When I woke up in Alexander King's penthouse the next morning, it wasn't the soft light through the glass walls that stirred me. It was the silence. The kind of silence that pressed into my chest, reminding me that nothing about this place—this life—was mine.
The sheets still carried his scent. Clean, expensive, overwhelming. I sat up, hugging my knees, realizing that I had barely closed my eyes all night. Every time I tried, the memory of walking down that aisle—the second time in my life—came back in flashes. My heels striking the marble, my mother's fake tears, his unreadable face at the altar.
I married Alexander King.
Not for love. Not for choice. For survival.
A soft knock on the door startled me. Before I could answer, the door pushed open, and his housekeeper—an elegant woman in her fifties—stepped inside.
"Good morning, Mrs. King," she said with a polite smile.
I almost corrected her. The words didn't sit right, not on me.
"There's breakfast in the dining room. Mr. King is waiting."
Waiting. The word rang like a warning. I slid out of bed, my legs heavy, and pulled on the silk robe draped over the chair. Even the robe was his. Everything here was his.
When I entered the dining room, he was already seated at the head of the long table. Alexander King looked like sin in a suit, crisp navy, tie loosened, hair perfectly in place as if the chaos of last night hadn't touched him. He didn't glance up when I approached, just gestured to the chair beside him.
"Sit."
The command laced in his tone made my jaw tighten, but I obeyed. A line of maids swept in, placing silver trays before us, lifting lids to reveal an array of food that looked like it belonged in a five-star hotel.
I wasn't hungry.
"Eat," he said, his eyes finally meeting mine. Grey, like winter storms. Cold, calculating. "You'll need your strength. This isn't going to be easy."
I set my fork down. "What isn't?"
"Our marriage," he replied smoothly, sipping his coffee as if we were discussing business. "There will be rules, Elena. Break them, and you'll regret it."
The word regret knotted in my stomach. "What kind of rules?"
He leaned back, studying me with unnerving calm. "For starters, discretion. Our marriage will appear perfect to the outside world. You'll smile at galas, stand beside me at board meetings, and play the role of dutiful wife. Behind closed doors, you can hate me all you want, but in public, you're mine."
Heat rose to my cheeks. "I'm not some doll you can parade around, Alexander."
His lips curved, though not into a smile, it was sharper, darker. "No, you're not. But you agreed to this marriage. And with that agreement comes sacrifice."
The truth stung. He wasn't wrong. I had signed that contract. I had walked down the aisle. I had chosen the cage.
"And what do you get out of it?" I asked quietly.
He set his cup down with deliberate precision. "Control. Power. The one thing a man in my position can never afford to lose."
The air between us thickened. I couldn't look away from him, though every instinct screamed to run. He wasn't just dangerous because of the empire he owned, he was dangerous because he saw through me.
"You're trembling," he observed, almost gently.
I straightened my spine. "I'm not."
His eyes narrowed, like he was testing how far I'd bend before breaking. Then, without warning, he leaned closer, his breath grazing my ear.
"Rule number two, Elena," he murmured. "Never lie to me. I'll always know."
A shiver ran through me, one I hated myself for. Because it wasn't just fear, it was something else. Something I didn't want to name.
He pulled back, his mask of indifference snapping back into place. "Breakfast is over. Be ready by eight. We have a charity gala tonight, and the world will be watching us."
And just like that, he rose, his presence leaving the room colder than before.
I sat there long after he left, staring at the untouched food in front of me.
Rules. Discretion. Control.
I thought I had lost myself when Damien left me at the altar. But now, sitting in Alexander King's world, I realized something far worse—
I hadn't even begun to understand what it truly meant to be caged.