Chapter 3

Living With the Enemy

AVA’S POV

Ava’s hands shook as she held the contract.

The paper felt heavier than it should have, as though it carried the full weight of her shattered life. Her eyes darted across the fine print again and again, but the words refused to stay still. They blurred together beneath the sting of unshed tears.

One year.

No romance.

Public appearances only.

Absolute loyalty.

Each clause felt like a chain locking around her wrists.

Her mind screamed at her to tear the document apart, to rip it into pieces and throw it in Dominic Vale’s face. To walk away with what little pride she still had left.

But when she lifted her gaze and met his eyes, the defiance inside her faltered.

His expression was cold.

Calculating.

Unmoved by her pain.

There was no sympathy in his gaze. No softness. Only quiet authority and absolute certainty that she would do exactly as he demanded.

“You understand the terms,” he said smoothly, his voice calm yet edged with steel. “There will be no exceptions. No delays. No excuses.”

The firmness in his tone sent a chill down her spine.

Ava swallowed hard, her throat dry.

“And… if I don’t?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

Dominic’s lips curved into the faintest smile.

It wasn’t warm.

It wasn’t reassuring.

It was terrifying.

“Then,” he said quietly, “your family loses everything. And I will not intervene.”

The words struck deep.

Ava’s chest tightened painfully.

Her family.

Her father’s failing company.

The mounting debts she had overheard whispered about for months.

She had already lost so much in a single day, her fiancé, her future, her trust in her own sister.

Could she really afford to lose everything else too?

Her fingers trembled as she tightened her grip on the pen resting beside the contract.

It felt heavier than any object she had ever held before.

This wasn’t just ink and paper.

This was her freedom.

Her future.

Her entire life.

Slowly, almost painfully, she picked it up.

Her hand hovered above the signature line.

She paused.

Her eyes lifted to Dominic again.

He stood across the table, tall and immovable, watching her like a predator waiting for its prey to surrender. The sharp angles of his face were unreadable, but his gaze burned with intensity.

Something about the way he looked at her made her pulse thrum faster than it should have.

Dangerous.

Dominant.

Unsettling.

And yet…

Something else flickered there.

A warning.

A promise.

A challenge.

She wasn’t sure which.

Ava inhaled slowly, steadying herself.

Then, before she could lose her nerve—

She signed.

The scratching sound of the pen against the paper echoed loudly in the silent room.

It felt final.

Irreversible.

The moment the ink dried, Dominic leaned back slightly, exhaling as though satisfied.

“Good,” he said calmly. “You’re officially mine.”

The words sent a cold wave through her entire body.

Not shock.

Not anger.

But fear.

The kind of fear that settled deep inside the bones.

She had just tied herself to a man who could destroy her world with a single decision.

Dominic stood abruptly, smooth and controlled, as though sealing a deal was second nature to him.

“You move into my mansion tonight,” he said. “Pack only what you need.”

Ava blinked in disbelief.

“Your… mansion?” she repeated faintly. “I don’t even know where it is. I don’t know anything about you.”

“You will,” he interrupted without hesitation.

His voice left no room for argument.

“And you will follow my rules. You will behave appropriately in public. You will not embarrass me.”

He paused, his eyes darkening slightly.

“Fail to do so,” he continued calmly, “and the consequences will be… unpleasant.”

Ava’s stomach twisted.

This wasn’t a marriage.

This was a prison.

A beautifully decorated cage.

Her fingers curled into fists at her sides.

She hated how powerless she felt.

Hated how easily he controlled the situation.

Hated how her life had been reduced to a signature on a contract.

And yet…

Somewhere deep inside her, beneath the fear and humiliation, something stirred.

A stubborn spark.

A quiet determination.

She would survive this.

She would not let him break her.

Dominic’s gaze lingered on her face for a moment longer than necessary, as though studying her reaction.

Then, without another word, he turned and walked toward the door.

His footsteps were slow and confident, echoing in the silence.

When he reached the doorway, he paused briefly.

Without looking back, he said one final sentence.

“Be ready by tonight, Ava. Your new life begins now.”

The door closed behind him.

And Ava was left standing alone in the quiet room, clutching the contract that had just rewritten her destiny.

Her world had already been shattered.

But something told her,

The real storm had only just begun.