Morning came softly.
No walls of silence. No heavy rules hanging in the air. Just quiet — the kind that no longer felt empty.
I woke before him, watching the steady rise and fall of his chest. In sleep, the sharp edges of him faded. He looked younger. Human. For the first time, I didn't feel like an intruder in this bed.
I slipped out gently and wrapped myself in a robe, needing space to think.Last night had changed something, but I wasn't naïve enough to believe it had fixed everything. Desire could open doors, yes , but only truth could decide what stayed open.
When he joined me later, two cups of coffee in his hands, I knew this wasn't going to be easy.
"I won't pretend it didn't happen," he said, offering me a cup. "But I also won't trap you with it."
I studied his face. No command. No coldness. Just honesty."I didn't come here to be owned," I said quietly. "And I didn't stay because of last night.
"I know," he replied. "That's why I'm giving you a choice."
A choice.The word felt unfamiliar in this house
"The contract can remain," he continued. "Publicly, nothing changes. But privately… you're free. Free to leave. Free to stay. Free to decide whether this becomes real or ends cleanly."
I took a long breath.
"I stayed because somewhere between obligation and anger," I said, "I saw the man you hide from the world. And I think you're tired of hiding too."
His jaw tightened, emotion flashing briefly across his eyes.
"I don't know how to love gently," he admitted. "But I'm willing to learn — if you're willing to walk beside me, not behind me."
That was all I needed.
I reached for his hand ,not as a wife by contract, not as a solution to his problems, but as a woman choosing her own future.
"I won't be your sacrifice," I said. "But I will be your partner."
He nodded once. "That's all I ever wanted. I just didn't know how to ask."
The mansion no longer felt like a prison after that. It became a place we reshaped together — slowly, imperfectly, honestly.
I still visited my father. Still remembered where I came from. Still held my independence close.
But I also allowed myself something I never expected to find here.Respect.Choice.
And love that grew quietly, without force.
I didn't marry a billionaire that day.
I married a man who finally learned that power means nothing without someone who chooses you freely.
And this time…
I chose him.
THE END