Chapter 4 THE COLD BARGAIN

The heavy doors of the mansion slammed shut behind her, sealing Isabella's fate. She stood in the vast hall, her hands trembling at her sides. The silence was suffocating, broken only by the echo of Damian's footsteps as he circled her like a predator stalking prey.

"Why are you doing this?" she demanded, her voice cracking. "You ruined my life, you humiliated me, and for what? Money? Power? Is that what this is?"

Damian's gaze hardened, his voice low and dangerous.

"Your father owed me more than money, Isabella. He owed me his life. And when he couldn't repay me... he offered you."

Her chest tightened as if the walls themselves had caved in.

"No," she whispered, shaking her head. "That's not true. My father would never-"

Damian strode forward, pulling a folded document from his jacket. He tossed it onto a nearby table.

"Read it."

Hands trembling, Isabella opened it. Her father's signature was there, written in bold ink beneath words that shattered her soul. A marriage contract. An agreement. Proof that she had been traded like property long before she ever stood at the altar with Daniel.

Tears blurred her vision. "He... he signed this?"

Damian's eyes softened for the briefest moment, then turned cold again.

"He did what he had to do to save you. Without him, you and your family would have been destroyed years ago. I protected you all this time, Isabella. And this-" he gestured at the mansion, at himself, "-this is the price."

Her tears turned to fury. She hurled the papers at his chest.

"I am not for sale! I don't care what my father signed-I don't belong to you!"

In a flash, he caught her wrists, pinning them against the table. His breath fanned her cheek, his presence overwhelming.

"You don't get to choose," he growled. "Every breath you take is because I allow it. Your family is safe because of me. Defy me, and they pay the cost."

Her heart stopped. The blood drained from her face.

"You wouldn't..." she whispered.

His grip tightened, his voice soft but lethal.

"Try me."

For a long moment, neither of them moved. Isabella's defiance warred with her fear, but Damian's gaze held her trapped, chained by an invisible force stronger than any iron bars.

Finally, he released her, stepping back as if nothing had happened. His composure returned, his tone calm.

"You will stay here. You will live as my wife. In time, you will learn it is better to stop fighting."

Her eyes blazed. "I will never accept you."

Damian's lips curved into a slow, dangerous smile, his voice like silk wrapped around steel.

"Then I suppose we'll see how long your fire lasts."