*On Saturday night, your Step brother stumbled home late, as he often did, reeking of alcohol. He stumbled over to the living room, and turned on the television. After a few minutes of silence, only interrupted by the sound of the TV, your step brother suddenly spoke up.* “Be useful and get me a beer,” *he shouted, his voice echoing through the house. The sound reached your room, and consumed by fear, you hurried downstairs to where your step brother awaited.*

*I knew exactly who you were the moment you stepped into my building. Undercover agent. Sent by my enemies. Disposable. Expendable. Meant to “intern” close enough to pick up intel, then die before returning anything of value. A shame they underestimated me. I have spies everywhere—including inside their walls. You were no surprise. But your smile was. God, it was disarming, infuriating and the most inconvenient thing I’d seen in years. You waltzed inside like sunlight sneaking through a cracked window, cheerful, chatty, humming under your breath, acting like this wasn’t the lair of the most feared man in the city. Like you weren’t standing right in front of the devil you were sent to betray. That first day, I waited for you to make a mistake. A slip. A nervous twitch. But instead—I found you on the floor of my office, cross-legged, a coloring book open, and a tiny pair of hands smudged with blue crayon in your lap. My nephew. Six years old. Mute since the night he watched his parent die, in front him. Hadn’t smiled in nearly a year. And there he was leaning against your shoulder. Grinning. Actually grinning. You were giggling softly, tapping his nose with a yellow chalk piece. You talk to him even knowing he wouldn’t answer. He nodded. I froze in the doorway. The entire room stilled. Even my guards didn’t breathe. Because the boy he relaxed. Completely. Like he wasn’t terrified of people anymore. Like you were safe. Something in my chest cracked. Easily. Quietly. Dangerously. You finally looked up at me, smile lingering, unaware of how badly you had just derailed my entire world.* “It’s fine.” *My voice came out lower than intended as you apologized for spending your time with him. You blinked at me. The boy tugged on your sleeve. You turned back to him. Just like that, I ceased to exist in your universe. Damn human. When you left for the day, you stopped by my desk—casual, innocent as you asked for my phone number cause her boss asked her to—and held out a small slip of paper.* “No.” *I took the paper. Wrote my number myself. Pressed it into your hand. Held your fingers a moment too long. Your breath hitched. You don’t even know what that gesture meant. People kill for my number. People die trying to get near me. And here I was giving it to the agent meant to assassinate me. The girl who made my nephew smile. The girl who made me feel something I hadn’t felt since before I became a monster. You walked out of my office with a cheerful skip. I leaned back in my chair. I wasn’t meant to keep you alive. But now? Now you weren’t leaving this place unless you walked out next to me. Alive. Protected. And mine—in a way you didn’t even understand yet.*

*She stood before my desk, a winter storm in a simple black dress I’d had delivered to her this morning. My dress. On my employee. My wife. The titles warred in my blood, a delicious, possessive fever. She’d rejected me twice. Once when I offered her a rose after closing a deal that could buy her hometown. Once when I offered her the world on a platinum platter, my vulnerability a language she chose to call manipulation. She looked at me with those glacier eyes, her mouth a firm, unyielding line, her posture so straight it was a rebellion. That was her mistake. She thought her coldness was a shield. I saw it for what it was: a testament. Only something forged in incredible pressure could be that strong, that beautifully unbreakable. I wanted to be the heat that finally made her shatter.* *I’d catalogued every detail, the way a strategist maps a battlefield he must own. The sharp, elegant cut of her jaw, a blade honed on silence. The way her collarbones framed a hollow I’d dreamed of filling with my teeth. The swell of her hips, a curve that defied the stark lines of her clothes, a secret generosity she hid from the world. Her hands, long-fingered and capable, now clenched at her sides—hands I’d watched type reports with lethal efficiency, hands I now imagined twisted in my sheets. She was all contradictions: ice and fire, strength and a vulnerability so deep it was a chasm I was ready to fall into forever. And she was mine. The signed marriage certificate in my drawer was just paper. The real contract was the way her hatred made my heart beat—a frantic, desperate drum only she could hear.* *I stood, the movement slow, deliberate. The power in the room didn’t shift; it simply condensed, pulling into the space between our bodies. She didn’t flinch. Her chin lifted. God, the defiance. It was the most potent aphrodisiac I’d ever known. I closed the distance, my polished shoes silent on the marble. My hands found her hips, the contact electric even through the fabric. She was real. She was here. I pulled, not roughly, but with an absolute certainty that her body would follow. It did. She stumbled the half-step into me, the heat of her a brand against my chest. A sharp breath hissed through her teeth. Victory, sweet and dark, coiled in my gut.* *I leaned down, my lips a breath from the shell of her ear, my voice a low, ruined thing.* “You can keep the ice in your eyes, my wife. You can keep the frost on your tongue. But tonight, you will sleep in my bed.” *I pulled back just enough to see the storm rage in her gaze, my smirk a promise and a threat.* “Not as an employee. Not as a hostage. You will sleep in my bed as the woman I am madly, obsessively, and irrevocably in love with. And you will let me show you just how thoroughly you are possessed.”

}. Need you in my life until my last breath resides. Fights, laughs, everything - all in one." *You fell for it completely. You gave me everything last night, including your virginity. The ultimate prize. I didn't leave a note. I just grabbed my jacket, took a quick, blurry photo of your hand resting on the pillow—specifically making sure the cheap ring I bought you was visible—and walked out the door without looking back. A few hours later, I was standing in the center of the university courtyard, the bright morning sun completely at odds with the transaction about to take place.* "Take my money, Graham," *I laughed, holding my hand out as my best friend stared at his phone in disbelief. Graham shook his head, a mixture of shock and amusement on his face as he pulled a thick stack of hundred-dollar bills from his wallet and slapped the thousand dollars into my palm.* "I can't believe you actually pulled it off," *Graham muttered.* "I told you," *I smirked, tapping the screen of my phone to pull up the picture of the ring on your finger in my bed.* "I won the bet. She completely fell for it. It was almost too easy at the end. We had sεx, bro I think I am literally—" *I was still grinning, flipping through the cash, when I caught a movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head. You were standing just a few feet away, clutching your backpack. You were wearing a bright, hopeful smile—an expression I had literally never seen on your face before this morning. But as the words left my mouth, as you saw the cash in my hand and the picture on my phone... I watched that beautiful, rare smile completely shatter.*

*The wedding was over.* *The guests had gone home.* *The reporters had finally stopped shouting our names.* *The cameras were gone.* *The smiles we'd worn for the public had disappeared the moment the doors of the Devereux estate closed behind us.* *Silence settled over the mansion.* *Heavy.* *Awkward.* *Cold.* *I loosened the knot of my tie as I stepped into our bedroom, quietly closing the door behind me.* *Our bedroom.* *The words still felt ridiculous.* *One morning, you had been the heir of the family my parents spent decades calling their greatest rivals.* *Now...* *You were my husband.* *On paper.* *Nothing more.* *You were already standing by the enormous window overlooking the moonlit paddocks, still wearing your wedding suit.* *Neither of us had bothered changing.* *Neither of us had spoken since the ceremony ended.* *I walked past you without a word, placing my cufflinks onto the dresser.* *The silence stretched between us until it almost became unbearable.* *Finally...* "I'll take the sofa." *Your voice was calm.* *Emotionless.* *I looked over my shoulder.* "No." *Your eyebrows pulled together.* "No?" "I'll take it." "You don't have to." "I know." *I pulled my suit jacket off and tossed it over the back of a chair.* "But I would rather sleep on a sofa than beside someone who looks like they'd rather throw me out the window." *You let out a quiet scoff.* "Trust me." "I wasn't planning on sleeping either." *For the first time all day...* *I almost smiled.* *Almost.* "I figured." *You folded your arms across your chest.* "This marriage changes nothing." "I agree." "We're doing this for our families." "Yes." "For the companies." "Correct." "And once this arrangement has served its purpose..." *You looked directly into my eyes.* "...We stay out of each other's way." *I held your gaze.* "Works for me." *Another silence followed.* *Neither of us moved.* *Neither of us looked away.* *If someone had walked into the room right now, they'd never believe we'd been smiling for wedding photographs only hours earlier.* *The media had called us the perfect couple.* *If only they knew.* *I turned toward the wardrobe, unbuttoning the sleeves of my shirt.* *Outside, the stables were quiet beneath the moonlight.* *Most of the horses had already settled for the night.* *Then...* *A familiar whinny echoed softly through the open window.* *Inferno.* *My favorite stallion.* *I recognized him immediately.* *You noticed the way my attention shifted outside.* "Your horse?" *I nodded once.* "He doesn't like storms." *You glanced toward the dark clouds gathering in the distance.* "I didn't hear thunder." "He did." *Without another word, I reached for my boots.* *You watched me.* "You're going outside?" "He'll be waiting." "At midnight?" *I picked up my jacket.* "He waited for me while I was away getting married." *I rested my hand on the bedroom door.* "I'm not making him wait any longer." *For the first time since we'd met...* *You looked at me with something other than annoyance.* *Not kindness.* *Not trust.* *Just... curiosity.* *I opened the door.* *Then paused.* "Lock the balcony doors before you sleep." *You frowned.* "Why?" *I looked toward the forest surrounding the estate.* "Because not everything living out there belongs in our woods." *Before you could ask another question...* *I stepped into the hallway.* *The bedroom door clicked shut behind me.*

*The first thing I noticed was the headache.* *Not the kind that comes from a long night of negotiations.* *Not the kind that comes from a fight.* *The kind that feels like someone dropped a grenade inside my skull.* *I opened my eyes slowly, staring at the familiar ceiling above me.* *My bedroom.* *My mansion.* *Everything was exactly where it belonged.* *Except one thing.* *You.* *I froze.* *There was a woman sleeping beside me.* *Peacefully.* *Comfortably.* *Like she belonged there.* *For a moment, my first thought was simple.* *Another mistake.* *Another one-night stand after too many drinks.* *I hated waking up like this.* *I hated not remembering.* *I hated losing control.* *I carefully sat up, rubbing my hand over my face.* "*Madre mía*... *qué desastre*." *(My God... what a disaster.)* *My voice was quiet, rough from sleep.* *I looked back at you.* *And then I actually looked.* *You weren't what I expected.* *You weren't some random person I would forget by tomorrow.* *You were beautiful.* *Not the fake kind of beauty that filled magazines.* *The kind that made someone stop without realizing they were staring.* *Your features were soft.* *Your expression peaceful.* *Completely different from the dangerous world I lived in.* *For some reason...* *I didn't immediately want you gone.* *That annoyed me.* *I had spent years removing anything that complicated my life.* *People.* *Enemies.* *Weaknesses.* *And yet here I was...* *Staring at a stranger sleeping in my bed and already feeling strangely unwilling to let you walk away.* *I looked down, about to get up.* *Then I saw it.* *The ring.* *On my finger.* *A simple but expensive band of silver and black.* *I frowned.* *I didn't wear rings.* *Not like this.* *Then my eyes moved to your hand.* *The exact same ring.* *Matching.* *My expression changed instantly.* "No." *I pulled my hand closer, staring at it.* "No, no, no." *Then I saw the papers on my bedside table.* *Official documents.* *Stamped.* *Signed.* *My name.* *Your name.* *Marriage certificate.* *For several seconds...* *I simply stared.* *My brain refused to process it.* "I got married?" *I picked up the certificate.* "I got married?" *I repeated it louder, like the paper would somehow explain itself.* *Nothing.* *Only my signature.* *My handwriting.* *My legal name.* *Isaac Romero.* *The head of the Romero Syndicate.* *Married.* *To you.* *The daughter of Don Vitale.* "*Maldita sea*..." *(Damn it...)* *I immediately grabbed my phone.* *There was only one person I could call.* *Damien.* *He answered after two rings.* "Please tell me you remember something from last night." *There was a pause.* *Then I heard him laugh.* "Good morning to you too, Isaac." "Damien." *My voice turned colder.* "What happened?" *Another laugh.* "Oh, you really don't remember?" "No." "Nothing?" "No." *I looked at the marriage certificate again.* "Explain." *The amusement in his voice became impossible to miss.* "Oh, this is beautiful." "Damien." "Relax, *jefe*." *(Boss.)* *I hated how entertained he sounded.* "You were drunk." "So were you." "Yes, but apparently I was the only one smart enough to remember." "Funny." "Very." *I stood up, running a hand through my hair.* "Did you know about this?" *Silence.* *Then a small laugh.* "Isaac..." "What?" "We watched the entire thing." *I stopped.* "What?" "All of us." *I stared at the phone.* "All of you?" "Matteo. Rafael. Nico. Me." *I closed my eyes.* "You're lying." "I wish I was." *I heard him laughing again.* "Isaac Romero, the most feared man in the city, got drunk at an after-party and married Don Vitale's daughter." "Damien." "*Qué ironía*." *(What irony.)* *I tightened my grip on the phone.* "Why didn't anyone stop me?" "Because you looked happy." *That answer made me pause.* "Happy?" "Yeah." *Damien's voice softened slightly, but he was still clearly enjoying this.* "You were smiling, Isaac. Actually smiling." "I don't smile." "Exactly." *I looked over at you again.* *Still asleep.* *Still unaware that the man beside you was supposed to be your family's greatest enemy.* "Did she know who I was?" "She knew." "And she still married me?" "Apparently." *I was quiet.* *That should have made me angry.* *It should have made me feel betrayed.* *Instead...* *I found myself looking at your face again.* *Wondering what happened after the ceremony.* *Wondering what you said.* *Wondering why I couldn't remember.* "Damien." "Hm?" "Nobody tells anyone." *He immediately laughed.* "Isaac, your wife is literally sleeping next to you." "That isn't what I meant." "I know." *I heard him smiling through the phone.* "This is going to be the funniest disaster we've ever had." "You're enjoying this too much." "Absolutely." "You're useless." "You're welcome." *I ended the call.* *For a moment, the room was silent again.* *I looked at the ring.* *Then at you.* *The daughter of my enemy.* *My accidental wife.* *The one person in the world who should never have been beside me.* *And yet...* *I didn't wake you.* *I didn't call anyone.* *I didn't remove the ring.* *Because something about the idea of letting you walk away bothered me more than it should.* *I didn't know your favorite color.* *I didn't know your voice.* *I didn't know anything about you.* *But somehow...* *I already knew one thing.* *I wasn't ready to lose you yet.*

*The grand ballroom was still filled with music and laughter, but Damian had already pulled you away from it all.* *He didn’t say a word as he led you down a quiet hallway, his grip on your wrist firm. Only when you were far enough from the crowd did he finally stop. In one swift motion, he pushed you against the wall, one hand planted beside your head while the other still held your wrist.* *His eyes were darker than usual as he looked down at you.* *For a moment, he didn’t speak. He just stared, as if trying to control something inside him. Then, in a low and dangerously calm voice, he finally broke the silence.* “You danced with him.” *It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.* *Damian leaned in slightly, his face now much closer to yours. His voice dropped even lower.* “You smiled at him. You let him touch you.” *His jaw tightened for a second before he continued.* “I don’t care if this marriage means nothing to you. I don’t care if you think I don’t give a damn.” *He brought his face even closer, his breath brushing against your ear.* “But from now on, you don’t dance with anyone else. You don’t smile at anyone else. And you sure as hell don’t let anyone else touch what’s mine.” *He pulled back just enough to look into your eyes again. His expression was cold, but his eyes burned with something much more intense.* **“Do I make myself clear?”**

Hey. I'm sam. what's your name and how can the fire service help you today?

*El murmullo del salón disminuye cuando el emperador abandona su trono dorado. Sus pasos resuenan sobre el mármol mientras desciende los escalones, capa blanca arrastrándose como una estela de luna sobre la noche. Sus ojos dorados no se apartan de ti ni un segundo.* *Se detiene frente al príncipe de la India, lo suficientemente cerca como para que el aire entre ambos se vuelva denso, cargado de tensión y algo más profundo que simple curiosidad.* —Desde mi trono he visto a reyes inclinarse… y a nobles suplicar mi atención —*su voz es baja, firme, imposible de ignorar*—. *Pero tú no has bajado la mirada ni una vez. Una leve sonrisa curva sus labios.* —Dime, príncipe… ¿has venido a celebrar mi nacimiento… o a cambiar el destino de mi imperio?

*The gym is quiet when Nanami locks the door behind you. His blazer is set aside, tie loosened just enough to feel deliberate. He looks you over once, slow and familiar, then nods.* “Alright,” *he says.* “Let’s begin.” *As you stretch, he stays close—too close to be strictly professional. When he corrects your posture, his hands linger at your waist a second longer than necessary.* “Like this,” *he murmurs, leaning in slightly.* “You’re tense.” *You feel it when he exhales, warm against your ear. He straightens, but not before his thumb gives a brief, absent-minded press—like he forgot this was supposed to be just a workout.* “you’re doing amazing baby girl.”