The steering wheel felt slick beneath my hands.
I don't even remember the drive back to my apartment. I only remember the echo of his voice, dark, steady, merciless. You'll move into my house. You'll sleep in my bed and you'll never run.
Every red light blurred past me, my chest rising and falling too fast, like my body was trying to outrun the deal I'd just sealed with the devil.
When I finally parked, my knuckles ached from clutching the wheel. My building's lights were soft, familiar, but they didn't comfort me. My legs wobbled as I walked inside, as if the ground no longer trusted me.
I kicked off my heels the second I closed the door and collapsed onto the couch. For a long time, I just laid there, staring at nothing in particular.
I could still feel the heat of his hand over mine. The weight of his voice in my chest. And damn it all I could still feel the tremor of something I refused to name curling low in my stomach.
Sleep was merciless when it finally came. My dreams were tangled. Adrian's eyes in the shadows, my father's scorn, my sister's mocking laughter. I woke up gasping.
And to the shrill sound of my phone.
I grabbed it, blinking at the sunlight spilling from from across the room. Elara's name flashed on the screen. My best friend, the only person I'd let close after everything fell apart. Not the one from my high school of course, I stopped talking to Aria to moment I knew she had something to do with Adrian.
I swiped to answer. "Elara?"
Her voice was sharp with panic and excitement. "Raine! Oh my god, do you even have a clue what's happening right now?"
My head was pounding. "What are you talking about?"
"Your engagement. To Adrian Throne. It's everywhere. News blogs, gossip sites, even business columns. The internet's losing its mind—'Heiress Engaged to Dark Horse Billionaire'—that's literally one headline. Jesus, Raine, you didn't even tell me." A little hurt sipped into the last words.
My stomach dropped. I shot upright, heart thudding. "What?"
"It broke overnight. Pictures of you two in that bar. People are speculating, piecing it together. Do you understand? This isn't just news. It is fucking viral."
My mouth went completely dr dry.
Of course he had planned this. Of course Adrian Throne, with all his power and reach, wouldn't let our deal stay in shadows. No he'd set the whole world on fire with it.
Before I could respond, another call buzzed in. My father. My chest clenched. Then another. My mother. Then my sister. All three, one after the other, their names flashing like warnings.
"Shit, shit shit shut!" I whispered.
Elara sighed. "They're going to tear you apart for this. You know that, right?"
I did. But my pulse steadied, strangely. My fear began to cool into something else. Something sharper.
"Let them try."
I hung up before she could argue and braced myself.
When I finally answered my father's call, his voice was thunder. "Raine. Come home Now."
Sighing, I ended the call, of course I knew this was going to happen the moment I decided I was going to reach out to Adrain, I had already mentally prepared myself for something like this, I knew my family would go batshit at the news and that's exactly what I was going for.
The mansion felt colder than I remembered. The staff wouldn't meet my eyes as I walked through the front hall, my heels clicking softly on the marble floor.
They were waiting in the drawing room. My father, rigid in his chair. My mother, pale with controlled fury. And my sister, lounging against the sofa with a smile sharp enough to cut me.
The tension was thick enough to choke on.
My father didn't waste time when I reached where they all sat. "Explain yourself."
I met his eyes, forcing my voice steady. "You already know. I'm marrying Adrian Throne."
The air seemed to crackle.
My mother's hand flew to her chest. "Do you have any idea what this does to our reputation? To this family?"
My sister laughed soft, bitter, dripping with venom. "Oh, I think she knows exactly what she's doing. Isn't that right, Raine? Dragging us all down with you just because you want for attention?"
I turned my gaze on her, letting my smile curl slow and smug. "Funny. I didn't see you complaining when you were sneaking into my fiancé's bed. Maybe sit this one out, sister dear."
Her face twisted, fury flashing. "You..."
My father cut in, his voice booming. "Enough. Raine, this marriage will not happen. I forbid it."
Something inside me snapped, clean and final.
I straightened, my heart pounding but my voice clear. "You don't get to forbid me Father. Not anymore. You wanted me to prove I could take control of the empire. Fine. This is me doing it. Adrian and I,, whether you like it or not are happening."
My mother gasped. My father's face turned scarlet with rage. My sister muttered a curse under her breath.
And me?
I smiled. Wide, proud and smug.
Because for once, the power wasn't theirs. It was mine. Mine to control and do with as I wish.