“Enter,” his voice came through the wood, low and resonant. He knew I was there before I touched the handle. He always did.
I stepped inside and closed the door behind me with a softclick. He didn’t look up as I crossed the room and took the seat opposite his desk. His fingers drummed against the lacquered wood—one, two, three, then still.
“Nice of you to finally arrive.” His gaze lifted, and the temperature in the room dropped a few degrees. Vitriol dripped from every syllable. “Did the sun-drenched beaches of your offshore haven make it difficult to remember your priorities?”
I didn’t rise to the bait. “I was there on business and got back last night. You called this morning. I came as soon as my meeting finished.”
“Yes, well, I expect obedience, not sarcasm.” His voice hardened. “You will do exactly as you’re told tonight. This is not a request. It is a directive.”
“What am I walking into?” I asked, though I already knew I wouldn’t like the answer.
His mouth curled into something that wasn’t a smile. “A very important night for our family. The Astor legacy depends on what happens this evening. And more importantly…yourfuture does too.”
My spine stiffened. “You meanyourplans for my future.”
He leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk. “You’ve been allowed to play pretend long enough. You are an Astor. And Astors serve the family. You have obligations. Now is your time to step up to the table.”
My jaw clenched. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”
“No one asks for power. They’re born to it. They carry it. Or it crushes them.”
His voice was calm now—dangerously so.
“I’ve spoken with the Vanderbilts,” he continued. “Tonight, you’ll be meeting their daughter. There will be photos. Smiles. Appearances. She’s well-connected. Educated. Attractive enough. You will dance with her. Charm her.Begin something that looks like a future.”
The floor shifted beneath me. “You’re arranging a merger through me.”
“Don’t insult me by pretending to be naïve. This isn’t about romance. It’s about legacy. It’s about survival. If you embarrass me tonight, if you resist what’s expected of you—” His eyes locked onto mine, cold and bottomless. “—I will disown you. I’ll freeze your accounts. Burn the foundations of your dreams. I’ll ruin you so thoroughly you’ll have no choice but to crawl back here and beg for scraps at my table.”
He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t have to. Just held the truth against my throat like a blade.
All I could do was stare at him, my insides twisting. I wanted to stand. I wanted to throw the chair across the room and scream that I wasn’t his pawn, that I wasn’t a piece on his chessboard. But that would only tighten the noose.
I’d known this was coming, I just hadn’t expected it to be so soon. I’d fooled myself that I could outrun the future even as it breathed down my neck. At least I’d have the memories of our stolen moments to help me survive what was to come.
Instead of fighting, I swallowed the bile in my throat and said, “Navy it is. I’ll go and get ready now. How long before we leave?”
He sat back, satisfied. “Good. The car arrives in an hour.”
And just like that, my fate was sealed. I left his office with numb legs and a throat that grated like sandpaper every time I swallowed.
Each step up the sweeping staircase felt like dragging chains. The house around me was blurred—a kaleidoscope of polished golds and creams, sterile and curated like a museum built for someone else’s life. My life, apparently. The gilded cage I couldn’t escape.
The second I closed the door to my childhood bedroom, the air changed. I dropped my mask the moment the latch clicked. My knees buckled before I even reached the bed.
I folded over, gripping the edge of the mattress with white-knuckled fingers, trying to keep the scream inside. My lungs burned. My ribs ached. The pressure in my chest was unbearable.
He’d finally done it.
The tears came fast—hot and bitter. I pressed my fist into my mouth to muffle the sound as I doubled over, forehead nearly touching my knees. The suit options lay untouched on the bed,still wrapped in their plastic armor. I wanted to tear them apart. I wanted to scream until the walls shattered and the ghosts of this house crumbled with them.
I thought I had more time. Just a little more time withhim—Sin.
A memory hit like a fist to the ribs—Sinclair’s fingers threading through my hair, his mouth warm against mine, the quiet sound he made when I whispered his name. His voice in the dark, steady and real and mine.
“I’m not afraid of you, Theo. I just wish you weren’t either.”
I stripped mechanically, trying not to fall apart again; stitching pieces of myself back together as they fell. The navy suit waited like a noose on the hanger, taunting me.
