MasukOn the night Victoria’s family lost everything, she signed a contract marriage with the coldest and most brutal CEO in the city—Adrian Vale, the man rumored to be behind her father’s downfall. Bound by a one-year agreement, Victoria enters a world of power, secrets, and emotional warfare. What she doesn’t know is that Adrian has his own reasons for marrying her—and that the truth behind her family’s ruin is far darker than she imagined. As hatred turns into forbidden desire, Victoria must decide: will she expose the man she married… or fall for him instead?
Lihat lebih banyakMorning light filtered through the floor-to-ceiling windows, but it did nothing to soften the tension in the penthouse. I lay on the edge of the bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to convince myself I was safe now. That last night had been just a test—an assertion of power, nothing more.But I knew better.Adrian’s presence was already in the room before I even opened my eyes. A shadow at the doorway, silent, sharp, predatory. My chest tightened at the sight of him, the same way it always did: a mix of fear, defiance, and something else I didn’t want to admit.“You’re awake,” he said, his voice low, measured, dangerous. “Good. I wanted to see you first.”I tried to pull the covers around myself, to hide, to disappear. But he didn’t move. Didn’t blink. He just stood there, and somehow, that was enough to make the air feel thick, suffocating.“You’re tense,” he continued, taking a step forward. “I can feel it. Every heartbeat, every breath. You’re trying to act normal, but you’re lying
The penthouse felt smaller tonight.The city lights outside the floor-to-ceiling windows glimmered like distant stars, but inside, the air was heavy, suffocating, alive with tension. I could feel Adrian before I even saw him. That presence—the predator, the king—looming behind every shadow.I was in the living room, pretending to read, pretending the tremor in my fingers wasn’t there, pretending my pulse wasn’t racing. My breath hitched every time he moved. He didn’t need to speak; his mere presence commanded the room.“You’re tense,” he said suddenly, stepping closer. The sound of his voice was velvet over steel, smooth, sharp, dangerous.“I’m… fine,” I whispered, my voice betraying me.He didn’t believe me. He never did. Adrian had a way of seeing through everything—pretenses, walls, defenses. And tonight, he wasn’t letting me hide.“I don’t think so,” he said, stopping a foot away. Close enough that I could feel his heat, smell the faint, intoxicating scent of him. “Your hands are
The penthouse was quiet, almost too quiet.I sat on the edge of the bed, hands trembling, trying to process the whirlwind of the day. The wedding, the vows, Adrian’s words—“You’re mine.”—replayed in my mind like a constant drumbeat. My pulse raced just remembering the way he had leaned close in the chapel, his voice low, his gaze sharp.I told myself it was fear. Pride. Survival. My mother’s life. That’s all it was.I was wrong.The sound of the door opening made me jump.Adrian stepped in, tall, sharp, predatory. His eyes immediately found mine, dark, unreadable, commanding. He didn’t smile. He didn’t even speak at first. He just watched me, and in that silence, I felt like a criminal caught in the act of thinking forbidden thoughts.“You’re awake,” he said finally. Calm. Controlled. Dangerous.“I… I couldn’t sleep,” I whispered, my voice smaller than I intended.He walked closer, slow, deliberate. Each step echoed in the vast penthouse, making my heart hammer. I wanted to retreat, b
The car ride back to Vale Tower was silent, but the silence wasn’t comfortable—it was suffocating. My fingers dug into the edge of my seat as I tried to calm the storm in my chest.I had just walked down the aisle and married Adrian Vale, the man who destroyed my family. And now, I was being taken to live under the same roof.My stomach churned. My pride screamed. My heart… betrayed me, fluttering in ways I hated.The moment we stepped into the penthouse, I realized just how impossible this was going to be. Floor-to-ceiling windows. Marble floors that gleamed like ice. A chandelier that could swallow a small car. And Adrian… standing there, arms crossed, waiting for me like a king in his throne room.“Your room is ready,” he said. His voice was calm, but there was something beneath it—a quiet authority that made the air tighten around me.I didn’t move. I couldn’t. My mind screamed at me to run, to leave, to throw myself back into the chaos I had escaped only to land in this gilded ca












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