Sophia stood in front of the tall mirror in her new bedroom, staring at her reflection like it belonged to someone else. The dress she wore an elegant emerald gown with a plunging back fit her like a dream. The kind of dream she’d never dared to imagine, let alone live. Her hair was styled perfectly, her skin glowing from the high-end products that now lined her vanity. She looked like a woman who had everything.

So why did she feel like a prisoner?

The opulence of Enoch Stelwart’s penthouse was beyond anything Sophia had ever experienced. The bedroom was three times the size of her entire apartment. Every piece of furniture screamed wealth from the hand-carved bedposts to the Italian chandelier that sparkled above her like diamonds. And yet, she’d never felt more suffocated.

There were no locks on the doors. No clear way to leave without being seen. And always, always, there was someone watching either the silent butler, Edwin, or one of Enoch’s shadow-like security men lurking in the corners of the hallways.

She turned from the mirror just as Edwin knocked.

“Mr. Stelwart is ready for dinner, Mrs. Stelwart,” he said, his voice neutral but clipped.

“I’m coming,” she said softly, swallowing the lump in her throat.

As Edwin led her to the dining room, Sophia couldn’t help but notice how empty the penthouse felt, despite its beauty. No family portraits. No signs of personal life. No warmth. Just clean lines, cold marble, and muted lighting. It was a palace built on silence.

When she entered the dining room, her breath caught.

The room was dimly lit, save for the golden glow of candles lining the grand table. A crystal chandelier shimmered above. The windows showed the city below, glittering like spilled stars.

Enoch stood at the far end of the table, dressed in a dark tailored suit. He looked every bit the powerful CEO impossibly handsome, impossibly unreadable. His gaze flicked to her for only a second before he gestured toward the chair beside him.

“Sit,” he said.

No greeting. No smile.

She moved toward the chair and sat down as instructed. The table between them stretched wider than necessary, as if even furniture respected the emotional distance between them.

Dinner was served in silence by two attendants who moved like ghosts. Roast duck, truffle risotto, some kind of imported wine. Sophia barely touched any of it. Her appetite had vanished.

She glanced at Enoch, trying to break the tension. “This place… it’s beautiful. Too beautiful for someone like me.”

He didn’t respond immediately. He cut into his food methodically, taking his time. When he finally spoke, his voice was cool and deliberate. “This place isn’t for anyone. It’s for show.”

Sophia blinked. “Show?”

He sipped his wine. “Appearances matter, Mrs. Stelwart. Especially now.”

There it was again that formality. He always called her Mrs. Stelwart. Never Sophia.

“Enoch,” she said, trying to soften the air between them. “If we’re going to pretend to be married, don’t you think we should at least talk to each other like people?”

He didn’t answer. Instead, he reached for his phone, which had buzzed silently beside him. One look at the screen, and his jaw tightened. Without a word, he stood and walked a few steps away, pressing the phone to his ear.

Sophia sat frozen, her curiosity piqued.

His voice was low and sharp. “I told you not to call unless it was urgent… No, he won’t be a problem… Jason doesn’t move without leverage, and she is leveraged now… I don’t care what it takes make sure it’s handled.”

Sophia’s heart slammed against her ribs.

Jason? Leverage? She?

She leaned slightly forward in her chair, her breath caught in her throat. Enoch continued, his tone growing darker.

“If he so much as breathes near her, I want him eliminated. No mistakes.”

Sophia jerked upright, suddenly cold despite the heat in the room.

She tried to make sense of what she’d just heard. Eliminated? Handled? Her mind spun. Who was Jason? Why was she leveraged? What the hell had she signed up for?

Before she could gather her thoughts, Enoch ended the call and returned to the table, cool as ever. He didn’t notice how pale she’d gone, how her hand trembled as she lifted her wine glass.

She stared at him, debating whether to say anything. But before she could find the courage

BOOM.

Glass exploded inward. The dining room windows shattered into thousands of shards.

Sophia screamed, ducking instinctively as bullets tore through the wall behind her. The candles blew out. The scent of gunpowder and fear filled the air.

“Down!” Enoch barked, lunging across the table with impossible speed.

She didn’t even see him move one second she was frozen, the next she was on the floor, his body covering hers as chaos erupted around them.

More gunshots. Yelling from the hallway. The rapid thud of boots as security swarmed the penthouse.

Enoch’s arms tightened around her, shielding her completely as more bullets pierced the walls.

Sophia clutched his jacket, her whole body shaking. His weight pinned her down, but it was the first time she didn’t mind. He was her only shield.

When the shooting stopped, an eerie silence fell over the room broken only by the soft groan Enoch let out.

“Y-You’re bleeding,” she whispered, noticing the dark red soaking through his sleeve.

He glanced at it, then at her. “Just a graze.”

Security stormed the room seconds later, sweeping with military precision.

“Secure the perimeter!” someone barked. “Clear the upper level!”

Enoch stood, pulling Sophia up with him.

“Where where are we going?” she asked breathlessly.

He didn’t answer. His eyes were full of something cold and calculating.

Without another word, he grabbed her hand and started toward the hallway, moving fast. They passed shattered glass, broken furniture, and stunned staff who scrambled to clean up the mess left behind by whoever had attacked.

Sophia stumbled to keep up. Her mind reeled.

This wasn’t just a contract anymore.

This was war.

And somehow, she was caught in the middle of it.

They reached a section of the penthouse Sophia hadn’t seen before. Enoch pressed his palm to a hidden scanner on the wall. A panel slid open, revealing a steel door. A panic room.

He pulled her inside, his face pale but expression unreadable.

As the door sealed shut behind them with a loud click, Sophia turned to him, heart pounding. “Who the hell is Jason? And why do you keep talking about eliminating people?”

Enoch met her gaze steady, dark, and unflinching.

And for the first time since their contract began, he told her the truth.