The night I was sold felt colder than winter.
I stood in the middle of my father's office, my hands trembling at my sides, while two men in black suits watched me like I was already someone else's property.
"You don't understand," my father whispered, refusing to meet my eyes. "This is the only way."
The only way.
Those words echoed in my head as the door opened.
And he walked in.
Lucien Moretti.
Tall. Impossibly composed. His dark eyes scanned the room once before settling on me — calculating, unreadable.
Like I was an investment.
Not a person.
"So," he said smoothly, adjusting the cuff of his expensive suit. "This is the daughter."
My stomach twisted.
I wasn't a daughter anymore.
I was collateral.
Lucien stepped closer, stopping just inches away from me. His presence was suffocating — expensive cologne, power, danger.
"You'll sign the contract tonight," he said quietly. "And starting tomorrow…"
His fingers lifted my chin gently — but there was nothing gentle in his gaze.
"You belong to me."
My father wouldn't look at me.
His fingers were shaking as he held the glass of whiskey, the ice inside clinking softly in the heavy silence of the room.
"I didn't have a choice," he muttered.
But he did.
He just didn't choose me.
The door opened slowly, and the air shifted.
Even before I saw him, I felt him.
Power.
Control.
Danger.
Lucien Moretti didn't rush. He walked in like he already owned the building… like he already owned everything inside it.
Including me.
His dark suit fit him perfectly. His expression was calm, unreadable. The kind of man who never raises his voice because he never needs to.
My heart pounded harder with each step he took toward me.
"So this is the agreement?" he asked, glancing at my father.
"Yes," my father answered quickly. "Once the marriage is official, the merger will proceed."
Marriage.
The word echoed in my ears.
I turned sharply. "You're marrying me to him for a business deal?"
My father finally looked at me, guilt flashing across his face.
"It's temporary, Alina. Just until the debts are cleared."
Lucien's lips curved slightly.
"Nothing about me is temporary."
Silence fell again.
He stopped in front of me, so close I could feel the heat radiating from his body.
"You will sign the contract tonight," he said calmly.
"And if I refuse?" I asked, forcing myself to meet his gaze.
His eyes darkened.
"Then your father loses everything."
My stomach dropped.
The company. The house. Our name.
All of it.
Because of me.
Lucien leaned closer, his voice dropping to a whisper only I could hear.
"You belong to me."
My laugh came out hollow.
"The only way?" I repeated. "You had years to fix this company. And this is your solution?"
His silence was my answer.
Lucien moved toward the large mahogany desk and picked up the contract as if it bored him.
"This isn't personal," he said calmly.
I looked at him sharply. "It's my life. That sounds personal to me."
His eyes flickered with something—interest, maybe.
"Your life," he repeated softly. "Is about to become very comfortable."
"I don't care about money."
"That," he said, stepping closer again, "is because you've never truly been without it."
The words hit harder than they should have.
He wasn't wrong.
But that didn't mean he could own me.
"I won't sign," I said, lifting my chin.
The room went very still.
Lucien studied me carefully. Not angry. Not surprised.
Almost… impressed.
"You have spirit," he murmured. "Good."
"Good?" I snapped.
"I dislike fragile things."
My breath caught as he closed the distance between us completely.
He was taller than I realized. Stronger. His presence wrapped around me like a cage.
"Listen carefully," he said quietly. "Your father owes me a debt large enough to destroy him publicly."
My pulse roared in my ears.
"If you refuse," he continued, "I collect in ways far less pleasant than marriage."
Fear slid down my spine.
"You're blackmailing me."
"I'm offering you protection."
His fingers brushed against my wrist, light but firm.
The contact sent an unexpected shiver through me.
"I protect what belongs to me," he said.
"I'm not yours."
His jaw tightened slightly for the first time.
"You will be."
My father finally slammed his hand on the desk. "Enough! Alina, just sign it!"
I looked at him.
Really looked at him.
And in that moment, I understood something painful.
He wasn't asking.
He had already chosen.
Tears burned my eyes, but I refused to let them fall.
Slowly, I walked to the desk.
Lucien watched me like a predator watching prey approach willingly.
The pen felt heavy in my hand.
This was it.
Freedom… or sacrifice.
I looked up at Lucien one last time.
"If I sign this," I said quietly, "I want one condition."
His eyebrow lifted slightly.
"And what condition would that be?"
I swallowed.
"You don't get to control my heart."
For the first time that night…
He smiled.
Dark.
Dangerous.
"Sign the contract," he said softly.
"And we'll see."
I signed.
The scratch of the pen against paper sounded louder than my own heartbeat.
The moment the ink dried, something shifted in the room.
It wasn't just a contract anymore.
It was a cage.
Lucien took the document from my trembling fingers and examined it briefly before folding it neatly.
"Good," he said.
That single word sealed my fate.
He turned toward the door, then paused.
"Pack your things," he added without looking back. "You're coming with me tonight."
Tonight?
My breath hitched.
"I thought—"
"You thought wrong."
The door opened.
Cold air rushed in.
And just like that…
My old life ended.