Chapter 3

The sound of Damian’s footsteps got closer and closer.

Aurora’s heart was beating so fast she thought it would pop out of her chest. Adrian was still holding her jaw, his thumb pressing against her lip. He was so close she could feel the heat radiating from his body. He didn't look like her quiet, cold junior brother right now. He looked like a man who wanted to lock her in a room and never let her go.

"Adrian, please," Aurora whispered, her voice shaking. "He's coming."

Adrian didn't look scared at all. His dark eyes stayed locked on her lips for one more second. Slowly, almost painfully, he let go of her jaw. He stepped back just as the dining room door pushed open.

Damian walked into the room.

He looked tired, but his expensive suit was still perfect. He didn't look like a man who had just spent the night at a hotel with another woman. He looked like his usual, arrogant self. He stopped when he saw Aurora and Adrian standing near the table.

"What is going on in here?" Damian asked, his voice cold and sharp. He looked at Adrian, then at Aurora.

Adrian’s face changed instantly. The wild, possessive look in his eyes vanished. He looked completely bored again, his face turning back into a wall of ice. He picked up his coffee cup and took a sip, acting like nothing had happened.

"Nothing," Adrian said flatly, his voice completely indifferent. "I was just leaving for the office."

He didn't even look at Aurora as he walked past Damian and left the room. The cold shoulder was back. It was like the passionate, terrifying confession he had just made to her never even happened.

Aurora stood there, her hands shaking behind her back. She looked at her husband.

"You're home," she said, trying to make her voice sound normal.

Damian walked over to the table and threw his leather briefcase onto a chair. "Yes. I have a lot of work to do today. I need you to pack my bags for a three-day business trip to Chicago. I’m leaving this afternoon."

He didn't say happy anniversary. He didn't apologize for not coming home last night. He didn't even ask how she was. He just gave her orders like she was his maid.

Aurora felt a sudden wave of anger wash over her. Adrian’s words from earlier kept ringing in her head. Your husband doesn't want you. He’s at a hotel with his mistress.

"Where were you last night, Damian?" Aurora asked, her voice cracking.

Damian paused. He looked at her, his eyes narrowing. "I told you. I was working late at the office and stayed at a hotel nearby. I had early meetings."

"Are you sure you were working?" she asked, taking a step closer to him. "Or were you with someone else?"

Damian’s face went completely dark. He walked over to her, his presence cold and intimidating. But compared to Adrian’s intense, burning heat from earlier, Damian’s coldness just felt empty.

"Are you questioning me, Aurora?" Damian asked, his voice dangerously quiet. "Remember your place in this house. You are my wife because your father needed my money. You don't ask me questions. You pack my bags, you host my dinners, and you stay quiet. That is your job."

He reached out and grabbed her chin, his grip hard and uncaring. It didn't feel like Adrian's touch. Adrian’s touch made her feel like she was the only thing that mattered in the world, even if it was scary. Damian’s touch just felt like a punishment.

"Do not let me ask you again," Damian said, releasing her chin with a rough push. "Pack my bags."

He turned on his heel and walked out of the room, heading toward his private study.

Aurora stood alone in the dining room, her eyes burning with tears. But she didn't cry. Instead, she felt a strange, cold numbness settling in her chest. She was done. She was so tired of being treated like trash.

She walked up the stairs to their shared bedroom. She felt like a robot as she pulled out Damian’s suitcase and started folding his shirts. She didn't want to do it, but she needed time to think. She needed to figure out what she was going to do. How could she escape this marriage? And what was she going to do about Adrian?

As she was packing, the door to the bedroom opened.

Aurora jumped, thinking it was Damian. But when she turned around, her breath caught.

It was Adrian.

He had his laptop bag over his shoulder, looking like he was about to leave the house. But instead of leaving, he walked into her bedroom and shut the door behind him. He locked it.

"Adrian," she gasped, stepping back against the bed. "What are you doing? Damian is downstairs! If he sees you in here—"

"He's in his study with his headphones on, taking a conference call," Adrian said, his voice deep and rough. He walked toward her, his steps slow and predatory.

The cold, polite junior brother was gone again. He was looking at her with that same dark, heavy obsession.

"You shouldn't be in here," Aurora said, her heart hammering wildly. "You need to leave."

"Why did you let him touch you?" Adrian asked suddenly.

His voice was so quiet, but it was filled with a terrifying, raw anger. He stopped just a foot away from her, his eyes tracking the faint red mark on her chin where Damian had grabbed her.

"He is my husband, Adrian," she whispered, her voice trembling.

"He is a coward," Adrian spat, his fists clenching at his sides. "He pinches your skin because he knows he can't actually hold you. He doesn't know how to make you look at him. But I do."

Adrian reached out, his hand wrapping around her wrist. He didn't squeeze hard enough to hurt her, but his grip was like steel. It was possessive. It was like he was marking her as his. He pulled her closer to his chest, forcing her to look up at him.

"Don't let him touch you again, Aurora," Adrian whispered, his dark eyes burning into hers. "It drives me crazy. I sit at that table and watch him act like he owns you, and I have to stop myself from killing him."

"Adrian, you're crazy," she breathed, her face inches from his. "I am older than you. I am your sister-in-law. You need to stop this."

"I don't care about any of that," Adrian said, his voice thick with emotion. He leaned down, his forehead resting against hers. His breath was hot on her skin. "I’ve loved you since the moment you walked into this house a year ago. I tried to ignore you. I tried to treat you like a stranger because I thought you were happy. But you're not. And I'm not going to let him ruin you anymore."

He slid his hand up her arm, his fingers warm and firm against her skin. "You think of me as your junior brother. But I am a man, Aurora. And I am going to make you realize that you belong to me. Not him."

Before she could say anything, they heard a sudden noise from the hallway outside.

It was the sound of Damian’s study door opening. He was coming up the stairs.