Some rules are written to protect. Others… to destroy.
---
🕯️ 6:04 AM — Damien's Study, Zhuang Penthouse
The world was still dark when Ashira padded into Damien's private study—barefoot, silent.
The fire was low in the hearth, casting flickers across the wall-length shelves lined with law books and leather-bound files. She'd waited until she was certain he was asleep—his door shut, the hallway silent.
Her target: a thick, black binder marked simply: ZHUANG x LIN – 2023 Contractual Merge.
She slipped on silk gloves. Just in case.
Page after page, she scanned terms she'd memorized weeks ago. Joint board seats. Media control clauses. Tax shelter mechanisms. Standard elite-level prenup boilerplate.
Until she reached it.
Clause No. 5.
Her heart stopped.
> "Should either party in this contractual union develop romantic feelings for the other and/or act on said emotions, said party must legally withdraw all inheritance claims, equity rights, and asset control effective immediately."
> Love is considered a conflict of interest.
Ashira exhaled slowly, fingers tightening around the binder.
So that was it.
If she fell first—she lost everything.
If he fell—he lost nothing.
"Smart," she whispered bitterly. "Cold. And smart."
The ink blurred slightly beneath her vision.
She didn't know what made her angrier—that the clause existed…
…or that part of her cared.
---
🚪8:32 AM — Breakfast Table: Ice and Tension
Damien sat at the table reading headlines while stirring coffee without drinking it.
Ashira entered wearing a crisp navy suit, her hair down, her heels louder than necessary. She didn't greet him.
He looked up slowly, eyes flicking over her without emotion.
"You've been up all night," he said. "Again."
She sat across from him, matching his gaze.
"And you've been hiding contracts."
His brow lifted—barely.
"Excuse me?"
"Clause Five," she said flatly. "Love as a liability. Clever."
Damien folded the newspaper. Calmly.
"You weren't supposed to see that."
"Well, I did," she snapped. "And it's interesting. If I fall for you, I lose everything. But you? You walk away clean."
"I wrote that clause."
"And I know why."
Her voice was sharp enough to cut diamonds.
"Because you've never let anyone get close enough to matter. But you feared one might. So you made sure love came with penalties."
He said nothing.
But a faint flicker passed behind his eyes. Guilt? Pain? Or just… calculation?
"I'd rather this marriage stayed clean," he said coolly. "Untangled."
Ashira leaned in over the table, fire in her voice.
"Then why did you look at me like you wanted to destroy every man in that rooftop last night?"
Damien's jaw tensed.
"I don't remember."
"Liar."
---
Flashback: Last Night, Unseen by Her
After Ashira had gone to her room, Damien stood outside her locked door for ten whole minutes, wine glass untouched in hand.
He hadn't knocked.
He hadn't walked away either.
He'd just stood there—listening to the silence. Wrestling with a thousand things he didn't have a name for.
---
Noon — LinCorp Legal Department
Ashira summoned her personal legal aide, Ms. Divya Rao, requesting a confidential amendment briefing.
"We're redrafting some clauses," she said. "Including relationship contingencies."
Divya looked startled. "Ma'am, that's embedded into the Zhuang family clause book—changing that would mean…"
"I know what it means."
She leaned closer, eyes sharp.
"And if anyone leaks this, I'll know. You're here to protect me. Not the past."
Outside the conference room, Damien's assistant stood in the hallway—pretending to check his phone. Listening.
---
Meanwhile: The Threat Grows
Damien's chief rival, Adrian Feng, CEO of APEX International, finally speaks publicly.
> "Lin Corporation has potential. But its current alliances are… emotionally unstable."
Rumors spread like wildfire:
"Ashira Lin is manipulating Damien."
"She's angling for solo control."
"Zhuang's marriage is cracking."
Damien's board wants answers.
Damien? He watches a video of Ashira giving a speech at a women's entrepreneur panel in Dubai—projected confidence, effortless dominance.
And something in his chest tightens.
---
Night — The Confrontation
Ashira returns late—her phone buzzing with messages from Kian Roy.
Damien is waiting on the balcony, drink in hand.
"You're avoiding me," he says.
She steps up beside him.
"You put a leash on love. I'm just trying not to trip on it."
He turns sharply. "I put that clause in to protect both of us."
"No," she chuckles sarcastically. "You put it in to protect you."
The silence thickens.
Finally, he says quietly:
"I've seen what love does. It makes people stupid. Weak. I've watched empires fall because two people forgot who they were when they were apart."
"And what about us?" she asks. "What happens if one of us forgets the script?"
He says nothing.
So she walks away.
---
The Hook: A Threat from Inside
Elsewhere, a shadowy figure watches a file transfer complete.
Inside? Ashira's audit logs. Her recorded speech to legal counsel.
An email is sent—labeled:
> "Subject: Lin-Zhuang Marriage Vulnerability"
Recipient: [email protected]
---
The Final Scene: Heartbreak and Storm
Ashira sits in the bathtub, fully clothed, water rising around her.
She stares at her reflection in the silver tap.
"This is why love was always a warzone," she murmurs. "Because no one ever fights fair."
And from the other side of the penthouse, Damien leans against the closed bathroom door…
...doing nothing.
Because he's scared.
Because if he opens that door—he might break the clause.
---