PROLOGUE

The heavy silence of the study was broken only by the sound of a pen scratching against thick paper.

Gwen stood on the other side of the mahogany desk looking at the legal documents that were supposed to set her free.

This was the moment the original novel had described as the beginning of the end where Lucian was meant to sign the annulment papers and cast her out.

She pushed the paper closer to him with a steady hand as she tried to maintain her composure.

"I have already signed them Lucian" she said quietly while trying to keep her voice from trembling.

"Our contract is over and you no longer have to endure a wife you never wanted. You can finally marry someone of your own choice and I will disappear from your life just like we agreed."

Lucian did not pick up the pen and instead he stared at her signature with a dark and unreadable expression that made the hair on her arms stand up.

He looked up at her and for a moment Gwen felt a primal urge to run because his eyes were burning with a terrifying and frantic light.

"Is that what you think I want" he asked as his voice cracked with a strange and heavy desperation.

"You truly think I spent the last year keeping you by my side just to let you walk out that door because of a piece of paper."

Before she could even blink Lucian grabbed the documents and ripped them into shreds and the white pieces of paper scattered across the floor like autumn leaves.

Gwen gasped and tried to retreat but he was far too fast.

He lunged across the space and caught her by the waist and pinned her against the cold library shelves.

His hands were visibly shaking as he buried his face in the crook of her neck.

"I changed my mind wife" he growled against her skin while his heart hammered against her chest.

"You are not going anywhere. Not today and not ever. If you take one step outside this house without me I will burn every bridge you try to cross until you have no choice but to come back to me." Gwen froze in his iron grip as her mind raced with the knowledge of the original plot.

As a transmigrator she knew he was capable of terrible things and she could not tell if this was a genuine change of heart or a calculated trap to punish her for seeking freedom.

"You are hurting me Lucian" she whispered while trying to push against his broad chest.

"You said you wanted this over and you said I was nothing but a burden to your reputation."

"I lied baby" he groaned as he tightened his hold and lifted her off the ground so she had to cling to him.

"I was a fool to think I could breathe without you. Forget the contract and forget the divorce. You are mine and I will destroy anyone who tries to help you leave me. Do you understand. Tell me you understand that you belong to me and only me."

He began to press frantic and possessive kisses to her jawline while refusing to let her go.

Gwen looked at the locked door and realized she had accidentally triggered the very obsession she was supposed to avoid.

Gwen felt the heat of his breath against her ear and she realized that the cold CEO from the novel had completely vanished and been replaced by this trembling and desperate man.

She forced herself to stay calm even as her heart raced because she knew that any sign of true fear would only feed his darkest yandere instincts.

She reached up and cupped his face with her hands and forced him to look into her eyes while she felt the rough stubble of his jaw against her palms.

"If you want me to stay then you need to stop acting like a beast Lucian" she said with a voice that was surprisingly firm and steady.

"I am your wife and not your prisoner and if you keep pinning me against this shelf like I am a piece of property I will never look at you with anything but resentment."

Lucian flinched at her words as if she had slapped him but he did not pull away and instead he slumped his forehead against hers while his grip on her waist softened just enough for her to breathe.

"I am sorry baby" he whispered with a ragged tone that made him sound vulnerable for the first time since she had entered this world.

"I just saw you standing there with those papers and I felt like the world was ending. I cannot let you go back to a life where I am not the center of your universe."

Gwen took a deep breath and smoothed out the lapels of his expensive suit jacket as she tried to process this sudden shift in the story.

In the original plot Lucian was supposed to be cold and indifferent until the very end but her presence had clearly broken the narrative and turned him into a clingy shadow of himself.

She didn't know if she could trust this version of him but she knew she had to play the part if she wanted to keep her head.

"Then prove it to me" she murmured as she leaned back to look at the mess of shredded paper on the floor.

"Prove that you want a partner and not a doll.  If I stay I want to be by your side in the boardroom and I want the world to know that I am the one who holds your heart and not just your contract."

Lucian let out a dark and possessive chuckle that sent a shiver down her spine and he leaned down to nip at her bottom lip before he pulled her into a crushing hug.

"Anything you want wife" he promised while his eyes glowed with a dangerous devotion.

"I will give you the company and I will give you my soul as long as you promise you will never mention that divorce again."

Just as he was about to kiss her again the sound of a heavy knock echoed through the study door and his assistant's voice came through the wood with a tone of sheer panic.

"Sir Mr. Damian Lillard is downstairs and he claims he has an appointment with Mrs. Santori to escort her to her new residence."

Lucian's body went rigid and the warmth in his eyes turned into a lethal ice that made Gwen realize the real battle was just beginning.

He turned his head toward the door and his voice came out as a low and terrifying growl that would have made any other man run for cover.

"Tell Mr. Lillard that my wife is currently busy being loved by her husband" he barked while he pulled Gwen closer and buried his face in her hair.

"And tell him if he sets foot on my property again I will make sure his company is bankrupt by morning."

Gwen realized that the original male lead had arrived exactly at the wrong time and now she had to decide if she would let Lucian handle him or if she would step out and show Damian herself that the contract had changed.