Chapter 1 The marriage contract

The heavy mahogany doors closed behind her with a finality that made her chest tighten.

Aria Bennett clutched the strap of her worn handbag, staring at the man seated behind the glass desk. He didn't look up at first. He didn't need to. The air shifted the moment she entered, as if the entire room bent to his will.

Damien Volkov.

The name everyone in the city feared. The billionaire whose empire was built on steel, blood, and ruthless precision.

And the man her mother expected her to marry.

"Sit." His voice was deep, smooth, commanding. Not a request. An order.

Aria hesitated, her knees weak as she lowered herself into the leather chair opposite him. She had heard rumors about him cold, merciless, untouchable. But seeing him now made her heart stumble against her ribs. He was devastatingly handsome in the kind of way that was dangerous. Dark hair, sharp jawline, gray eyes that looked at her as if she were already something he owned.

"Your family's company," he said without preamble, flipping a file open, "is bankrupt. Your father owes more than he can ever repay."

Aria swallowed hard. She already knew this. Every sleepless night, every tear her mother shed, reminded her.

"I can save him." Damien's gaze lifted to hers. Cold. Predatory. "On one condition."

Her fingers tightened against her bag. "What condition?"

He leaned back, slow and deliberate, like a predator toying with prey. "You marry me. Tonight."

Her breath caught. "What?"

"You heard me." He stood, towering over her, his tailored black suit like armor. "Your father's debts disappear. Your family keeps their home. And you..." His hand reached out, tilting her chin up with two fingers. "...you become mine."

Aria's pulse hammered in her ears. She had expected an arrangement, yes. But not like this. Not this sudden. Not this final.

"Why me?" The words slipped out before she could stop them.

For the first time, something flickered in his eyes. Something unreadable. Dangerous. "Because I don't marry for love. I marry for control. And you, Aria Bennett, are the perfect leash."

Her stomach twisted. This was madness. A devil's bargain. Yet the thought of her father behind bars, her mother broken beyond repair...

Her lips trembled. "And if I say no?"

Damien's smile was cold, cruel, devastating. "Then I bury your family so deep, the world forgets the Bennetts ever existed."

The room seemed to shrink, suffocating her. She felt the walls close in, the weight of the choice pressing down.

And she knew, whether she said yes or no, her life as she knew it was over.

Her mother's voice echoed in her head: Do this, Aria. Save us.

Tears burned her eyes, but she lifted her chin, refusing to let him see her break.

"I'll marry you," she whispered.

Damien's smirk deepened. "Good girl."

He leaned closer, his breath ghosting against her ear. "But remember this, Aria, once you sign that contract, there is no escape. You belong to me. Until death."