Lila Hart's pulse still thundered from Alexander Knight's words—
"Even if I touch another, you'll still be mine."
The memory of his touch on the couch burned her skin.
Ethan Caldwell's voice at the door, promising evidence to free her, had sounded like salvation.
But Alexander's guards had turned him away.
The penthouse—gleaming glass, gold, and silence—felt like a cage wrapped in diamonds.
Two years ago she'd saved him from a burning wreck in the rain.
That one night had become a chain around her throat.
His contract, her family's debts, his obsession—every piece tightening until she could barely breathe.
Her phone wouldn't stop buzzing.
Dad: Lila, the creditors are here. We'll lose everything if we don't pay.
Sophie: (voice note, weak and breaking) Please… ask him, Lila. I can't lose my treatment.
Each message cut deeper than the last.
The headlines calling her gold-digger.
Veronica's cruel text—You'll never replace me.
None of it mattered compared to her family's fear.
She paced the marble floor, bare feet echoing against the cold.
There was no choice left.
Pride or survival—she couldn't have both.
She found Alexander in his study.
The city lights framed him like a shadowed god, blue eyes glinting with control.
He turned slowly when she entered.
"Lila," he said, smooth and sharp all at once. "You look troubled."
His gaze trailed over her, pausing on the faint marks he'd left.
A smirk curved his mouth—satisfaction, ownership, danger.
She swallowed hard.
"My family's in trouble," she began. "The debts—you promised to clear them. They need the money now or they'll lose everything."
Her voice cracked despite her will.
His smirk deepened, eyes dark as the skyline behind him.
He stepped forward, slow, deliberate, until his warmth pressed against her air.
"You want my help?" His tone slid over her skin. His fingers traced her cheek, then her throat. "You know the price, little flame."
Her stomach twisted.
Anger flared through the fear.
"I signed your contract," she said sharply. "I've done everything you asked. Just—help them."
He laughed softly, the sound low and dangerous.
"Oh, Lila, nothing about us is simple."
His hand found her waist, dragging her close.
His breath brushed her ear. "You ask for my power, my money. I ask for something in return."
She shoved at him, heart racing.
"I'm not your toy," she snapped.
But her body betrayed her.
A shiver.
A flush.
The heat of him breaking her resolve.
His eyes gleamed—victory and hunger entwined.
"You want my help?" His voice turned command. "Prove you're mine."
He stepped back.
Pointed to the floor.
"On your knees."
Lila froze.
Her breath hitched, humiliation burning through her chest.
Knees trembling, torn between pride and desperation, she met his stare.
He waited—expectant, merciless.
Then a sharp buzz shattered the silence.
Alexander's phone lit up on the desk.
A headline flashed across the screen:
Knight's Mystery Woman Linked to Rival CEO Ethan Caldwell!
The smirk vanished.
His face hardened, fury sparking in his eyes like blue fire.
And Lila's heart stopped—
because she knew this rage wasn't just about betrayal.
It was about possession.
What would he do to her now?