Chapter 3

I woke up to the smell of fresh coffee and the sound of my stomach trying to eat itself. 

 The alarm clock on my bedside table read 9:47, but I could care less about the schedule that bastard has set up for me. The housekeeper had already been here at 8, but I’d just stayed buried under Alex’s stupidly expensive blanket and flipped her off through the door.

  Now the penthouse smelled like bacon, and it felt like I was starving on purpose. 

 I yanked on yesterday’s jeans, no shirt, and strolled into the open kitchen like I didn’t blatantly ignore Alexander’s orders. Alexander sat at the marble island, tablet in one hand, coffee in the other. 

 He looked like he’d been up since dawn, yet he was already dressed in a crisp white shirt, with his sleeves rolled, and his hair still damp from the shower. The sight of him hit me low and mean, and I hated how much I noticed about him.

 He didn’t look up from his tablet when I walked in. 

 “You’re late.” 

 “Good morning to you too, warden.” I opened the fridge, took out a bottle of water, and leaned against the counter so he had a perfect view of the bruise I’d left on my own ribs from punching the wall last night. 

 “Breakfast looks great. Shame I’m not hungry.” 

 The housekeeper hovered by the stove, eyes wide. Alexander dismissed her with a single nod, and in the blink of an eye she was gone just like that. 

 He finally set the tablet down and slowly looked up at me. 

 “You have a nine o’clock meeting with the trust attorney. You were supposed to be dressed and ready by now.” 

 I took a long swig of water, letting it drip down my chin, and wiped it with the back of my hand. “Guess I missed the memo. Or maybe I just don’t give a fuck.” 

 His jaw flexed. That was new. Yesterday he’d been cold as ice and indifferent. But it seemed I was finally getting to him now.

 “Sit down and eat, Noah.” 

 “Make me.” The words hung between us like a lit fuse. Alexander stood, the stool he once sat on scraping against the floor. He rounded the island in three strides and stopped right in front of me, close enough that I had to tilt my head to meet his gaze. 

 “You think this is a game?” His voice was low and dangerous. “Skipping meals. Ignoring the schedule. Parading around half-naked like you’re daring me to look.” I smirked. 

 “You are looking.” His eyes flicked down once then locked back on mine. Heat crawled up my neck, but I forced my face to remain neutral. 

 “I cut your monthly allowance in half,” he said flatly. “Effective immediately. Try me again and it drops to zero.” 

 My stomach clenched in ager. “You can’t-” 

 “I can. I just did.” He pulled his phone, tapped once, and turned the screen toward me. The trust app glowed right in my face. He had just updated the balance in real time. 

 “There’s an alert on every card now. You spend over that limit, might as well just forget you ever had money. You miss another scheduled obligation, and I might just be tempted to drop it again.” 

 I snatched the phone from his hand yet he didn’t protest. I scrolled through the new restrictions, heart hammering in my chest. 

 “You’re a real piece of shit, you know that?” 

 “Better a piece of shit with rules than a dead brother who left you with nothing but attitude.” The words landed like a fist. I shoved the phone into his chest hard enough to make him step back.

 “Don’t you dare talk about him.” Alexander caught my wrist again, just like last night. “Let. Go.” 

He didn’t, instead he leaned in, breath warm against my temple. “You want to fight me every single day? Fine. But you will lose, Noah. Every time. And when you’re broke and on the street again, remember who gave you the choice.” 

 I yanked free from his grip, skin burning where he touched me. We stood there, chests heaving, eyes locked. The penthouse felt too small now, and I wanted nothing more than to get out of here. 

 I wanted to hit him. I wanted to do something worse. Instead I grabbed an apple from the counter, bit into it loud and messy, and turned my back on him, because there was nothing more I could do. It was either I bent to his commands, or I let him do it by force.

 “Enjoy your power trip,” I muttered around the bite. “I’m going to explore my new cage.” I felt his stare on my bare back all the way down the hall. 

 Alexander’s stupid face stayed in my head even as I wandered his ridiculously lafrge house. There was an art room, a private gym that looked like it belonged in a magazine and even an indoor swimming pool. 

 I wandered, apple core clenched in my fist, pulse still jackhammering from the kitchen. His office door was at the end of the west wing. 

 It was closed with a sleek silver keypad beside the handle. A sign in tiny engraved letters read; “Private. No entry.” But who was I to let a little “no entry” sign stop me. 

 I glanced over my shoulder to check if anyone was there, and no one was. Alexander was probably back at his precious schedule, congratulating himself on breaking me in record time. 

 My fingers hovered over the keypad. “Just a look,” I told myself. “He wants to control everything? Let’s see what he’s hiding.” I tried the handle, and to my surprise it was unlocked. My heart slammed against my ribs as I pushed the door open. 

 The office was dimly lit, with glowing monitors perched up on his desk. Files sat off to the corner, stacked neatly. 

 A single framed photo sat on his desk faced away from me. I stepped inside, only for the door to click shut behind me. And that was when I heard Alexander’s voice - low, lethal, and right outside. 

 “Noah?”