เรือนรักเรือนเสน่หา (นิยายชุด เรือนรัก)

My father didn't build an empire. He built a prison.

And today, he slammed the door shut.

"Marry. Produce heirs. Or lose everything."

Edward Newgate doesn't make requests. He delivers verdicts from his glass throne overlooking the city. The cigar smoke curled between us like barbed wire.

"I'm not asking, Adrian. You're thirty-two. The company needs a face. A family. Stability." He finally turned from the window, and I saw the predator beneath the tailored suit. "Your mother's blood ends with me."

The blow landed perfectly.

Mom didn't die. She ran. With our nanny. When I was seven.

"She chose perversion over family," he continued, each word a lash. "I won't watch my son do the same."

I stood there, suffocating in my three-thousand-dollar suit, wearing a mask I'd perfected for twenty-five years.

He doesn't know.

He can never know.

Three hours later, I was drowning in champagne and hypocrisy at our annual gala.

Five hundred guests. A hundred cameras. One exit strategy evaporating by the second.

Then I saw him.

Bruce Wong leaned against a marble column like he owned the building. His family's company is our only real competition. His eyes found mine across the crowded ballroom, and the air left my lungs.

Danger.

He knew. Six months ago, at a charity auction, he'd cornered me in a supply closet and kissed me like he'd been starving for it. Like I was the meal.

I'd spent every day since terrified he'd expose me.

And every night praying he'd do it again.

I nodded toward the terrace and slipped through the glass doors.

The winter air hit my face. Cold. Clean. A lie.

"You look desperate, Adrian." His voice came from behind me, soft and devastating. "Trouble in paradise?"

I turned. Too fast. Too hungry.

"He wants me to marry. Produce heirs. Continue the legacy." I laughed bitterly. "I have six months, or I'm out."

Bruce stepped closer. His cologne—sandalwood and sin—wrapped around me. "Six months." He traced my lapel, fingers grazing my chest. "That's either a long time or no time at all."

"You don't understand"

"I understand perfectly." His eyes darkened. "You're the prince of Newgate. I'm the son of your greatest enemy. If anyone finds out about us"

"They won't." The words came too fast. Too desperate.

Bruce smiled. Not gentle. Triumphant. "Your secret's safe, love. For now."

Love.

The word hit like a bullet.

I grabbed him.

One second we were talking. The next, my back hit the stone railing, his body pressed against mine, his mouth an inch from my throat.

"This what you want?" he whispered against my skin. "To risk everything right here?"

"Yes."

His laugh was low and dark. "Good answer."

His lips found mine

Footsteps. Heavy. Coming fast.

We tore apart like electrocuted cats, putting three feet between us as the terrace door slammed open.

My father stood there, flanked by two board members.

His eyes swept over us. Bruce. Me. The space between.

Silence stretched like a wire.

"Adrian." His voice was ice. "Introduce me to your... companion."

Bruce extended his hand, infuriatingly calm. "Bruce Wong. We've met, Mr. Newgate. Several times. You never stay long enough to speak."

My father ignored the hand. His gaze stayed locked on me.

"I was looking for my son. Seems he's been... found." The pause was surgical. "By the enemy."

Bruce didn't flinch. "Discussing market trends. Your son has interesting perspectives."

"I'm sure he does." Edward's smile didn't reach his eyes. "Adrian. Now. We have real business."

He turned and walked away, expecting obedience.

I looked at Bruce. One last glance.

He mouthed three words:

The game begins.

I straightened my tie and followed my father into the golden cage.

Behind me, I felt Bruce's gaze like a brand.

Ahead, my future waited cold, empty, and closing fast.

Six months to choose:

The empire.

Or the man I love.