Chapter 3 Tomorrow's Promise

The next morning, Aria woke up in a bed that wasn't hers, in a house that felt like a prison.

For a moment, she thought it was all a nightmare the rushed vows, the cold kiss, the contract signed with trembling hands. But the diamond ring glittering on her finger was a cruel reminder. This was real. Too real.

She slipped out of the bed, desperate to find some corner of the mansion where she could breathe.

The halls stretched endlessly, portraits of dead men staring down at her as if mocking her fate. She eventually found herself in the kitchen, where servants moved silently, like ghosts.

One of them, an older woman with kind eyes, whispered softly, "Eat, Mrs. Volkov. You'll need your strength."

Mrs. Volkov.

The title stabbed at her chest.

She barely touched the food before Damien appeared, filling the room with a presence that made everyone else scatter. His gray eyes landed on her, sharp, calculating.

"You didn't eat," he said, his tone flat, but his gaze lingered on the untouched plate.

"I'm not hungry," Aria muttered, lowering her eyes.

"Look at me when you speak."

The command rolled over her like a whip. Reluctantly, she lifted her chin, meeting his stare. Cold, unreadable, dangerous.

"Rule number one," Damien said as he moved closer, each step slow, deliberate. "You obey me. Always."

Her fingers curled against the chair. "And if I don't?"

He leaned down until his face hovered inches from hers, his voice a dark caress. "Then I'll make you wish you had."

Her breath caught, heat rushing to her cheeks not just fear, but something far more dangerous. She hated that he made her feel this way.

Damien's hand brushed her hair back, gentle in contrast to his words. For a moment, his mask slipped, and she thought she saw something flicker in his eyes pain, longing, something almost human.

But then it was gone, replaced by steel.

"Tonight," he whispered, "you'll learn what belonging to me means."

Her pulse raced. Fear. Anticipation. Confusion.

He straightened, leaving her trembling in her chair, and walked away as if he hadn't just set her world on fire with a single promise.

And for the first time, Aria realized her enemy wasn't just Damien Volkov.

It was herself.