The dining room fell dead silent.

The security chief stood frozen by the door. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other. Elara Vang was a frequent guest, and the Vang family had deep ties. Throwing her out like trash was a massive escalation.

His eyes darted past Giovanna, landing directly on Damien. He needed the real boss to give the green light.

Elara saw the hesitation. A spark of hope ignited in her chest. She kept clutching her heart, but her tear-filled eyes locked onto Damien, silently begging for mercy.

Giovanna didn't yell at the guard. She crossed her arms over her chest and turned her head to look at Damien. She waited. This was a test.

Damien slowly stood up from the table. His long fingers reached down, methodically buttoning the center button of his suit jacket.

He walked around the table until he stood right behind Giovanna. He wrapped his heavy arm around her waist, pulling her back flush against his chest. It was a blatant, physical claim of ownership.

Damien stared at the security chief. His eyes were completely dead. His voice dropped to a terrifying, sub-zero register.

"Did you not hear my wife's order?"

The security chief flinched as if he had been struck. He snapped his spine straight. "Yes, Boss! Right away!"

"And from now on," Damien added, his voice echoing in the large room, "my wife's orders are my orders. Disobeying her is disobeying me. The consequences will be exactly the same."

The words hit the room like a bomb. It was a complete transfer of power. Giovanna wasn't just a wife on paper anymore; she was the absolute ruler of the Blackwood empire.

Two massive bodyguards stepped forward. They grabbed Elara by her upper arms, hauling her off the floor.

Elara panicked. The fake heart attack vanished. She kicked her legs, her expensive heels scraping against the floorboards. "Let me go! Damien, you can't do this! I'm a Vang!"

The guards ignored her screams. They dragged her backward out of the dining room, down the long hallway, and out the front doors.

Giovanna leaned back against Damien's solid chest. She watched through the large windows as the guards hauled Elara down the long driveway and literally tossed her out the wrought-iron gates.

Elara hit the cold asphalt hard. Her pristine white skirt was covered in dirt.

A few luxury cars driving past the estate slowed down. The wealthy occupants rolled down their windows, pointing and whispering at the disgraced socialite sitting in the dirt.

Elara bit her lip so hard it bled. The humiliation burned her skin.

Inside the dining room, the maids rushed to clean the spot where Elara had been sitting, scrubbing the floor as if removing a toxic spill.

Damien looked down at the top of Giovanna's head. His chest rose and fell heavily.

He reached up, his thick fingers gripping her chin. He tilted her head back, forcing her to look up into his dark, searching eyes.

"Are you satisfied now?" Damien asked, his voice a low rumble. "You used me to get rid of her. What exactly are you planning?"

He gave her the power, but his deeply ingrained paranoia wouldn't let him believe this was real.

Giovanna didn't pull away from his grip. She looked straight into the storm in his eyes and rose onto her toes.

She pressed a soft, lingering kiss to the corner of his mouth. "I plan," she whispered against his skin, "to only be a problem for you from now on."

Damien's heart physically skipped a beat. The heavy walls in his mind cracked a little more.

Giovanna stepped back, breaking the tension. She glanced at the antique grandfather clock in the corner.

"Oh, no," she gasped, her eyes widening. "I have to go to Oakhaven University for the freshman orientation today!"

The word 'university'. The concept of 'leaving the estate'.

The air around Damien instantly froze. The warmth vanished from his eyes, replaced by a terrifying, suffocating darkness.

His arm clamped around her waist, tightening like a vice, pulling her so hard against him it knocked the breath out of her lungs. His eyes turned feral.

Damien's arm was a steel bar crushing Giovanna's ribs. He held her pinned against his chest, refusing to let an inch of space exist between them.

"Oakhaven?" His voice was a low, dangerous growl vibrating against her back. "You are not stepping one foot outside those gates."

Giovanna felt the heavy, rapid thud of his heart against her spine. It wasn't anger. It was pure, blinding panic. His body was reacting to the physical threat of losing her.

She didn't fight him. She knew struggling would only trigger his predator instincts to lock her in a cage.

Instead, she let all the tension drain from her muscles. She slumped backward, letting him support her entire body weight.

She reached up, her small hands wrapping over the thick wrists caging her waist. She turned in his grip until she faced him. She lifted her hands and cupped his tense, rigid face.

"D, look at me," Giovanna said. Her voice was steady, calm, an anchor in his storm.

Damien's breathing was harsh. His dark eyes locked onto hers, bloodshot and wild, searching for the lie.

"I am going to Oakhaven," Giovanna explained softly, her thumbs brushing his cheekbones, "because Elara is going to be at the freshman assembly today. She stole what rightfully belongs to me, and I refuse to let her keep it." She paused, letting the words sink in. "I need to look her in the eye and take it back."

At the mention of Elara's name, the frantic panic in Damien's eyes paused. A flicker of cold calculation replaced it.

Giovanna's lips curved into a sharp, predatory smile. "I'm going to take back what belongs to me. And I'm going to crush her pride in front of the entire school."

Damien stared at her. The raw, naked ambition and thirst for revenge in her eyes was completely foreign to the fragile girl he thought he knew. It was intoxicating.

But his jaw remained locked. "And if I say no?" he rasped.

Giovanna sighed. She stepped closer, rising onto her toes. She opened her mouth and bit down hard on the sharp line of his jaw.

The sudden, sharp pain shocked Damien. He gasped, his grip on her waist loosening just a fraction.

Giovanna immediately looped her arms around his neck. She rubbed her nose against his, her breath mixing with his.

"You can send your most trusted driver," she ordered, her voice dripping with honey and absolute bossiness. "You can have your bodyguards follow me in the shadows."

She leaned in, her lips brushing his ear. "But you have to let me go. Because when I come back tonight, I have a surprise for you."

The heavy, sexual promise in her words, combined with the physical weight of her body clinging to him, shattered the last of his resistance.

Damien closed his eyes. He took a deep, shuddering breath, forcing the beast inside him back into its cage.

He opened his eyes. He grabbed the back of her neck and crashed his mouth down on hers. It was a punishing, desperate kiss, branding her as his.

A minute later, he pulled back. He was breathing hard. His thumb roughly wiped the moisture from her swollen bottom lip.

He turned his head and spoke to the empty air. "Tell Ray to bring the armored Maybach around."

Victor, his personal assistant who always lingered in the shadows, materialized by the door and spoke into his radio.

Damien kept his hand on the small of her back, escorting her to the grand foyer. He personally draped a light trench coat over her shoulders.

The massive, black armored Maybach idled at the bottom of the stone steps. Ray, the driver, stood holding the rear door open.

Giovanna slid into the plush leather seat. She rolled down the tinted window and looked up at Damien standing on the steps.

"See you tonight, my dictator," she teased, blowing him a kiss.

The Maybach pulled away, tires crunching on the gravel. Damien stood frozen on the steps. He reached up, his fingers brushing the faint bite mark on his jaw. A slow, dark smile finally broke across his face.

The armored Maybach glided down the highway like a silent, black shark. Ray gripped the steering wheel with white knuckles, his eyes glued to the road, terrified to even glance in the rearview mirror.

Giovanna leaned back against the buttery leather seat. She closed her eyes, letting her brain sort through the files of her past life.

In her previous life, she had used her genius-level IQ to secure an Early Decision spot at Oakhaven. But Elara had paid people to spread the rumor that Giovanna was a brainless idiot who bought her way in with Damien's money.

Worse, the prestigious honor of giving the freshman valedictory speech-an honor Giovanna had earned-was stolen by Elara through the Vang family's connections.

The Maybach slowed as it passed through the towering gothic arches of Oakhaven University. Students walking on the sidewalks stopped and stared, pointing at the multi-million-dollar vehicle.

Ray parked the car near the edge of The Quad. He jumped out and opened the door.

Giovanna stepped out. Her red-soled heels clicked sharply against the pavement. The burgundy dress hugged her curves, radiating old-money elegance and absolute power.

The whispers started immediately. Groups of students turned their heads, trying to guess which billionaire family she belonged to.

Giovanna ignored them. She walked straight toward the chaotic freshman registration booths.

Her eyes scanned the crowd and locked onto a girl struggling to hold a massive stack of folders. She wore thick black glasses and a faded sweater. Fiona Daly.

In her past life, Fiona was the only person who stood by Giovanna when the whole school turned against her. Fiona had lost her own scholarship because of it.

A tight knot formed in Giovanna's throat. She walked up behind Fiona and gently tapped her shoulder.

Fiona spun around. Her eyes widened in shock, then immediately filled with panic.

"Gio!" Fiona hissed, dropping her voice. "Why are you so late? Elara's friends are already telling everyone you're a fraud."

Before Giovanna could answer, a shrill, nasal voice cut through the noise.

"Well, well. If it isn't our famous 'donation admit'."

Skylar Finch, Elara's chief minion, strutted over. Three other girls flanked her like bodyguards.

Skylar looked Giovanna up and down, her eyes burning with ugly jealousy. "What's wrong? Your old, ugly sugar daddy husband couldn't be bothered to walk you to class?"

The students standing nearby stopped talking. They pulled out their phones, hitting record, waiting for the rich girl to cry.

Fiona's face flushed red with anger. She stepped in front of Giovanna, using her small body as a shield. "Shut up, Skylar! Gio got in on her own merit!"

Skylar sneered. She shoved Fiona hard in the chest. "Merit? Everyone knows Elara is the only genius in the Vang family."

Fiona stumbled backward, her heel catching on the pavement. The folders flew out of her hands, scattering across the grass.

Giovanna's eyes went dead. The temperature around her seemed to drop. She reached out, her hand clamping onto Fiona's arm, stabilizing her instantly.

Giovanna pulled Fiona behind her back. She took one slow, deliberate step toward Skylar. The sheer, suffocating pressure of Giovanna's presence made Skylar physically shrink back.

"What are you doing?" Skylar stammered, trying to sound tough.

Giovanna didn't yell. She casually adjusted the cuff of her trench coat.

When she spoke, her voice was loud enough to carry across the entire courtyard. "Whether my husband is old or ugly is none of your business. Especially since his company has higher standards than you could ever meet in your entire pathetic life. Now, get out of my sight."

A collective gasp, followed by a wave of brutal laughter, erupted from the crowd. Skylar's face turned the color of a crushed tomato.

Giovanna leaned in, dropping her voice to a lethal whisper meant only for Skylar. "And as for Elara being a genius..."

Giovanna straightened up. A cold, wicked smile touched her lips. "Let's see how smart she looks at the assembly in thirty minutes."

Without waiting for a response, Giovanna grabbed Fiona's hand and dragged her away from the crowd, heading straight for the massive stone library.