The study was thick with silence, the kind that pressed against the walls and made the air feel heavier than stone. Father’s words still rang in my ears. Marriage. Zoe. Jake Williams Martinez.

Zoe slammed her palm against the polished oak desk, her voice sharp enough to cut glass. “What? Marriage? To that man? Are you serious, Dad?”

Alejandro Rodriguez’s expression didn’t flinch. His eyes were cold, steady, as if he had already prepared himself for her tantrum. “This is not up for debate, Zoe. The company is hanging by a thread. The Martinez empire is our only chance at survival. Jake has agreed to step in…”

“Step in?!” Zoe cut him off, her voice rising. “You mean he wants to trap me in some golden cage just to save your failing company. Why me? Why not Chloe? She’s the boring one!”

I felt my chest tighten at her words, but Father didn’t even glance my way. His voice remained firm. “Because Jake asked for you. He specifically requested you, Zoe. He wants you, and this is bigger than your childish whims. The Rodriguez name will not fall under my watch. You will marry him.”

Zoe’s mouth fell open, her face twisted with disbelief. “Requested me? Why? He doesn’t even know me! He’s way older than me !”

Father leaned forward, his gaze sharp. “He knows enough. And your 23, he’s just 35. And you will do your duty. This family has given you everything. Now you will give something back.”

Zoe folded her arms, her lips trembling with fury, but she didn’t argue further.

The silence stretched. Father finally dismissed us with a wave of his hand. “I have other matters to attend to. Both of you, leave.”

I followed Zoe out of the study, my mind swirling. Her rants echoed in my ears, but all I could feel was the weight of something darker settling inside me.

Jake’s POV

Ethan leaned against the balcony rail, the Venetian night spreading out in glittering canals below. He gave me a sharp grin, handing me the glass of scotch I’d asked for. “Message delivered. Alejandro Rodriguez has agreed. Zoe is yours.”

I smirked, swirling the drink in my hand. “Good.”

I remembered the night I first saw her — loud laughter echoing through the room, her wild spirit lighting up the space like fire. Zoe Rodriguez. The twin who couldn’t be ignored. She was chaos wrapped in beauty, and the moment I laid eyes on her, I knew I had to have her.

But I wasn’t reckless. I sent Ethan to dig deeper, to be sure. And every report matched what I’d seen with my own eyes. Zoe was the wild one. The one who danced on tables, drank like the night was hers, and never cared who was watching. The kind of woman who lived dangerously, the kind of woman who fit the memory of that night I couldn’t shake.

“She’ll never see it coming,” Ethan said quietly, his tone laced with warning.

I chuckled, taking a long sip of scotch. “She doesn’t need to. All she needs to do is walk down that aisle. Once she’s mine, no one can take her away.”

I leaned back in my chair, satisfaction curling in my chest like smoke. I had orchestrated everything. The Rodriguez company’s slow fall, the perfect offer of rescue, the contract marriage.

They thought I was their savior. They didn’t know I was also their ruin.

Soon, Zoe Rodriguez would belong to me.

And nothing, not even the mighty Alejandro Rodriguez, could stop it.