Chapter 3 The Rules

"Good morning, wife."

Aria sat up so fast her head spun. "You locked me in."

"I protected you." He set the coffee on the nightstand. "Victor's men were spotted two blocks away last night. The lock was for your safety."

"The lock was for your control."

"Call it whatever helps you sleep at night." He glanced at the rumpled bed. "Though it seems you didn't sleep at all."

She hadn't. She'd stared at that photograph for hours. The woman. The baby. The letter E.

"Who is Elena?" Aria asked.

Christian's expression didn't change. Not a flicker. The man had a face made of stone.

"Eat breakfast. We have a busy day."

"Who is Elena?" she said again, louder.

"Someone from my past." He walked to the window and pulled back the curtain. The city sprawled below them, glittering and indifferent. "Someone who believed your mother was murdered by my father."

Aria's stomach dropped. "My mother? I don't have a-my mother died when I was three. My dad told me."

"Your adoptive father told you." Christian turned. "The man in the hospital is not your blood, Aria. You know that now. You saw the photo."

"I saw a picture of a woman who looks like me. That proves nothing."

"It proves everything." He walked toward her. "Your real mother was Elena Astor. Sister of Eleanor Astor. The Astor family. Fifty billion dollars. The biggest fortune in New York."

Aria laughed. It came out shaky and wrong. "You're insane. I'm a waitress from Queens. My dad fixes cars."

"Your dad found you in a church when you were three months old. A baby wrapped in a cashmere blanket with an Astor family crest embroidered in gold." Christian's voice was flat. "He raised you as his own because he was a good man. Because he loved you. But the truth is you were stolen. Kidnapped. And someone has been looking for you for twenty-one years."

Aria pressed her hands to her face. The room felt too small. Too bright. Too much.

"Stop. Stop talking."

"Aria-"

"I said stop!" She looked up, and her eyes were wet. "You're telling me my whole life is a lie? That my dad-the man who raised me, who taught me to ride a bike, who worked double shifts so I could go to school-he's not my dad?"

"He's your father in every way that matters." Christian's voice softened, just slightly. "Blood doesn't make family."

"Then why does it matter to you?" she demanded. "Why do you care who my blood is? Why did you hunt me down in that café and offer me a million dollars?"

Christian was quiet for a long moment. Then he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded photograph. He handed it to her.

It was a picture of two men. Young. Smiling. Arms around each other's shoulders.

"Who are they?"

"The man on the left is my father. Richard Knight." Christian pointed to the other. "The man on the right is your mother's husband. Marcus Astor."

Aria stared at the photo. The man on the right had her eyes. The same dark brown. The same shape.

"That's..."

"Your birth father." Christian took the photo back. "He died the same night your mother did. A fire. The police said it was an accident. I don't believe them."

"My parents were... murdered?"

"I think so. And I think the person who did it is still out there." He met her eyes. "That's why I need a wife. My grandfather's will states I inherit Knight Corp and the Astor estate holdings only if I'm married by my thirtieth birthday. I have exactly sixty days left. If I don't marry, the company goes to my uncle. A man who has been trying to destroy my family for thirty years."

"So you picked me. The lost Astor heiress." Aria laughed bitterly. "Because if you marry me, you get my family's fortune too."

"No." Christian grabbed her shoulders. "Because if I marry you, I can protect you. And together, we can find out who killed our families."

His hands were warm. His face was so close she could see the faint scar above his eyebrow. The tired lines around his eyes.

"You could have told me this from the beginning," she whispered.

"You wouldn't have believed me."

"I still don't believe you."

"That's fine." He released her. "Belief isn't required. Cooperation is."

He walked to the door and held it open.

"Now. Get dressed. We have a wedding to plan."

---

Two hours later, Aria sat in the back of a black SUV, staring out the window as the city blurred past. Christian sat beside her, typing on his phone.

"I thought we were going shopping," she said.

"We are. But first, we're meeting my lawyer."

"Why?"

"To sign a prenup."

Aria turned to stare at him. "A prenup? You're already my husband on paper and now you want a prenup?"

"The contract you signed is binding. But it doesn't cover what happens if we actually divorce." He didn't look up from his phone. "If you leave me, you walk away with nothing. The million dollars reverts to my estate. You get no claim to Knight Corp, no claim to the Astor fortune, no claim to anything."

"That's insane. That's-" She sputtered. "That's completely one-sided!"

"That's business." He finally looked at her. "And this, Aria, is a business arrangement."

"I hate you."

"Good. Hate is simpler than love." He went back to his phone. "Hate keeps people alive."

The SUV stopped outside a glass skyscraper. Christian got out and walked around to her door. He opened it and held out his hand.

Aria stared at him.

"I'm not taking your hand."

"Everyone is watching."

She looked. People on the sidewalk. Doormen. Security cameras. A woman with a camera phone.

"I don't care."

"You should." He leaned down, his voice low. "If Victor sees us fighting, he'll know we're faking. If he knows we're faking, he'll know you're vulnerable. And if you're vulnerable..."

"He'll get to my father." Aria felt sick.

"Exactly." Christian held out his hand again. "Smile, Mrs. Knight. You're madly in love with me."

She wanted to hit him. She wanted to run. But she thought of her father, connected to machines, running out of time.

She took his hand.

The smile she gave him was a little too bright. A little too fake. But Christian's face softened, just slightly. And for one strange moment, he looked at her like she was the most important person in the world.

"Good girl," he murmured.

"I will kill you in your sleep," she whispered back, still smiling.

"Promises, promises."

---

The lawyer was a severe woman named Helen who looked at Aria like she was gum on the bottom of her shoe.

"So you're the wife," Helen said. "Interesting choice."

"Interesting is one word for it," Aria muttered.

"Sign here. Here. And here." Helen slid the papers across the table.

Aria picked up the pen. Then she stopped.

"What happens if Christian breaks the contract?"

Helen blinked. "Excuse me?"

"The contract says if I break the rules, I pay him back. What if he breaks the rules? What if he cheats? What if he hurts me?"

Christian's head turned. His eyes narrowed.

"There are no such provisions," Helen said stiffly.

"Then I'm not signing." Aria put the pen down. "Add a clause. If Christian cheats, he pays me five million. If he harms me physically or emotionally, he pays me ten million and I get full custody of any... future children."

The room went silent.

Christian stood up slowly. "Aria. A word. Outside."

He grabbed her arm and pulled her into the hallway. His grip was tight but not painful.

"Are you trying to undermine me?" His voice was low, furious.

"No. I'm trying to protect myself." She yanked her arm free. "You think I don't see what this is? You're a shark. You saw a desperate girl and you saw an opportunity. You've been taking advantage of me from the second you saw me."

"I have been trying to save your life!"

"I didn't ask you to save my life! I asked you to leave me alone!" Her voice cracked. "But you didn't. You couldn't. Because I'm useful to you. I'm a key to a fortune and a weapon against your enemies. So fine. I'll be your weapon. But even weapons need insurance."

Christian stared at her. His jaw worked like he was grinding his teeth.

"You want your clause?" he said finally. "Fine. I'll have it added."

Aria's mouth dropped open. "Really?"

"Really." He stepped closer. "But here's what you're not getting: if I go down, you go down with me. My enemies become your enemies. My danger becomes your danger. You are mine now, Aria. Only mine. And the day you forget that..."

"I won't forget."

"Good." He turned and walked back into the office.

Aria followed, but her hands were shaking.

When they walked out of the building an hour later, the contract amended and her signature on the paper, the paparazzi were waiting.

Christian pulled her close. His arm wrapped around her waist. His lips found her ear.

"Smile. And look at me like you love me."

"Why?"

"Because Victor is here."

Aria's heart stopped. She looked around, past the cameras, past the reporters.

And there he was. Victor Cruz. Standing in the crowd. Smiling at her.

Christian tilted her chin up. "Look at me. Not him."

"He's-"

"Look at me, Aria."

She looked.

And Christian kissed her.

It was not gentle. Not sweet. It was fierce, desperate, like he was claiming her in front of the entire world. His hands tangled in her hair. His body pressed against hers.

When he pulled back, she couldn't breathe.

"Now everyone knows," he said, loud enough for the cameras to hear. "You're mine."

CLIFFHANGER: He pulled her toward the car, but Aria looked back. Victor was gone. In his place, a woman. Tall. Blonde. Expensive. She was holding a sign. One word, written in red lipstick: LIAR. And the woman was staring directly at Christian with tears streaming down her face. Christian froze. His face went white. "No," he whispered. "Not her. Anyone but her."