INICIAR SESIÓNHis words hung heavy in the quiet hallway.I can't stand watching another man near you.Adrian’s breath was warm against Marisol's skin. His thumb rested lightly on her jaw, his dark eyes burning with an intense heat that made her heart race wildly. For a second, the sheer power of his presence almost made her lose her footing.Then, the anger returned.Nico’s words at the gala flashed through her head. He bought you at your lowest moment. Was this sudden possessiveness part of his grand plan? Did Adrian really think that buying her family’s debt gave him the right to own her feelings, too?Marisol reached up, wrapped her fingers firmly around Adrian’s wrist, and pushed his hand away from her face."Don't do that," Marisol said, stepping back until her spine hit her bedroom door. Her voice was firm and cold. "Do not act like you have the right to be jealous, Adrian."Adrian stood still, his hand falling slowly to his side. His dark eyebrows pulled together. "Marisol"No, listen to me,
The reporter lowered his microphone, staring at Adrian in silence.The reporters stood frozen. The guests held their breath. Camera lights flashed bright across the grand room, but Adrian did not look at any of them. He only looked at Marisol. His fingers stayed locked with hers, warm and solid."That will be all," Adrian said smoothly to the quiet room.He did not wait for the reporter to ask another question. He guided Marisol away from the terrace doors and back into the center of the warm ballroom. The crowd parted for them, people whispering behind their hands as they passed.Marisol’s heart was hammering against her ribs. Her mind was spinning.My marriage to Marisol is completely real.The words repeated in her head, over and over. Adrian had said it with such power. He had looked straight into the camera and said it like a promise. It had sounded so honest, so real, that for a tiny second, Marisol had almost believed him.And that scared her more than anything else.Where did
Marisol woke up early the next morning before the sun had even cleared the horizon.She lay perfectly still under her white cotton duvet, staring up at the grand plaster ceiling of her bedroom. Her lips still felt slightly warm and swollen from the night before. Every time she closed her eyes, the memory of Adrian’s dark bedroom hit her like a physical shock the heavy scent of whiskey and cedar, the tight grip of his hands on her waist, and the wild, rough press of his mouth against hers.It was a mistake, she told herself firmly, squeezing her eyes shut. He said it himself. It was just anger. It was just stress.That was the story she chose to believe. It was the only way she could keep her head clear. They were two people trapped in an impossible situation, forced into a fake marriage while fighting over old family secrets. It was completely natural for all that dark tension to explode into a moment of pure madness.She decided right then that she would act as if it had never happen
The morning air outside the mansion was cool, but the ground was already warm under the bright sun. Adrian did not wait for the guards to pull open the heavy wooden doors. He pushed them open himself and walked out into the driveway. His leather shoes hit the stone ground with loud, fast clicks. Each step he took showed how angry he was.Marisol walked right behind him. Her heart was beating fast against her ribs, and her hands were clamped into tight fists at her sides. She could feel the anger coming off Adrian in hot waves, but she was just as angry.Nico was waiting near his bright red sports car. He had his arms crossed over his chest, leaning back against the shiny metal. The moment his eyes landed on Marisol, his small, fake smile grew wider. He pushed himself off the car and took a step toward her, completely ignoring the two large security guards standing near the iron gates."Marisol!" Nico called out. His voice was smooth and friendly, but it sounded fake in the quiet morni
Marisol closed her bedroom door with a quiet, trembling click. Her heart was beating fast, and her breath came in short, ragged hitches.The image of her own face staring back at her from those old photographs was burned into her mind. She walked back and forth across the carpet, her hands balled into tight fists inside her robe pockets. She was furious, humiliated, and deeply shaken. Adrian had spoken to her like a master scolding a child, threatening her with vague promises of punishment.He expects me to be scared, she thought, her eyes narrowing in the dark room. He thinks I will just sit in the corner, hiding from his dark secrets.She did not sleep a single minute that night. As the morning sun began to light up her room in shades of gray and gold, her fear slowly turned into a cold, sharp determination. She was not a pawn in a game she didn't understand. If Adrian Ramirez had been watching her for five years, she was going to force him to tell her why.At seven in the morning,
The heavy iron handles of the double doors felt like ice against Marisol’s fingers. She stood in the pitch black hallway, her heart pounding hard against her ribs. Turn around, her brain warned her. Go to the kitchen, get your water, and go back to bed. But the memory of Adrian’s blushing face, his cousin’s strange warnings, and the sheer emptiness of the rest of the house pulled her forward. She couldn't live here like a ghost, surrounded by secrets she wasn't allowed to understand. She reached into the pocket of her silk robe and pulled out a small, thin metal hairpin. When she was twelve years old, she and Camila used to sneak into their father’s locked wine cellar to steal sweet fruit juices. Picking simple tumbler locks was an old childhood skill she had forgotten she possessed a silly trick she had never expected to use as an adult. Marisol knelt down in front of the keyhole. She inserted the metal pin, feeling for the small pins inside the lock. Click. The sound was







