Adelina trailed after Colton through the creaking doorway.

The humble house carried the scent of age—its weathered, yellow-streaked walls peeling at the corners, the sagging roof tufted with stubborn weeds.

Inside, the living room held only a few plain pieces of furniture, but each surface gleamed as if scrubbed with care. The faint trace of cleaning powder still lingered in the air, crisp and clean.

"This used to be my grandfather's house," Colton remarked, his voice dropping a notch.

He'd grown up here, just the two of them, and though the home was small, it held a kind of quiet dignity that spoke of years gone by.

When he noticed the slight crease between Adelina's brows, his dark eyes sharpened almost imperceptibly.

For a heartbeat, he wondered if she was looking down on him.

But Adelina's soft reply came before his thoughts could settle. "Thank you for letting me stay," she murmured, steadying her voice. "I'll help you take care of the place."

For the briefest moment, something shifted in her expression. In the dim light, she almost saw the boy Colton once had been—scrappy, stubborn, scraping his way through life with little more than grit and calloused hands.

Colton faltered, momentarily taken aback by her quiet sincerity. "Uh… yeah," he said after a beat, his voice roughened by surprise. "Sure."

While Adelina wandered through the house, her phone buzzed sharply in her pocket.

The name flashing across the screen made her brows knit together—Michael. She pressed the answer button.

"Where the hell have you disappeared to, you ungrateful brat?" Michael's harsh bark rattled through the speaker. "You've got a meeting with Bruce at the Apex Hotel tomorrow about the engagement. Get yourself home right now!"

At the mention of the engagement, Adelina's face hardened, the warmth from moments earlier vanishing in an instant. "I already told you I'm not marrying him," she said indifferently. "Why would you set this up without asking me first? I'm not your real daughter. You've always wanted me gone—shouldn't this make you happy?"

The truth was simple and brutal: the Shaw family had long since grown tired of her presence but had let her stay for the sake of keeping up appearances.

Now that she had worth in their eyes, they suddenly couldn't bear to let her leave.

On the other end of the line, Michael's voice dripped with quiet menace. "You won't be going, huh? Refuse me and I'll see that your grandmother breathes her last tonight; she doesn't have much time left anyway," he threatened.

The "grandmother" Michael mentioned was none other than Dina Shaw. She had been the one who had raised Adelina.

Confined to her bed, Dina had grown frail and dependent. Her body had been ravaged by severe heart disease.

Adelina never would've believed Michael could sink low enough to take his own mother's life just to line his own pocket.

A strangled gasp escaped her, and her eyes welled up, the red rims betraying the fury and helplessness churning inside her. Her fingers curled into tight fists as a tremor ran through her entire body.

At last, she gave in, her voice raw. "Fine. I'll go."

Once the call ended, her pulse refused to settle.

She could grind herself to the bone earning the money for Dina's treatment, but nothing guaranteed the Shaw family wouldn't pull something vile behind her back.

To keep Dina safe, she steeled herself to face them head-on and end this once and for all.

Across from her, Colton caught the flicker of fear in her gaze as she clutched the phone like a lifeline, and unease stirred quietly in his chest.

Sensing his stare, Adelina forced her expression into practiced calm, tucking her panic behind a brittle smile.

His brows drew together as he pressed. "What's going on?"

After a few seconds of silent debate, she exhaled slowly and answered quietly, "It's nothing. I just have something to handle tomorrow."

She'd always believed honesty was the foundation of any marriage, yet the thought of explaining the arranged marriage looming over her made her throat tighten.

Colton was just a hotel employee—he didn't need to be dragged into the Shaw family's mess.

Colton arched a brow, catching the tension etched between her furrowed brows and the stiff line of her lips. She was hiding something—he could feel it.

"Want me to come with you?" he asked, his voice low and steady.

Adelina snapped out a quick shake of her head and, almost on reflex, pushed at his chest with both hands. "No need!"

The softness of her touch only sharpened the sting of her rejection.

No woman had ever dared shove Colton away before. A prickling irritation stirred beneath his skin. With a measured breath, he peeled off his tailored jacket and began loosening the buttons of his crisp shirt.

Adelina's breath hitched, her cheeks flushing as his chiseled torso came into view. She jerked her gaze aside, stammering, "W-what on earth are you doing?"

Colton hesitated for a beat, a restless urge to wash the day off prickling beneath his skin.

Yet the way Adelina stiffened made it clear she'd misread his intent.

With deliberate ease, he continued loosening the buttons of his shirt, each movement laced with a teasing sort of arrogance.

Step by step, he closed the distance between them, the warm glow of the lamp tracing the sharp lines of his body as the fabric fell away to reveal smooth muscle. His long, steady fingers only heightened the pull of his quiet magnetism.

The sight of him stripping down so casually sent Adelina's thoughts spinning. Heat crept up her cheeks, and her pulse thudded against her ribs. She stood frozen, mind clouded by the sudden intimacy, too flustered to speak.

Colton leaned in until his breath skimmed the shell of her ear, his voice low and unhurried. "You're my wife," he murmured, a wicked edge lacing his tone. "What do you think I'm about to do… hmm?"

The slow warmth of his breath skimmed across her skin, leaving her earlobe flushed a soft pink.

Her pulse kicked into overdrive, though she forced her voice to stay steady. "Just because we're married doesn't mean we're there yet. We barely know each other—so don't get any ideas."

A crooked grin curved across Colton's mouth. He was clearly entertained by her flustered tone.

Deciding to toy with her a little, he ignored the warning in her words and leaned closer, letting the tension stretch thin between them.

Adelina's heart thudded against her ribs, every inch of her convinced he was about to claim her mouth. Her lashes fluttered shut before she could stop herself.

Then his voice—unhurried, lazy, and maddeningly calm—broke through the silence. "Relax. I'm just going to take a shower."

The pressure in the air unraveled at once.

Adelina blinked as Colton disappeared through the doorway, a shaky breath escaping her lungs.

What on earth had she been thinking just now?

...

In the bathroom, warm steam coiled through the air while water cascaded down Colton's broad shoulders.

His breaths came heavier, the dim light glinting off the droplets sliding over his skin. What had started as playful teasing had backfired—stirring a hunger he hadn't meant to indulge.

When he finally twisted the faucet off, silence pressed in for a beat before his phone suddenly buzzed on the counter.

Colton swiped it up, voice still rough. "Hello?"

A nervous pause stretched on the other end. "Uh… Mr. Clark," Jorge stammered.

The voice he heard almost daily sounded… different now.

There was a heat in Colton's tone today—something low and dangerous that made Jorge's skin crawl.

Jorge jerked out of his daze and hurried through his report. "Mr. Clark, I've looked into the Shaw family's core members like you asked. They currently have five members—an elderly grandmother in the hospital, the father, the mother, and two young women: the elder, Adelina, and the younger one, Lainey."

He hesitated for a beat before adding more quietly, "Also… Adelina isn't the Shaw couple's biological daughter. The younger one they just reunited with is."

Colton gave a low, unreadable hum in response.

Something about that sound made the hair on the back of Jorge's neck prickle. Colton rarely showed interest in anything unrelated to business.

A suspicion crept up on him. Could it be that Colton was… actually interested in some girl?

The memory of their earlier conversation flashed in his mind—his boss casually mentioning he already had someone in mind to marry and ordering this investigation immediately after. Jorge blurted out, "Mr. Clark, wait—don't tell me… you actually went and got married? Is your wife one of the Shaw ladies? Are you together right now? Should I… uh… send over some condoms?"

Colton let out a slow, controlled breath and pressed his fingers against his temple. "Shut up."

The call ended with a sharp click. He leaned back against the cool tiles, his chest rising and falling with each steadying breath, fists unconsciously tightening at his sides.

After some time, he stepped out of the bathroom in a crisp white bathrobe, the careless arrogance he usually wore now fully restored.

Crossing the quiet living room, he found Adelina fast asleep on the sofa, her lashes casting faint shadows across her cheeks.

She had curled into herself, arms wrapped around her body, as if exhaustion had finally dragged her under without a fight.

The pale pink dress she wore clung delicately to her figure, its sheer fabric brushing against smooth skin, cinching at the waist to trace the soft lines of her body in a way that was both graceful and quietly seductive.

Colton's gaze lingered, a sharp heat rolling through him as he swallowed hard. That restless desire he'd tried to bury earlier stirred again, coiling low and dangerous.

He forced himself to rein it in, telling himself he'd only wake her and offer her the bed.

But the moment his fingertips brushed her shoulder, her hand shot out in her sleep, catching his wrist with surprising strength.

A small, broken whisper escaped her lips. "Please… don't… I don't want to marry. Don't stop paying for Grandma's treatment, please…"

His breath caught. What on earth was she talking about?

She didn't want to marry? Grandma's treatment?

Was Adelina being forced to marry someone against her will?

With his brows drawn tight, Colton tried to piece together the situation from the little he knew.

A grim possibility flickered through his mind, but he dismissed it almost immediately.

The Shaw family held too much power and prestige to pawn off their daughter in some crude marriage-for-status scheme.

It had to be nothing more than a bad dream.

Still, a cold unease crept up his spine.

Colton never left things to chance. He silently decided to have Jorge look into it first thing tomorrow.

Just as he started to ease his wrist free, a sudden sting scratched his skin. "Don't go… please… please…" Adelina's voice was soft but desperate.

Pain and confusion flickered across her face as she mumbled the plea again, clinging to Colton even in her sleep, as if terrified he might vanish.

A trace of warmth—something no one had ever seen on his normally cold face—softened Colton's expression.

Finally, he bent down and carefully gathered her into his arms, carrying her into the bedroom with surprising gentleness.

By morning, sunlight spilled through the faded curtains, coaxing Adelina awake.

The quiet house held no sign of Colton. She turned her head toward the yellowed wall clock hanging above the doorway.

The hands pointed past ten.

Colton was probably already at the hotel by now, punching in for work.

Wait...

It was already past ten!

Her pulse spiked as realization hit. She had an appointment with the Shaw family this morning to negotiate Dina's medical expenses.

Adelina pushed herself upright, fingers tightening around her phone as she reread the address Michael had sent—Apex Hotel, VIP suite.

A familiar knot of dread tightened in her chest.

The memory of nearly being trapped by Lorenzo at that very hotel flickered through her mind, souring her mood.

Still, for the sake of Dina's medical bills, she forced herself to go.

The moment she stepped into the suite, Michael's hand shot out, clamping around her wrist. He shoved her down in front of the main seat on the sofa with no hint of gentleness.

"Adelina, you're late," he barked, his voice sharp as a blade. "Apologize to Mr. Clark!"

Seated in the center of the sofa was a man whose very presence commanded the room.

His tailored designer suit fit like armor, hair slicked back with not a strand out of place. His handsome yet icy face might have passed for charming, but those sharp, predatory eyes brimmed with malice, sending a chill up Adelina's spine.

Recognition struck like a blow. Bruce from the Clark family.

His lewd gaze crawled over her, dissecting every inch as if she were merchandise on display.

After a leisurely pause, he dragged his fingers along his clean-shaven chin, a crooked smile curving his lips. "Well, well. Who would've guessed the Shaw family was hiding such a pretty little thing?"

Then, with a lazy flick of his wrist, he crooked a finger at Adelina. "Come here."

Adelina had no intention of getting anywhere near Bruce; every instinct in her screamed to keep her distance.

Before she could step back, Michael shoved her forward with a hard push.

"Answer Mr. Clark when he speaks to you!" he yelled, his patience long gone.

His grip bit into her arm, and she stumbled into Bruce's chest, swallowed by the sharp, overpowering scent of his cologne.

Heat and revulsion crawled up her throat. She straightened immediately, brushing off his touch with trembling hands, and glared at Michael. "I came to talk about my grandmother's medical bills," she snapped through gritted teeth. "Not to discuss some ridiculous marriage with you."

Michael's expression darkened in an instant. "You little brat, what bullshit are you spouting!"

He spun toward Bruce, forcing a fawning smile. "Mr. Clark, please don't take her words to heart. I've spoiled this daughter of mine far too much."

Bruce let out a low chuckle, rising slowly from the sofa. His tall frame loomed as he closed the distance between Adelina and him. "No worries," he drawled, the corner of his mouth curling. "I've never come across a woman with such a fiery streak before. Fascinating."

Without a hint of hesitation, he curled an arm around Adelina's waist and drew her closer, his other hand moving toward the hem of her dress.

"Stop! Dad, don't let him do this!" Adelina struggled against his hold, her voice trembling as she turned toward Michael with desperate eyes.

She clung to a last shred of hope—that he'd protect her.

But Michael didn't move. His expression stayed eerily calm, his eyes flashing a silent order for her to obey.

Bruce's hand slid higher, the touch predatory, sending a cold shiver up her spine.

Panic wrapped around her throat as her pulse thudded painfully in her ears. Then, before the nightmare could deepen, the door burst open with a thunderous crash.