Chapter 3

The wine-colored bathrobe dangled from my shoulder, too big, soft, and strange on my damaged skin. I sat stiffly at the glass dinner table, the hotel room around me silent save for the dull buzz of the city that filtered through the windows. The deal was open before me. Creamy and heavy paper. Sharp black print. My name is bold at the top. Temporary Partner Agreement: Twelve Months, No Attachments. I gave out a gasping laugh. It broke in the chilly air like glass. "Is this your idea of romance?" I grumbled mainly to myself. Behind me, the bathroom door swung open. Cole appeared toweling his hair, naked and infuriatingly calm. There are no marks, no scars, just smooth, dangerous muscle draped across a physique meant to make weak women submit, and strong ones fall. He met my stare without flinching. "It's not romance," he stated. "It's survival." He sank into the chair opposite me, a lazy stretch of casual power. "You play my fiancée in public," he stated, his voice silky as scotch. "Events. Dinners. "Occasional interviews." He checked off the list with fluid fingers as if we were discussing dinner plans rather than turning my life upside down. "In exchange," he said, "you get an elite legal team, 24/7 protection, full custody leverage and a brand-new identity if things go south." I looked at him. Hard. Long. The longer I looked, the more it became clear that he was not asking. "Why me?" I said finally. Cole leaned forward, elbows resting on the table, his voice low. "Because you're the only woman I've ever seen," he said, "who refuses to beg." The words struck harder than they should have. Because deep down, I wasn't sure if I could keep refusing for much longer. With reflex yelling, I grabbed out my phone. Bank apps have mistakes. Credit cards were rejected. I phoned the rental office. Terminated. Effective immediately. Ellis had eliminated me. Panic arose, fierce and smothering. I chewed it down, red. Cole watched from across the table. Silent. Patient. Like a hunter watching a trapped animal tire itself out. "You think you're saving me?" I hissed. He did not grin. Did not soften. "No," he said. "I'm weaponizing you." Cole stood and slipped a thin leather case across the table. There are pictures within. Ellis laughed with a senator at a poorly lit diner booth. Bank payments. Offshore accounts. Sadie's name was put as a beneficiary for a trust she had no idea existed. "He doesn't want custody because he loves her," stated Cole. I tightened my hands to combat the instant sickness. "He wants to lock her up. Tie you up. "Silence you." My world changed again. Nothing is fixed. Nothing is safe. And, worst of all, I believed him. I shut the folder, releasing a breath of stale air between us. "This isn't protection," I said. "It's control." Cole did not deny it. Did not apologize. He stood there like a storm in a suit, black and relentless. "You have one option," he continued, his voice as hard as steel. "Sign, or walk away and watch him win." I got up, the chair grinding hard against the floor. "You don't own me," I said, breathing hard. He moved closer. Towering. Unrelenting. "You think this is about control?" he asked. His fingers brushed the table's edge between us, barely visible, as if threatening or promising. "It is about power. "And right now..." He grinned slightly. "You have none." His gaze burned into mine, daring me. "Sign it," he pushed his voice like a silk sword. "And take it back." The lawyer's office had glass, metal, and ice. I sat next to Cole, feeling like an open wire. His law team sharp-suited men and women with wicked smiles moved quickly. Within thirty minutes, Ellis' lawyer got a phone call. The warning was simple: "If you proceed with the custody emergency, we will proceed with the Senate ethics committee." Ellis started blowing up my phone fifteen minutes later. Blocked. Silent. Defeated, if only for now. I stood outside the law office, the wind hitting my face and my heart racing. Cole walked behind me, his hands in his pockets, and his eyes turned up to the city's infinite gray sprawl. The top lawyer whispered to him as she went, "She's stronger than I thought." And for the first time in days, a frightening spark of something sparked inside my chest. Hope. The vehicle trip back was razor-sharp silence. I sat stiff, my throat hurting. Cole softly beat his fingers on the driving wheel, focusing on the road and me. "You don't own me," I finally mumbled, my voice as cold as winter glass. "No," he said, looking at me sideways. "But I know how to make you forget him." Before I could think, argue, and breathe His hand caught in my hair. His mouth clashed with mine. Fierce. Punishing. Breathless. I kissed him back. In one crazy moment, I let go of everything. Pain. Pride. Past. Then I pushed him away, gasping. And smacked him. The crack echoed within the car. He laughed. Low. Dangerous. "Now we're even," he added, his lips twisting into a smile that promised a thousand more mistakes. I entered my old room expecting nothing but walls. I discovered less than that. The building had been gutted. Pictures are no longer available. Sadie's toys were crushed to bits on the kitchen floor. Drawers have been toppled. Closets were cleared. A place where I was the lone survivor. I fell to my knees amidst the ruins, shaking so hard that I feared my bones would break. This was Ellis' actual war. Not custody. Not courts. Breaking me. Breaking my heart. Breaking my world. And for the first time since that night, I let out the cries. Ugly. Loud. Human. I stayed there till the final forced sound left my throat. Then my phone vibrated. Court summons. Emergency custody hearing. 48 hours. When I returned to Cole's apartment, I was a different woman. Not softer. Not braver. Just harder. I dropped the paper on the counter. He did not move. He did not speak. "I don't trust you," I said. "I don't like you." I raised my chin. "But I'll use you." Cole's mouth curved not a smile a tool. "Fair," he said. "But remember." His voice dropped to a quiet growl. "My rules." "My world." There is no pity in those remarks. No promises either. It's just the raw truth. I signed. The ink flowed like blood on the page. Cole arose, sharp as a sword, and extended his hand. "Come." I paused. For a half-second. Then I took it. He led me to the lift at the far end of the unit. You'll find marble floors, polished gold trim, and glass walls that make you feel like you're flying. The doors slid shut with a gentle whisper. Cole turned toward me, shadows drawing rough lines over his lovely, deadly features. "Leave everything soft behind," he urged, his voice low and assured. "Starting now, you're mine." A hidden camera across the street sent the video straight to Ellis' private computer as the elevator went higher. Another battle has just started. This time, I wasn't the only one with anything to lose.