Signed in ink, Bound in silence

Saphira pov 

The sound of the fountain outside Caelum’s penthouse was the only thing keeping me from bolting. Its soft trickle felt like mockery against the tension curling in the air, as if the entire building knew that tonight wasn’t about love. It wasn’t about vows whispered under candlelight or a white dress sweeping across a church aisle.

This was a transaction.

And I was about to sign my life away.

I smoothed the folds of my emerald silk dress, the same one I’d worn to the gala where Caelum first made his “offer.” It wasn’t really an offer, though. It was a lifeline tossed into the ocean while sharks circled. My company, Vale Luxe, was teetering under sabotage, stock prices free-falling, and whispers of Lucien’s takeover attempt spreading like wildfire. I could fight him. I was fighting him. But I didn’t have Caelum’s kind of power the kind that bent entire markets to his will.

“Still thinking of running?” Caelum’s voice cut through my spiraling thoughts.

I startled and turned to face him. He was leaning against the marble counter of his kitchen, his custom tuxedo discarded for a crisp black shirt with sleeves rolled up. The top button was undone, revealing the kind of casual arrogance only men like him could pull off. His silver watch caught the dim city lights streaming through the floor-to-ceiling windows behind him, but his eyes icy gray and unreadable were locked on me.

“I wasn’t going to run,” I said, even though my heels had been pointed toward the door a moment ago.

One brow arched. “Liar.”

I hated how easily he read me. Caelum Drayke was all sharp edges and calculating stares, a man who didn’t speak unless words were weapons. And now, I was his next acquisition.

The doorbell chimed, startling me. My pulse quickened as a sleek woman in a gray suit walked in carrying a slim leather folder. The air around her smelled faintly of expensive perfume and ink.

“Mr. Drayke, Ms. Vale,” she greeted us smoothly. “I’m Isla. Your contract attorney.”

Of course Caelum had his own lawyer. Of course she looked like she’d stepped out of a fashion magazine, with her sharp bob and stilettos that could double as murder weapons.

“Shall we begin?” she asked, setting the folder on the counter.

“Let’s,” Caelum said. He gestured for me to sit at the long glass table that looked out over the glittering city. My legs moved automatically, though my stomach was in knots.

The folder opened with a crisp snap, and Isla began sliding papers toward me. “This marriage agreement outlines the following: a six-month union, public appearances together, and mutual protection clauses for both parties’ assets. There will be no merging of finances. At the end of six months, the marriage may be dissolved quietly, provided both parties sign an NDA preventing disclosure of… sensitive details.”

I tried to keep my face neutral, but I flinched at that last part. Caelum didn’t miss it.

“It’s for your protection as much as mine,” he said casually, leaning back in his chair. “Neither of us needs tabloid drama after this is over.”

“Right,” I murmured. My fingers traced the gold fountain pen Isla slid toward me. The weight of it felt heavier than any weapon.

My heart thudded as I scanned the contract. Clause after clause spelled out the boundaries of this arrangement. No love. No intimacy required. Appearances only. On paper, it was sterile, almost laughably so, but I could feel the invisible chains coiling around me with every word.

“You’ve read through it twice already,” Caelum said, his tone smooth but laced with amusement. “You’re stalling.”

I snapped my gaze to him. “Excuse me for wanting to make sure I’m not accidentally selling my soul.”

He smirked, a slow curl of lips that made him look both infuriating and… devastatingly attractive. “I told you, Saphira. I don’t buy souls. I buy results.”

Something about that sent a shiver down my spine. I scrawled my signature on the first page, my name bold and defiant. Vale. It looked so small next to Drayke.

He took the pen from me, his fingers brushing mine in a way that felt deliberate. My breath caught. Caelum’s hands were steady, confident, as he signed his name with practice ease.

The moment the ink dried, Isla slid out two plain platinum bands from a velvet box. They were simple, understated—nothing like the sparkling rings I’d once dreamed of as a little girl.

“Congratulations,” she said with a polite smile that didn’t reach her eyes. “You’re legally husband and wife.”

My chest tightened. That was it. No wedding music. No vows. No kiss. Just two signatures and a pair of rings glinting under artificial light.

Caelum stood and walked around the table, sliding the cool band onto my finger himself. “Perfect fit,” he murmured.

When he extended his hand, I hesitated. His gaze sharpened, daring me to reject the gesture. Slowly, I slid the ring onto his finger. The motion felt surreal. We were strangers bound by ink and power, standing in a penthouse that smelled faintly of cedar and dominance.

“Now,” Caelum said, voice low, “we celebrate.”

“Celebrate?” I echoed, incredulous.

His smirk returned. “Every deal deserves a toast.”

Before I could respond, he poured two glasses of champagne and handed me one. I didn’t trust him, but I wasn’t about to appear weak. We clinked glasses.

“To mutually beneficial arrangements,” he said smoothly.

“To survive them,” I countered.

He chuckled, and for a moment, I caught a flicker of something softer in his eyes. But it was gone as quickly as it came.

We sipped in silence, the city stretching endlessly behind us.

---

Later that evening, Caelum ushered me into a room I hadn’t seen before. “Your suite,” he said, gesturing around the space. It was larger than my entire apartment floor-to-ceiling windows, plush carpeting, and a view of the skyline that made my stomach flip.

“I thought you’d prefer your own space,” he added casually.

“Meaning you don’t want me anywhere near you,” I said, setting my clutch on the dresser.

A hint of amusement played on his lips. “I meant I respect boundaries. This isn’t a real marriage, remember?”

I nodded, though something about the way he said it made my pulse race.

---

The days that followed were a blur of headlines and flashing cameras. BILLIONAIRE CAELUM DRAYKE SECRETLY MARRIED was plastered across every financial and gossip magazine. Paparazzi camped outside his building, desperate for a photo of the mysterious woman he’d married.

Me.

Caelum handled it with his usual cold efficiency, his hand always at the small of my back, his gaze making it clear to anyone watching that I wasn’t to be messed with.

Lucien, however, didn’t seem impressed. At the charity gala two nights later, he approached me with that same shark smile.

“Interesting choice, Mrs. Drayke,” he drawled, swirling his whiskey. “A paper marriage. Clever. But do you really think he can save you?”

My stomach clenched. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Lucien leaned close, his breath warm against my ear. “He can’t protect you from me.”

I stiffened, but before I could respond, Caelum appeared at my side, his presence like steel. “Walk away, Lucien.”

Lucien smirked. “Enjoy your little charade.”

As he walked off, I realized Caelum’s hand had tightened on mine. “Don’t let him get under your skin,” Caelum murmured.

“He’s threatening me,” I whispered.

“He’s bluffing.”

But the unease in his eyes told me he wasn’t sure.

---

That night, I sat on the edge of my bed, staring at the platinum ring on my finger. It glinted in the dim light, a constant reminder that I’d tied myself to a man I barely knew to survive.

My phone buzzed, startling me. A text from an unknown number flashed across the screen. 

 Unknown: You made the wrong choice, Saphira. Caelum can’t save you. No one can.

My breath hitched. Another message appeared seconds later.

Unknown: Check your inbox.

Heart pounding, I scrambled to open my laptop. My inbox pinged with a new email. When I clicked it, my blood ran cold.

The subject line read: HE’S NOT WHO YOU THINK HE IS.

Inside was a single image grainy, dark, but unmistakable. Caelum Drayke, standing over a man’s lifeless body, blood staining his hands.

---

I slammed the laptop shut, my breath ragged. My pulse roared in my ears as a shadow passed under my bedroom door. Then came a soft knock.

“Saphira,” Caelum’s voice drawled smoothly, but this time, it sounded dangerous. “We need to talk.”

I froze, torn between opening the door… and running.