Chapter 6 THE FISRT RULE OF SUBMISSION

Zaya was no longer shocked by the silence. In Kael's world, noise was weakness. Everything was polished, cold, controlled. Even the way his staff moved quiet as shadows reminded her she didn't belong. But tonight, something shifted. She was summoned, not asked, to join him in the east wing a part of the penthouse she hadn't entered before. Marla's eyes had flickered with something unreadable when she brought the message. Pity? Warning? Zaya followed the hallway, her bare feet sinking into thick carpet. The double doors at the end were open.

Kael stood inside, dressed in black slacks, shirt unbuttoned at the collar, sipping from a glass of scotch like the room was his throne. He didn't look up. "Come in." She hesitated, then stepped inside. The room was vast, dimly lit by recessed lighting. No windows. No clocks. Just walls lined with bookshelves, and in the center a leather armchair and two glasses. "What is this?" she asked. Kael finally looked at her. "Your first rule." She folded her arms. "You keep throwing that word around like I agreed to it." "You didn't. But your actions speak louder than the pen you refused to use." He gestured for her to sit. "I don't take commands," she said. Kael smirked. "Everyone does. They just lie about it." Zaya didn't sit. Instead, she stepped deeper into the room, eyes flicking from the chair to the walls. There were no visible chains, no red flags. But the air felt charged. Intimate. Almost dangerous. Kael set his glass down. "Sit, Zaya." Her eyes met his. "If I don't?" He leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees, voice calm but sharp. "Then I'll teach you standing up." She inhaled through her nose, fists clenched. Every nerve screamed at her not to give in-but her legs moved on their own. She sat. "Good," he said. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing this so I don't punch you in the throat." A low chuckle escaped him. "Feisty. I like that." "Stop acting like this is normal." "I never said it was normal. I said it was necessary." "For what? For breaking me?" "For building something new." Zaya scoffed. "You don't know anything about me." Kael's gaze pinned her. "I know you haven't cried since you got here. That you carry your pain like armor. That you don't trust kindness because you think it comes with a price." Her voice was tight. "Doesn't it?" He stood, slow and steady. "Everything does." Then, softly like a line she wasn't supposed to hear he added, "Especially love."