"You don't get to touch my heart just because you own my name."
The soft tick of the antique clock was the only sound in the master bedroom.
Isabel sat on the edge of the bed, arms folded tightly around herself. She hadn't changed out of her wedding dress. She didn't want to. Taking it off felt like accepting this nightmare was real.
Damon emerged from the bathroom, shirtless, drying his hair with a towel. His body was sculpted - powerful, precise, and completely unaware of the storm inside her.
She looked away. "Put on a shirt."
He smirked. "You're my wife. Shouldn't I be allowed to get comfortable in my own bedroom?"
She turned sharply. "Then maybe I should sleep somewhere else."
Damon dropped the towel, his expression hardening. " This marriage may be fake to you, Isabel, but to the rest of the world, we're the perfect couple. That includes sleeping in the same bed."
She stepped closer, fury in her voice. "You want to play pretend? Fine. But don't think for a second that I'll ever fall for you."
"I don't need you to fall for me," he said, voice low and dangerous. "I just need you to follow my rules."
He handed her a typed list .
THE RULES:
1. Attend all public events with me.
2. Never speak to the media without my person.
3. Don't enter my private office - ever.
4. No dating, no contact with another man.
5. You belong to me. Until I say otherwise.
Isabel's eyes flared, "Rule five? Are you insane?"
He leaned in close, his breath brushing her cheek. "Break them.... and I'll break you."
Later That Night
Damon had fallen asleep quickly. How, she didn't know.
Isabel, wide eyed and restless, stared at the red envelope on her nightstand - the one that hadn't been there earlier. Her heart thudded.
Inside: a photo of her father, taken the day before he died. Behind it, a note written in jagged blank ink:
"Your father knew something. Dig deeper. Start with Damon's office."
she stared at the closed double doors across the hall.
Every inch of her screamed Don't
But she had to know.
Barefoot and silent, she stepped into the dark hallway, her fingers reaching for the doorknob to the one place she'd been forbidden.
The office is locked. But just as she turns to leave, the door creaks open... on its own.