THE LION’s DEN

Sienna had never been inside a corporate boardroom before. Not one like this.

The long mahogany table, gleaming under the soft lighting, seemed to stretch endlessly. Black leather chairs circled it, each one a throne for some of the most powerful men and women in the city. But it wasn’t the room that made her uneasy—it was the people sitting around it, each of them staring at her like she was some rare animal on display.

Damien walked ahead of her with that same confident stride that made everyone in the room notice. His presence consumed the space, commanding attention even from those who had no business giving it. But she felt small—out of place, like a fish out of water in a pool filled with sharks.

They took their seats. Damien sat at the head of the table, and she sat beside him, her back straight, heart racing. She couldn’t let them see how nervous she was. These people—they weren’t here for her. They were here for Damien. She was just an accessory, a tool in his grand game.

Sienna adjusted the strap of her dress under the table, the fabric smooth against her skin. She wasn’t sure if she was doing this for them or for herself, but she had to look the part. She had to fit into this world, or at least pretend to.

“We’re all here because we have a proposition,” Damien’s voice cut through the murmurs around the table, and just like that, the room went silent. Everyone turned to him, waiting for the next word. Sienna couldn’t help but feel the weight of the moment.

Damien’s eyes scanned the room, and then they flicked to her, a brief glance that sent a shiver down her spine. It was like a warning, but she wasn’t sure from whom.

“This is Sienna Carter,” Damien continued, his tone smooth, charismatic. “As of last night, she’s part of the family.”

Sienna felt the stares like arrows, the judgment already settling in. A few of the men in the room raised their brows, exchanging subtle glances. She knew exactly what they were thinking. The same thing everyone else thought. She was just a pretty face, a trophy fiancée.

But none of them knew the truth.

Damien didn’t seem to care. He leaned back in his chair, his fingers tapping lightly on the table, his gaze fixed on the group. “What matters here isn’t what she is. It’s what she represents. And what she represents,” he said, his voice growing cold, “is power.”

The room shifted. You could feel the tension rising. Some faces remained stoic, others grew wary. Power was always a delicate thing to handle. No one in this room took it lightly.

Sienna opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. The weight of their gazes was too much, too suffocating.

Damien took control again. “Sienna and I are engaged. Officially. We’ve been planning this for months. This,” he motioned to her with a slight tilt of his head, “is more than just a marriage of convenience. This is business. It’s strategy. It’s the future.”

She watched as the others exchanged glances, a few of them nodding slowly as they processed the information. But one person, a tall woman with short, dark hair and sharp eyes, spoke up. “Damien,” she said, her tone cool but cutting. “Forgive me, but I’m not sure I understand. Why bring her here? Why make this public?”

Damien’s lips curled into a smile, but it wasn’t friendly. It was a warning. A statement of intent. “You’ll see soon enough.”

The woman, whose name Sienna didn’t know but was clearly important, narrowed her eyes. “I’d be careful, Damien. No one likes being used. Not even you.”

Sienna could feel the shift in the room, the unease spreading like wildfire. This wasn’t a safe haven. This wasn’t a place where they welcomed her with open arms. It was a jungle. And Damien had just thrown her into the lion’s den.

“Do you think I care about the opinions of people like you?” Damien’s voice was low, but there was a fierce edge to it that made Sienna’s heart race. “We’re here because the game is about to change. You can either play along, or get left behind.”

The woman’s face flushed with anger, but she didn’t speak again. The others remained quiet, probably weighing their options, calculating whether or not to challenge Damien.

Sienna was sitting between two worlds. She didn’t belong to either, but for different reasons, each would claim her if she wasn’t careful. On one side, Damien was pulling her deeper into a world of power, influence, and danger. On the other, these sharks would tear her apart if they saw any weakness. She had to survive. But how?

Damien turned to her, offering her a small, reassuring smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. He placed a hand on hers, his grip warm but firm. It was possessive. “You’re doing fine,” he whispered, but the words felt like a promise that would soon be tested.

“Don’t forget your place,” he added, just loud enough for the others to hear.

Her heart pounded, and for a moment, she wasn’t sure if he was speaking to her or to the others in the room. She glanced at him, catching the flicker of something unreadable in his gaze. But then it was gone, replaced by the cold, calculating look of the man she had come to fear.

The meeting dragged on for hours, and Sienna felt like a pawn in a game she didn’t fully understand. Every decision was being made around her, every word spoken, every gesture—everything was part of the plan. And yet, she had no say in any of it. She was just a spectator.

Finally, the meeting adjourned, and everyone filed out, leaving her alone with Damien.

As soon as the door closed behind the last of the executives, he turned to her with a smirk. “Welcome to my world.”

Sienna didn’t answer. She couldn’t. The pressure was too much. The weight of everything—of being his fiancée, of being thrown into a world she didn’t belong in, of the lies and the promises—it was all suffocating.

Damien took a step closer to her, his eyes searching her face as if looking for something. “Are you scared, Sienna?”

She opened her mouth to speak, but the words didn’t come. How could she explain what she felt? The anxiety. The fear. The sense of being in way over her head.

“I don’t scare easily,” she finally managed, forcing herself to stand tall.

Damien studied her for a long moment before nodding. “Good. Because if you’re going to survive here, you’re going to need to be more than just a pretty face.”

“I know,” she said, barely a whisper.

And for the first time, she truly understood the danger she was in. She wasn’t just playing a role. She wasn’t just pretending to be Damien’s fiancée. She was walking through a lion’s den, and in this game, only the strongest survived.