“You vicious bitch! How could you push her?!”

The violent slap sent my head snapping to the side. A sharp, burning heat exploded across my cheek, making my ears ring. My heels slipped on the polished floor, but I grabbed the cold golden railing of the staircase behind me, forcing my legs to hold my weight.

At the bottom of the grand stairs, Sarah lay curled on the white marble. She clutched her left ankle, her shoulders shaking with small, pitiful sobs. The gentle string quartet stopped playing instantly, champagne glasses paused mid-air. The entire room of high-society guests fell dead silent.

“Julian... it hurts,” Sarah whimpered, her voice trembling, echoing off the high ceilings perfectly so everyone could hear. “I only wanted to congratulate her on the engagement... I didn't mean to make her mad…”

Julian didn't even look at me. He dropped to his knees beside her, his expensive custom tuxedo pants hitting the floor without a second thought. His hand rested on her waist, drawing her flush against his chest.

“I've got you,” he whispered. I had never heard his voice so soft, not even once in three years. “I'm right here. Don't cry.”

I pressed my cold, trembling fingers against my burning cheek. I could taste the metallic tang of blood on the inside of my lip.

Whispers broke out across the ballroom like hissing snakes.

“She pushed her?” “How cruel. Just because she was Julian's first love.” “The Blackwoods are going to ruin her family for this…”

Cameras flickered in the dark corners of the hall. Two hundred pairs of eyes locked onto me, heavy with judgment and disgust.

“Julian, listen to me,” I said, forcing the air back into my lungs. My voice sounded thin, but I kept my chin up, refusing to let them see me break. “I didn't push her. She tripped on the hem of her own dress—”

“Be quiet!” Julian barked, leaping to his feet.

He took two quick strides toward me, his chest heaving. His dark eyes, the ones I had spent three years trying to find a drop of warmth in, flared with raw hatred.

“Do you think I'm stupid, Evelyn? She’s terrified of you! Ever since Sarah came back from London, you’ve been watching her like a hawk, and now you resort to physical violence because you can't handle your own jealousy?”

“I am telling you the truth,” I said, locking my eyes onto his, begging him silently to just trust me this one time. “Check the security cameras. I didn't lay a single finger on her.”

“I said enough!” Julian shouted, his hand sweeping through the air to cut me off. “I am sick of your cold, arrogant act. You think just because your family used you to pay off their debts to us, you can walk around here like you own the place? Look at her! She’s bleeding!”

He turned back around, bending down to scoop Sarah into his arms. Sarah buried her face in the crook of his neck, her fingers tightly clutching his jacket. But as Julian lifted her up, Sarah’s eyes peeked over his broad shoulder.

She wasn't crying at all. Her lips curved into a sharp, smug smile aimed right at me, as she mouthed the words, I won.

Julian stood tall, holding Sarah tightly in his arms right in front of me.

“I regret the day I ever let my father force a ring on your finger,” Julian declared, his voice cutting through the silent ballroom like a butcher's blade. “You are completely heartless. Pray to God nothing happens to her ankle, Evelyn, or I will personally make sure you and your family pay for every single tear she sheds tonight.”

Gasps rippled through the crowd like wildfire. Flashes went off faster, white light blinding my vision.

Julian shifted his weight, turning his shoulders toward the massive front doors, ready to make his grand exit. He didn't even look back. He fully assumed I would follow behind him like a desperate, obedient dog—crying, apologizing, and begging him not to ruin my family's alliance.

Just like I had done for three exhausting years. Every time he cancelled our anniversaries, or left me stranded at galas, and even blew off my calls to run to Sarah's side.

I stood completely frozen.

I looked at him holding another woman. I looked at the red blood smudged on my white silk glove, and then down at the heavy six-carat diamond sitting on my left hand.

Three years of biting my tongue, and being told by my mother to be quiet, be sweet, endure it so our debts are paid.

I was nothing but a pawn to them.

Suddenly, the tight, suffocating knot in my chest snapped. The quiet, desperate love I had tried so hard to keep alive for him turned completely to ash, replaced by an ice-cold clarity.

Before Julian could take a single step toward the door, I grabbed the diamond band on my finger and ripped it off.

I threw it straight at him. The heavy ring bounced hard off his tuxedo jacket and clattered loudly onto the marble floor.

Julian stopped dead in his tracks. His eyes widened as the ring rolled away, then slowly snapped up to meet mine. Raw shock flickered across his face, his jaw dropping slightly. He stared at me as if I had suddenly turned into a complete stranger.

I didn't give him the satisfaction of a single word, or even shed a single tear.

I turned my back on him, pulled my heavy gown up above my ankles, and walked straight past the gaping crowd. The sea of wealthy guests parted for me in stunned silence as I pushed open the massive double doors and walked out into the freezing night.

The moment the doors slammed shut behind me, the sky opened up. Torrents of freezing rain crashed down, soaking my hair and dress in seconds.

I stood alone on the dark pavement, shivering violently. I had no coat, no car. I had just thrown away the only thing keeping my family out of bankruptcy.

Suddenly, my phone started vibrating furiously in my small clutch.

I pulled it out with shaking hands. The screen lit up with my mother’s name. She must have already seen the live streams from the ballroom. I knew exactly what was waiting for me if I answered—screaming, cursing, and an ultimatum to go back inside and kneel at Julian’s feet.

I had absolutely nothing left. Nowhere to go. No one to call.

I stared blindly into the dark, pouring rain, ready to just start walking until my feet bled.

But then, the blinding LED headlights of a massive, sleek black Maybach cut through the darkness. Pulling up right to the curb where I stood.

The blindingly white glare of LED headlights cut through the pouring rain, pinning me right where I stood on the curb.

The freezing storm soaked through my silk gown, plastering my hair to my neck. My cheek was still burning from where Julian’s hand had struck me, but before I could even make sense of the idling vehicle, my phone vibrated frantically in my clutch.

I pulled it out and pressed answer, holding it slightly away from my ear.

“Evelyn! You better get your pathetic ass back inside that ballroom right now!” My mother’s shriek blasted through the speaker, cutting through the thunder and the roaring downfall like a jagged blade. “Julian's father just froze our credit lines! If you don't go back in there and beg Julian, don't bother ever coming back home!”

I stared into the dark, blinding rain, a bitter chill washing over me. Not a single word asking if I was hurt, or even a mention of the slap. They didn't care that I had just been publicly humiliated—they only cared that their golden goose had walked away.

“I'm never coming back,” I said softly.

Before she could scream again, I ended the call and switched the phone off.

My knees began to tremble violently. The icy wind slashed through my soaked dress, and the physical exhaustion of three years of emotional abuse finally caught up to me.

Through the heavy downpour, the door of the sleek vehicle swung open. A towering, powerful figure stepped out into the storm.

“He always was a complete idiot.”

A deep, velvet baritone voice broke through the noise of the rain. Steady, calm, and effortlessly commanding.

I lifted my dripping lashes. “Dominic…” My teeth chattered so hard I could barely form his name. “What... what are you doing out here?”

“Watching my foolish brother throw away a diamond for a piece of glass,” Dominic said softly.

Without hesitation, he unbuttoned his dark suit jacket and draped it over my trembling shoulders. The heavy wool instantly shielded me from the wind, carrying his rich scent of cedarwood and dark musk.

He raised his bare hand, his fingers hovering barely an inch from my bruised cheek. “He put his hands on you,” Dominic murmured, his jaw tight enough to snap glass.

"It doesn't matter anymore," I choked out, wrapping his jacket tightly around my chest. “It's over…”

My vision suddenly blurred, dark spots dancing at the edges. My legs completely gave out beneath me, and I collapsed forward into the freezing dark.

Strong, warm arms caught me before I hit the wet pavement.

“I've got you,” Dominic’s deep voice rumbled above the storm. He scooped me up against his chest, and the last thing I remembered before losing consciousness was the warmth of his body against mine.

—

Morning light was streaming through massive floor-to-ceiling glass windows when my eyes finally fluttered open.

I gasped softly, sitting up quickly as my mind scrambled to make sense of my surroundings. I wasn't on the wet street, nor was I in my old, suffocating bedroom.

I was lying in the center of an enormous king-sized bed wrapped in hyper-soft white sheets. A soft fireplace crackled quietly in the corner of the room, throwing off a gentle, comforting heat.

Panicking, I pulled back the duvet to look down at myself.

My soaked evening dress was gone. In its place, I was wearing a crisp, oversized white button-down shirt that draped loosely over my shoulders, the curved hem falling halfway down my thighs. The top buttons were left open, and the sleeves were neatly rolled up past my wrists.

Where am I? Who changed me?

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stepped out into a vast, breathtaking penthouse. Following the rich aroma of fresh coffee, I padded silently down a long hallway toward a floating black staircase.

I took three quiet steps down the stairs—and froze.

Standing at the marble kitchen island below was Dominic Blackwood.

He wore a dark silk bathrobe tied loosely at his waist, leaving his broad, muscular chest and sharp abs completely exposed. His damp hair was pushed back from his angular face as he held a steaming coffee mug in one hand and his phone in the other.

Without raising his head, Dominic spoke into the quiet room. “Are you going to stand there all morning, Evelyn, or come down and have some coffee?”

Flustered, I hurried down the remaining steps, pulling the hem of the oversized shirt down as far as it would stretch.

“I... I didn't know where I was,” I murmured, taking a seat on the high leather stool across from him. “Who changed my clothes?”

“My female housekeeper, Mrs. Gable," Dominic answered smoothly, sliding a second steaming mug across the black marble toward me. “I might be a ruthless man, Evelyn, but I am not a dishonorable one.”

I wrapped my hands around the warm mug, letting the heat sink into my skin. “Thank you.”

“Don't thank me yet,” Dominic said.

He reached to the side of the counter, picked up a sleek black leather folder, and slid it across the marble surface directly in front of me. Alongside it rested a heavy steel pen.

I leaned forward, my eyes locking onto the bold black header printed across the top of the page:

LEGAL BINDING AGREEMENT: MARRIAGE CONTRACT

My breath trapped itself in my throat. “What is this?”

“An alliance,” Dominic said, leaning his forearms against the counter, bringing his intense grey eyes level with mine. “My name, my empire, and my absolute protection. Sign this, and your family's debts become my personal property—which means they will never lay a finger on you again. You will sit above Julian and his father in every single room you enter.”

I stared at him, my heart hammering against my ribs. “You're asking me to marry you? I just broke off my engagement with your brother!"

“Julian is an arrogant fool who humiliated you because he thought you had nowhere else to run,” Dominic murmured, his voice dropping into a low, lethal whisper. “He thought your parents’ debts kept you chained to his feet. Marry me, Evelyn. Take my name, and together, we give my family the war they've been begging for.”

My heart hammered against my ribs as I stared down at the bold heading printed at the top of the page.

I read through the clauses again, trying to process the sheer weight of what was sitting on the dark marble counter. Twelve hours ago, I was trapped in an abusive engagement, bracing myself for another lecture from my mother about my duty to the family. Now, the most feared man in the city was offering me a way out on a silver platter.

“You're serious,” I said, my voice steadying as I looked up from the paper.

“I don't waste time with jokes, Evelyn,” Dominic replied. He took a slow sip of his black coffee, watching me over the rim of his mug. “Julian humiliated you because he believed you had nowhere else to run. He knows your parents owe millions to our family's lending firms, and he used that debt like a leash around your neck. If you walk out my door right now, your parents will track you down within the hour and drag you back to him.”

“And this stops them?” I asked.

Dominic leaned forward, resting his forearms against the edge of the island. “Clause two explicitly states that Blackwood Enterprises buys out your family’s entire debt portfolio from my father’s bank. The moment I sign the acquisition papers, I become your parents' sole creditor. If they so much as call your phone to yell at you, I can call in their loans and bankrupt them. They lose every shred of leverage they have over your life.”

I stared at him, tracing the heavy lines of his sharp jawline. “And what about Julian?”

A cold, calculated flicker of dark satisfaction crossed Dominic's eyes. “Julian’s entire identity rests on his pride and his control. He expects you to hide in a dark room, cry over his betrayal, and eventually crawl back to beg for his forgiveness. Instead, he’s going to find out that the woman he discarded just married his elder brother—the man who holds more voting shares in the Blackwood empire than he ever will. It will strip him of his pride in front of the entire city.”

It was dangerous. But as I sat there in his oversized shirt, feeling the faint sting remaining on my bruised cheek, I realized I didn't care about playing safe anymore.

“Two years,” I insisted, tapping my finger against the paper. “A strictly legal alliance. No genuine marriage, no physical expectations, and no interference in my life after the contract expires.”

“Two years,” Dominic agreed, his tone entirely businesslike. “You retain your independence, your privacy, and a full legal settlement when the time is up.”

I didn't hesitate any longer. I picked up the heavy steel pen resting beside the folder, pressed the nib to the signature line, and wrote my name in a firm, clear script: Evelyn Reed.

Dominic picked up the contract, briefly inspecting my signature before closing the black leather folder with a decisive snap.

“Go upstairs and get ready, Mrs. Blackwood,” he said softly, setting his empty coffee mug in the sink. “We have a wedding to attend.”

An hour later, there was a quiet knock on the door of the guest suite.

An older woman with silver hair pulled back into a neat bun stepped into the room, holding a tall black garment bag.

“Good morning, Miss Reed,” she said with a polite, professional smile. “I am Mrs. Gable, Mr. Blackwood's personal housekeeper. Sir asked me to bring this up for you.”

“Thank you, Mrs. Gable,” I said, taking the bag.

Inside was a simple, elegant ivory silk dress with tailored long sleeves and a subtle cowl neckline. It wasn't a puffy white gown meant for a fairytale cathedral; it was clean, modern, and cut with absolute precision. Next to it was a pair of nude leather heels that fit as if they had been measured for my feet.

When I finished fixing my hair and stepped back down the grand floating staircase, Dominic was waiting near the front doors.

He had changed out of his silk bathrobe into a tailored charcoal suit with an unbuttoned crisp white shirt underneath. Standing at his full height, he carried an undeniable aura of power—broad shoulders, sharp angles, and a presence that easily commanded any space he occupied.

He looked up as my heels clicked against the bottom marble step. His storm-grey eyes locked onto me, scanning me from head to toe in a single, lingering sweep.

“It suits you,” he said simply.

“Did you already have women's clothes sitting in your closet?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.

“I had my personal stylist deliver three options in your exact size while you were taking a shower,” Dominic replied calmly, opening the heavy front door for me. “I don't leave details to chance.”

A private, blacked-out Maybach took us through the city to the municipal judicial building downtown.

There were no paparazzi waiting outside, no frantic family members, and no press cameras flashing. Dominic had bought out the entire private wing of the building for the afternoon.

We stepped into a spacious, dark-wood paneled office where a senior judge was waiting behind a polished desk. Two of Dominic’s personal security guards stood quietly near the entrance as official witnesses.

“Mr. Blackwood, Miss Reed,” the judge said, standing up and opening a thick legal ledger. “We have all the paperwork processed and verified. Are we ready to proceed?”

“We are,” Dominic said.

We stood side by side in front of the desk. The ceremony was short, clean, and stripped of all cheap sentimentality. There were no rehearsed romantic speeches—just the binding legal declarations required by law.

“Dominic Blackwood, do you take Evelyn Reed to be your lawfully wedded wife?”

Dominic turned slightly toward me. His dark eyes were calm, steady, and intense. “I do.”

“And do you, Evelyn Reed, take Dominic Blackwood to be your lawfully wedded husband?”

I took a quiet breath, feeling the shift under my feet. “I do.”

“The rings, please.”

Dominic reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a small black velvet box. He flipped it open to reveal a heavy platinum ring set with a striking, flawless black diamond. It was bold, understated, and completely breathtaking.

He took my left hand in his. His skin was warm against my icy fingers. He slid the heavy ring onto my finger, his thumb lingering over my knuckles for a fraction of a second.

“Julian gave you glass,” Dominic murmured, his deep voice low enough so only I could hear. “I give you firepower.”

The judge stamped the marriage certificate with a heavy red seal, closed the ledger, and offered a polite nod. “By the authority of the state, you are officially husband and wife. Congratulations.”

We walked back out to the waiting car in quiet procession.

The moment the heavy Maybach door clicked shut, isolating us from the outside world, Dominic leaned back against the leather seats and turned to me.

“Hungry?” he asked casually.

Before I could answer, the wide digital screen embedded in the car’s console flickered to life with a breaking entertainment broadcast. A glossy television host stood outside the Grand Regency Hotel downtown, a bright banner flashing across the bottom of the screen:

EXCLUSIVE: JULIAN BLACKWOOD ANNOUNCES FLASH ENGAGEMENT DINNER TONIGHT WITH SARAH MOREAU!

“Sources confirm Julian Blackwood has officially moved on from Evelyn Reed and will celebrate his sudden betrothal to Sarah Moreau surrounded by the city's elite at seven o'clock tonight…”

I stared at the screen, a bitter smirk tugging at my lips. Julian was hosting a flash party to control the media narrative, trying to convince the city that he was the one who dumped me.

Dominic glanced at the screen, then looked over at me, a low, dangerous smile curving his mouth.

“It seems my baby brother is throwing a party,” Dominic said softly, reaching out to wrap his warm fingers around mine. “It would be rude of us not to attend.”