legal language, but there were some clauses that made me frown.
"It says here I can't be away from you for more than twenty-four hours without written permission," I said.
"That's correct."
"Why?"
"Security purposes," he said smoothly. "I have enemies, Emma. Being associated with me puts you at risk. I need to be able to protect you."
I kept reading. "And this clause about obeying all reasonable requests?"
"I'm not going to ask you to do anything that will harm you," he said. "But there will be times when I need your compliance without explanation. Social events, business meetings, that sort of thing."
"What about my job? My classes?"
"You'll graduate with honors next week," he said. "I've already arranged it with the university. As for work, you won't need to work anymore."
He'd already arranged for me to graduate? How was that even possible?
"I never told you what university I went to," I said slowly.
Alexander's dark eyes met mine, and for a moment I saw something ancient and dangerous lurking in their depths.
"I know a great deal about you, Emma Sterling," he said quietly. "More than you might expect."
A chill ran down my spine. "What do you mean?"
"I mean I don't make ten million dollar investments without doing my research," he said. "I know you're an art major with a 3.8 GPA. I know you work at Luigi's Pizza three nights a week and at the campus bookstore on weekends. I know your mother died in a car accident when you were eight, and your father raised you alone while working three jobs. I know you've never been out of Illinois, you're afraid of spiders, and you've only slept with two men - one of whom just broke your heart."
My blood turned to ice. "How could you possibly know all that?"
"Like I said, I do my research."
"That's not research, that's stalking."
He moved closer to me, and I could smell that intoxicating cologne again. "Does it matter how I know? The question is, are you still willing to honor our agreement?"
I should have been terrified. I should have run screaming from that penthouse and never looked back. But my father was alive because of this man, and I'd already made my choice.
"I'm still willing," I said.
"Then sign the contract."
I picked up the pen with trembling fingers and signed my name at the bottom of the last page. The moment the ink touched paper, I felt something shift inside me - like a door opening in a part of my mind I didn't know existed.
Alexander took the contract and signed his name below mine with a flourish. When he looked up at me, his eyes seemed to glow in the morning light streaming through the windows.
"Welcome to my world, Emma Thorne," he said.
Three hours later, I was standing in front of a mirror in the most expensive bridal boutique in Chicago, wearing a wedding dress that probably cost more than most people's cars.
Victoria, Alexander's assistant, was a tall, elegant woman with silver hair and eyes that seemed to see right through me. She'd appeared at the penthouse like magic, carrying bags and boxes and an entire team of stylists.
"The dress is perfect," she said, adjusting the train. "Mr. Thorne has excellent taste."
The dress was perfect. It was simple but elegant, made of silk so fine it felt like water against my skin. The neckline was modest, the sleeves were long and fitted, and it made me look like a princess from a fairy tale.
A fairy tale where the princess sold herself to save her father's life.
"How long have you worked for Alexander?" I asked Victoria.
"A very long time," she said. "He's a good man, Mrs. Thorne. Complicated, but good. He'll take care of you."
"You keep calling me Mrs. Thorne."
"Because that's who you are now," she said simply. "The moment you signed that contract, Emma Sterling ceased to exist. You are Emma Thorne now, wife of Alexander Thorne, and everything that comes with that title."
"What comes with that title?"
Victoria's smile was mysterious. "You'll find out soon enough."
The wedding was small but elegant. It took place in the penthouse's private chapel - apparently Alexander's building had its own chapel, because of course it did. There were maybe twenty people there, all of them Alexander's associates or business partners. None of them looked like the kind of people you'd want to meet in a dark alley.
My father was there, looking better than he had in months. The surgery had given him back some color in his cheeks, and he was sitting in a wheelchair decorated with white roses. He looked happy but confused, like he couldn't quite believe what was happening.
"Are you sure about this, sweetheart?" he asked me before the ceremony started.
"I'm sure, Dad," I lied. "I love him."
The words felt strange in my mouth, but my father smiled and squeezed my hand.
"Then I'm happy for you," he said. "Your mother would be so proud."
The ceremony itself was brief and surprisingly traditional. Alexander looked devastating in a black tuxedo that fit him like it was made for his body - which it probably was. When he said his vows, his voice was deep and confident, and his dark eyes never left mine.
When it was my turn, I stumbled over the words a little, but I got through them. And when the minister pronounced us husband and wife, Alexander kissed me with such intensity that I forgot for a moment that this was all fake.
His lips were warm and soft, but there was something else - an electric current that ran between us, making my toes curl and my heart race. When he pulled away, I was breathless and dizzy.
"Mine," he whispered against my ear, so quietly that only I could hear him.
The word sent a shiver through me that had nothing to do with fear.
After the ceremony, there was a small reception with champagne and cake and polite conversation. Alexander's associates congratulated us with smiles that didn't quite reach their eyes, and I got the feeling they all knew exactly what kind of arrangement this was.
Around eight o'clock, the guests started to leave. My father was taken back to the hospital by a private medical team, and suddenly it was just Alexander and me in his enormous penthouse.
"So," I said, standing awkwardly in the middle of the living room in my wedding dress. "What now?"
"Now," Alexander said, loosening his tie, "we consummate our marriage."
My heart stopped. "Excuse me?"
"The contract specifies that this must appear to be a real marriage in all respects," he said calmly. "That includes the wedding night."
"But you said this wasn't romantic," I protested.
"It's not. It's a legal requirement."
I stared at him. "You want to have sex with me for legal reasons?"
"I want to fulfill the terms of our agreement," he corrected. "What happens between us tonight doesn't have to mean anything more than that."
I should have been offended. I should have been angry. Instead, I was terrified to realize that part of me wanted it to mean something.
"And if I refuse?" I asked.
Alexander's eyes darkened. "You signed a contract, Emma. You agreed to honor all reasonable requests. I consider this reasonable."
"Reasonable?" My voice came out higher than I intended. "Forcing me to sleep with you is reasonable?"
"I'm not forcing you to do anything," he said quietly. "I'm reminding you of an agreement you made willingly. But if you truly don't want this, then we can find another way to satisfy the legal requirements."
"What other way?"
He walked to a cabinet and pulled out an ornate silver box. Inside, nestled in black velvet, was a silver bracelet with strange symbols carved into it.
"You wear this," he said. "It will bind us in a way that's legally equivalent to consummation."
I looked at the bracelet. The symbols seemed to shift and move in the light, and staring at them too long made my head hurt.
"What is it?" I asked.
"An old family heirloom," he said. "It's been used in marriage ceremonies for centuries."
Something about the bracelet made my skin crawl, but it seemed like the better option than sleeping with a man I barely knew.
"Fine," I said. "I'll wear the bracelet."
Alexander's expression was unreadable as he lifted the bracelet from its box. "Give me your left wrist."
I extended my arm, and he clasped the bracelet around my wrist. The moment the metal touched my skin, I felt a jolt of electricity so intense it knocked the breath out of me.
The world tilted sideways. Colors became brighter, sounds became sharper, and I could smell things I'd never noticed before - the faint scent of sulfur in the air, the metallic tang of something that might have been blood, and underneath it all, something that smelled like death.
"What's happening to me?" I gasped.
Alexander caught me as I swayed on my feet. "The awakening," he said softly. "You're becoming who you were always meant to be."
"I don't understand—"
"You will," he said. "Sleep now. Tomorrow, your real education begins."
He carried me to the bedroom, and I was too weak to protest. As he laid me down on the bed, still in my wedding dress, I felt consciousness slipping away from me.
But just before I fell asleep, I could have sworn I heard him whisper, "Welcome home, my dark princess."
End of Chapter 2