Warmth tickled the back of Leia's neck. Not comforting warmth, breathing. Heavy, steady, far too close.
Her lashes fluttered, her body stiffened. For a second, she thought she was dreaming. But then she inhaled…and caught the sharp tang of his cologne. Expensive. Masculine. Suffocating.
Her eyes flew open.
Jake.
He was leaning over her, his gray eyes gleaming in the dim light like a predator savoring its prey. His lips curved the moment she startled awake.
"Morning, sweetheart."
Leia jerked upright, clutching the sheets to her chest. "What the hell are you doing?!"
Jake tilted his head, unbothered. "Watching you sleep."
Her stomach dropped. "You're insane. Do you know how creepy that is?"
He smirked, sliding his hands casually into his pockets. "Creepy? No. Educational. You sleep like a log, Red. Barely moved an inch the whole ride back."
Leia blinked, trying to piece her memory together. The last thing she remembered was glaring at him in the limo, seething with rage…and then darkness. She'd dozed off. And now
Her gaze darted around. No velvet curtains in the limo. No flashing cameras. Instead…a massive bedroom, walls lined with bookshelves and glass, silk sheets tangled around her body.
Her heart pounded. "Where the hell am I?"
Jake's smirk deepened. "My bedroom."
The word slammed into her like ice water. She scrambled out of bed, putting distance between them. "I did not agree to sleep in your bed."
"Relax," he drawled, amused at her panic. "You passed out in the limo. I wasn't about to let my brand-new wife wake up with a stiff neck. Thought I'd be generous."
"Generous?" she snapped. "Kidnapping me in my sleep and dumping me in your bed is generous?"
He shrugged. "Could've left you outside. Consider it an upgrade."
Leia's hands curled into fists. "You're disgusting."
"Hmm. That's new. Yesterday I was arrogant. Then a kidnapper. And now disgusting. You're quite creative, Red."
"And I meant it!" she hissed. "You're a creep!
There was pure silence for a moment as she thought for a moment, but then asked.
"Why are you doing this? All these?"
Jake's eyes hardened just slightly, though his smirk never faltered. He took a step closer, closing the space she'd tried to create.
"Why am I doing this?" His voice dipped lower, colder. "Because I'm bored. And because you're entertaining. Like a little firecracker, I get to light and watch it explode."
Leia's stomach twisted, but she forced steel into her spine. "So that's all I am to you? A toy?"
"Not just a toy." His gaze raked over her slowly, deliberately. "The only one who's ever fought back. And that, sweetheart, makes you…fun."
Her jaw tightened. "I'm not fun. I'm not your game. And I swear, if you think I'm going to roll over and let you…"
Jake cut her off, voice sharp as a blade. "You don't have a choice. I told you already, I'll make your life miserable right here, in my world. So brace yourself, Leia. Because this is only the beginning."
______________________________
Leia sat on the edge of the mattress long after Jake slammed the door, his words echoing in her mind like poison. I'm going to make your life miserable. He hadn't said it with heat or anger, but with a chilling nonchalance that made her skin crawl.
Her wedding night. Just a week ago, she was still fighting, clawing, begging to keep her family safe. Now she was bound to the wealthiest and most feared family in the city. The weight of the Carter name pressed down on her chest until she could barely breathe.
The silence around her only magnified the truth. She wasn't a bride. She was a captive.
Leia curled into herself, staring at the ceiling in disbelief. Married. Not to a man she loved. Not to someone she even respected. But to Jake Carter, the arrogant, ruthless heir who thrived on her misery. And instead of some romantic beginning, her wedding night was nothing but loneliness and the sour taste of defeat.
A soft knock broke her spiral. Before she could answer, the door opened and Claire, the head maid, stepped in, followed by two younger staff members. They bowed their heads, but their voices carried no warmth.
"Mrs. Carter," Claire said, her tone polite but firm. "You cannot remain in this room. This is the Master's wing. You'll be taken to your quarters."
Leia blinked. Quarters? Her heart sank. So not only was she trapped in this nightmare, but she wasn't even allowed to exist in her husband's presence.
She gathered what little dignity she had left and rose. "Okay," she muttered, even though her voice trembled.
Claire led her across the hallway to a smaller, dimly lit room opposite Jake's. The contrast was stark, no luxury, no warmth. Just a cold bed and four walls.
When the staff left, the silence became unbearable. Leia sat on the edge of the bed, tears burning her eyes until they spilled freely down her cheeks. She pressed her fists against her face, trying to hold back the sobs, but they came anyway, loud, broken, desperate.
This was her life now. Married to a man who vowed to destroy her, abandoned on her wedding night, stripped of control.
And for the first time, Leia allowed herself to break.
___________________________________
The first thing Leia felt was cold.
Not the sharp cold of winter air but the kind that seeped into her bones, the kind that came from loneliness. She blinked into the dim light, her head throbbing with the echoes of the night before. Her lashes stuck together with dried tears. When she sat up, she remembered.
The grand wedding. The vows she had choked out, forced from her lips by fear for her family. The cruel kiss Jake had claimed in front of flashing cameras. The suffocating stares of strangers. And finally, the humiliation of being sent away like an unwanted dog into this small, barren room across the hall from her husband's.
Her wedding night. Alone.
Leia pulled her arms around herself and exhaled shakily. The dress she still wore, the same wedding gown that had been broadcast to the whole city, was wrinkled and stiff. It felt like a shroud now, binding her to a fate she hadn't chosen.
A knock came, sharp and precise. Before she could answer, the door opened and Claire, the head maid, stepped inside. Two other maids trailed behind her, their hands folded neatly in front of them, eyes lowered.
"Good morning, Mrs. Carter," Claire said, her voice neutral. From her arms, she produced a folded dress and laid it across the foot of the bed. "The Master has instructed that you wear this for breakfast."
Leia's gaze dropped to the fabric. It was plain gray plaid, stark, shapeless, something that looked closer to a maid's uniform than anything befitting the wife of Jake Carter.
Her stomach twisted. "You must be joking."
"No, ma'am. These are the Master's orders." Claire's tone did not waver.
Leia scoffed, rising from the bed with her gown swishing angrily around her ankles.
"I am not putting that on. I married into this family against my will, and now I'm expected to dress like one of the staff?" Her voice cracked, but she steadied it. "Absolutely not."
She stalked to the wardrobe and yanked the doors open, expecting to find her belongings, her few dresses, her shoes, the little reminders of her old life. But the shelves were empty. Barren. Not a single item of hers was there.
Leia froze, her heart clenching. "Where are my clothes?"
"The Master gave instructions." Claire's hands folded tighter at her waist.
Leia turned, fury sparking in her chest. "He can burn in hell. I'm not wearing his ugly rags."
She spun toward the bathroom instead, twisting the golden knob and storming inside. The steam of the shower swallowed her before the maids could answer. She let the water beat against her until her tears mixed with it, until the world blurred into one endless stream.
When she emerged, her hair damp, her wedding dress still clinging to her body, she ignored the folded gray cloth entirely. If Jake wanted to make her look like a servant, she would defy him in the one way she still could, by showing up in the gown he forced her into.
The dining hall was a cathedral of wealth—high ceilings carved with gold, chandeliers dripping crystals, long windows flooding the space with morning light. Leia's shoes tapped against the marble as she entered, her heart pounding against her ribs.
And then she saw her.
A woman sat at the breakfast table, legs crossed elegantly, a silk robe draped carelessly over her shoulders. She was stunning, almost unnaturally so, long legs, glossy hair tumbling in waves, lips painted the red of temptation. She didn't look like someone waiting for breakfast. She looked like someone who had already spent the night in a man's bed.
Leia froze. Her pulse stumbled.
No. No, he wouldn't have…