Chapter 2: A Prison with a Penthouse View

My room on the top floor had everything a girl could want.

A view of the sea. Imported sheets. Designer dresses. Diamonds in the drawers.

And a lock on the outside.

Every luxury whispered the same truth:

You’re not a wife.

You’re a possession.

I stood by the floor-length window, staring at the endless ocean. It was mocking me—so wide and free while I was trapped in silk and stone.

There were guards in the hallway. Cameras in the corners. Even the bathroom had a soft buzz—probably wired.

Freedom didn’t exist here.

Only him.

Aiden Knight.

I still didn’t know what I’d done to deserve him. Or what his family wanted with mine. My brother Adam had never told me the full story. Only that we were in danger.

Now I was in deeper than danger—I was in Aiden’s world.

---

That evening, dinner was served in silence.

He sat at the other end of the long table, slicing steak like it was a living thing. He didn’t look at me. Just chewed slowly, thoughtfully, like he was waiting for me to snap.

I didn’t.

“I want to see Adam,” I said quietly.

“No.”

I clenched my fists. “Then I want answers.”

He glanced up, amused. “You want a lot for someone in a cage.”

“I’m not your prisoner.”

He leaned back, wine glass in hand. “You’re not? Look around.”

I did. Marble walls. Velvet drapes. One exit. Two guards.

My voice was shaking. “Why marry me if you hate me?”

He smiled—dark and dangerous. “Because you were never meant to love me. You were meant to suffer.”

I stood up, rage bubbling beneath my skin. “Then let me go.”

“You think it’s about you?” he said, rising slowly. “You think I locked you in this mansion because I care?”

He came closer. I backed up.

“You’re not the prize, Aurora. You’re the punishment.”

---

That night, I cried in the shower.

Not because I was weak.

But because I had to remember what I was fighting for:

My brother.

My freedom.

And the truth behind this twisted marriage.

I stared at my reflection in the mirror. Pale. Hollow-eyed. But still breathing.

They thought they’d broken me.

But they hadn’t seen the fire yet.

---

The next morning, something changed.

I found a note slipped under my pillow.

“If you want to know the truth, check the locked drawer in the study. Don’t let him catch you.”

No name. No handwriting I recognized.

My heart pounded.

Someone was helping me.

Maybe Aiden wasn’t the only one keeping secrets.

The study door creaked open.

The guard at the end of the hall had just turned his back. I counted to five—then slipped inside like a shadow.

I didn’t belong here. That was obvious from the thick, wood-paneled walls and the dustless perfection of the bookshelves. But the note under my pillow told me something important was hidden inside.

The drawer.

I crouched behind the desk, heart pounding, and pulled.

Locked.

Of course.

My hands trembled as I scanned the room. No key in sight. I was about to give up—until I noticed a black chess piece out of place on the shelf.

I pulled it gently. Click.

The drawer popped open.

Inside were two things:

A torn envelope, and a small USB drive.

I grabbed both, shoved them into my pocket, and backed away—but a voice behind me froze my spine.

“Looking for something?”

Aiden.

I turned slowly.

He stood in the doorway, arms folded, expression unreadable. That mocking calm was more dangerous than shouting.

My mouth went dry. “I got lost.”

He walked forward, eyes locked on mine. “Lost… in a locked room?”

I didn’t answer.

He closed the distance, stopping just inches away. His cologne—spice, smoke, something expensive—wrapped around me like a trap.

He glanced at the drawer behind me. “What did you take?”

“Nothing.”

“Lying to me already, wife?”

The word wife dripped with venom. Like he was daring me to believe it meant something.

I straightened my spine. “I don’t answer to you.”

His eyes darkened. “You do. Whether you like it or not.”

He turned away. But just before walking out, he spoke again—without looking at me.

“There are three rules in this house, Aurora. Break them, and I won’t be so gentle next time.”

I swallowed. “What rules?”

He held up a finger. “One: Never enter a room without permission.”

“Two: Never lie to my face.”

“And three…” He turned, eyes glinting. “Never forget whose name you wear now.”

With that, he vanished into the hallway.

I stood alone in the study, hands still clenched around the USB drive in my pocket.

So he knew.

Or at least suspected.

---

That night, I stared at the ceiling in my dark room, replaying his words.

I wasn’t afraid of him. Not completely.

But I was afraid of what I didn’t know.

What was on that drive?

Who left the note?

And why did he care so much that I married him instead of Elijah?

I would find answers.

Even if I had to burn through every secret Aiden Knight buried.

And maybe… just maybe…

I'd find a way to burn him too.

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