Elara's POV.
In the morning, I sat across from Dante at the breakfast table. The dining room was silent, save for the sound of sterling silver hitting porcelain.
He was dressed for work in a charcoal suit, and black tie with his usual cold expression. Last night's proximity in his bed might as well have been a dream.
"We need to discuss the path forward," Dante said, setting his coffee down. "The first contract was a business transaction. It failed. I am willing to continue, but the terms have changed."
"I'm listening," I said. I kept my voice soft, my eyes focused on my plate.
"First," Dante said, "absolute obedience. You do not leave the grounds without my personal authorization. You do not contact anyone from your old life. You are a Moretti now. Act like it."
"I understand," I replied.
"Second," he continued, "privacy. What happens in this house stays in this house. If I find out you are talking to the staff or anyone else about our private affairs, the deal is over."
"And the third?" I asked.
"Loyalty," Dante said, his grey eyes narrowing. "I saw you with Lorenzo in the library. I know he's been your 'companion' while I've been away. That ends today. You are my wife. You will show him the respect a head of this family deserves, but you will not seek his company."
I felt a surge of anger, but I pushed it down. "I understand, Dante. I was just lonely. It won't happen again."
"Good," he said. He pushed a single sheet of paper toward me. "Sign the addendum. We will resume our attempts to produce an heir immediately. I have scheduled a new medical team to visit you tomorrow."
I picked up the pen and signed my name.
To him, it was a reassertion of his power. To me, it was a permission slip to stay in the house long enough to bleed him dry.
Later that afternoon, I found Lorenzo in the rose garden. He was sketching in a notebook, but his eyes were constantly scanning the windows of the mansion.
"He told me to stay away from you," I said, walking up to him.
"I heard," Lorenzo whispered, not looking up from his sketch. "He's tightened the security. He's paranoid, Elara. You're playing with fire. If he catches you with that key or the burner phone, he won't just send you away. He'll make sure you never speak again."
"I know the risks," I said. "But I have the codes now. I just need time."
"Isabella is watching you," Lorenzo warned. "She's not at the docks today. She's in the house, 'helping' Mrs. Gable with the inventory. She's spying, Elara. Don't go near the basement until she leaves."
"I'm not going to the basement yet," I said. "I have something else to handle."
I walked back inside and went to my bathroom. I locked the door and opened the medicine cabinet. Hidden behind a loose panel in the back was a small bottle of pills I had managed to secure from the hospital pharmacy before I was discharged.
Contraceptives.
Dante wanted an heir, he wanted to use my body to secure his legacy. But I would not be a vessel for him again. Not until I was ready to leave.
Every time he came to my bed, I would smile and play the part, and every morning, I would take a pill to ensure he never got what he wanted.
I was taking control of the only thing I had left: my future.
I didn't notice the shadow in the hallway as I emerged from the bathroom. Isabella was standing by a hall table, pretending to adjust a vase of lilies.
"You were in there a long time," Isabella said, her voice dripping with false concern. "Are you feeling nauseous? Perhaps the recovery isn't going as well as you thought."
"I was just taking a bath, Isabella," I said, keeping my face neutral.
"Of course," she said. She stepped closer, her eyes scanning my face. "Dante told me about the new contract. He's very determined to have a son. It's a lot of pressure for a girl of your... constitution."
"I can handle it," I said.
"Can you?" Isabella reached out and straightened the collar of my dress. Her touch made my skin crawl. "I hope so. It would be such a shame if you failed him again. Dante doesn't give third chances."
She walked away, her heels clicking on the marble. I watched her go, knowing she would be watching my every move.
I went to my desk and opened my hidden notes on the burner phone.
" * Medical Team: Arriving tomorrow. Need to swap the blood samples.
* The Basement: Friday night. Dante will be at the Syndicate gala."
I sat on the bed and waited. I had walked back into the lion's den on purpose. I was the prey, yes, but this time, the prey had teeth.
Later that night, Dante came to my room.
As I lay there beneath him, staring at the dark ceiling. There wasn't any pleasure in the sex anymore, all nothing but fake orgasms.
My ability to make myself feel some iota of attraction towards him was gone. No matter how handsome he looked and how much I wanted to make myself enjoy it, I just couldn't. He doesn't know it, but he has bred a heartless cold wife.
When he finally fell asleep, I went to the bathroom and took the pill.
I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My eyes were hard. The girl who had signed that first contract out of desperation was dead.
I was walking a tightrope over a pit of vipers, but for the first time in my life, I wasn't afraid of the fall. I was looking forward to the landing