Chapter 3 A Dangerous Game

I should have lied.

I should have looked Dominic Caldwell in the eye and told him that Liam meant nothing to me.

But I hesitated.

And in that hesitation, I gave him my answer.

The phone in his hand was still lit, the image of Liam and me frozen on the screen. A memory I had buried-now resurrected as a weapon.

Dominic's expression remained unreadable, but the tension in the air was suffocating.

"You didn't answer me," he said, voice calm. Too calm.

I swallowed hard. "It doesn't matter."

His gaze flickered with something dark. "It does to me."

I forced myself to hold his stare. "Liam is in the past. This marriage is about the present."

Dominic tilted his head, studying me like I was a puzzle he intended to solve. Then, without another word, he turned and tossed the phone onto a nearby table.

I exhaled, tension coiled in my spine, waiting for the storm.

But when he finally spoke, his voice was almost amused. "You think you're in control here, don't you?"

A chill ran down my spine. "I think I have choices."

He took a slow step forward, closing the distance between us. "You don't."

I refused to back down. "Then why ask me at all? Why test me?"

Dominic's lips curled into something dangerously close to a smirk. "Because I like watching you lie to yourself."

I hated how his words made my stomach tighten, how his presence made my skin burn.

But I hated myself more for not pulling away when his hand skimmed up my arm, slow and deliberate.

"Be careful, Sinclair," he murmured. "You're playing with something far more dangerous than love."

My breath hitched, but I refused to let him see the effect he had on me.

"You don't scare me," I whispered.

He chuckled, low and knowing. "You should be terrified."

****

I barely slept that night.

Liam's presence. My father's scandal. Dominic's mind games.

It all weighed on me like a ticking time bomb, ready to explode.

At some point, I found myself on the balcony, staring out at the New York skyline, searching for answers in a city that only offered chaos.

But then I heard footsteps behind me.

I turned-and found Liam standing there.

I tensed. "How did you get in here?"

His jaw was tight. "You think I can't get past Dominic's security?"

I crossed my arms. "What do you want, Liam?"

His green eyes burned into mine. "To know the truth."

I exhaled sharply. "There is no truth."

Liam stepped closer. "Bullshit. You were supposed to leave with me three years ago. We were supposed to start a life together."

My chest tightened. "And we didn't."

His gaze darkened. "Because of your father."

I forced myself to stay composed. "Because it wouldn't have worked."

Liam's expression hardened. "And now you're engaged to him?"

I looked away. "It's complicated."

"Make me understand," he demanded.

I wanted to. God, I wanted to.

But before I could answer, a cold voice sliced through the night.

"That's enough."

My blood turned to ice.

Dominic stood in the doorway, his expression carved from stone.

Liam didn't back down. "I have every right to talk to her."

Dominic's smirk was lethal. "Not in my home, you don't."

Tension crackled between them like a live wire.

I stepped between them, my pulse pounding. "Liam, go."

His jaw clenched. "You don't have to do this, Elena."

Dominic's gaze flickered toward me. "Yes, she does."

Liam looked at me one last time, then exhaled sharply. Without another word, he turned and walked away.

The moment he was gone, I turned on Dominic. "You had no right to interfere."

He raised a brow. "He was trespassing."

"He was talking to me!"

Dominic stepped closer, his voice quiet but dangerous. "And what exactly were you going to tell him, Sinclair? That you still love him?"

I glared at him. "I don't love anyone."

His lips curled. "Liar."

I hated him. I hated how he could see right through me, how he could twist everything inside me until I didn't know what was real anymore.

But before I could argue, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper.

And when he handed it to me, my breath caught.

Because it was a contract.

And at the bottom, in bold ink, was my signature.

"You signed this," Dominic said, voice smooth as silk. "That means you belong to me now."

I gritted my teeth. "For now."

His smirk deepened. "For as long as I want."

I tore my gaze away from him, my hands trembling as I clenched the contract.

This wasn't just a marriage.

This was a prison.

And Dominic Caldwell was the warden.

****

The next morning, I barely made it through a business meeting without snapping.

Dominic sat at the head of the table, perfectly composed, perfectly ruthless. The way he commanded a room was infuriating.

And the way he barely acknowledged me?

Even worse.

The meeting ended, and I was the first to leave. I stormed toward the elevator, desperate to put distance between us.

But Dominic was faster.

He caught my wrist just as I reached the doors.

"Not so fast," he murmured.

I yanked my arm free. "What do you want?"

His eyes darkened. "Do you really have to ask?"

A shiver ran down my spine. "This marriage is nothing more than a deal. You don't get to control me outside of that."

Dominic stepped closer. "You think you still have a life outside of me?"

My heart pounded. "I know I do."

His fingers brushed my chin, forcing me to meet his gaze.

"Then why," he whispered, "do you keep looking at me like you want me to break every rule?"

My breath hitched.

And then-

He kissed me.

It wasn't soft. It wasn't gentle. It was possessive, devastating, dangerous.

I should have pulled away.

Instead, I kissed him back.

Because for the first time in this entire twisted mess, I realized something terrifying.

I didn't just hate Dominic Caldwell.

I wanted him.

And that was the most dangerous thing of all.