Katie's POV:
The taxi wound through quiet streets, headlights slicing through the fog. I sat back, watching the city blur past, but my mind was elsewhere.
Benjamin Carrington. He didn't like girls who acted against his commands — he liked sweet, obedient girls. Calm, compliant, perfect. Girls who would never challenge him, never defy him, never disrupt the order of his life.
Well… that won't be me.
I straightened in the seat, a plan forming. I would be the opposite of everything he wanted in a woman — bold, fearless, untamed. Let him get frustrated, let him want to control me… and eventually, maybe he'd see enough to divorce me. Then I could go back. Back to what was rightfully mine — my father's work, my inheritance, my power.
The taxi stopped in front of the mansion. Stone walls, darkened windows, guards at attention. Dogs barked somewhere inside. Guns lined the hallways. A world of control. A world Benjamin ruled.
I stepped out, boots clicking against polished stone, and entered the fortress-like house with calm precision. Every eye, every guard, every silent dog registered me — and respected me without a word.
Benjamin waited, tall and imposing, standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows. His dark hair slicked back perfectly, catching the soft glow of the city lights. Broad, sculpted shoulders, angular cheekbones, and a jawline sharp enough to cut glass. But it was his green eyes that truly unnerved me — piercing, calculating, seeing through everything. One look and you felt exposed, judged, and weighed against his impossible standards. He moved with deliberate precision, each gesture a demonstration of control and elegance. A storm in a perfectly contained body.
I met his gaze, unflinching. My long chestnut-brown hair fell like silk across my shoulders, deep brown eyes calm yet dangerous, tall and statuesque. My every movement radiated control, elegance, and quiet power. People would call this beauty deadly — and it was true. Calm and gentle on the surface, but beneath… a storm capable of bending the world.
"This marriage," Benjamin said, voice low and precise, cutting through the tension, "let's treat it as a contract. Three years. That's how long it'll take for my grandfather's approval to make me CEO."
I nodded slightly, calm, collected. "Fine. I'll do my part."
He studied me. Really studied me. And I saw it — a flicker of something he didn't expect. Respect? Admiration? Something darker. His sharp green eyes scanned me, taking in my calm aura, the deadly elegance I carried so naturally.
"Separate lives. No distractions. Appear perfect at family gatherings," he said, regaining his composure.
"Fine," I whispered, letting the agreement settle. "You do your thing. I'll do mine."
And in that moment, I knew something had shifted. He was captivated — not just by my beauty, but by the quiet strength I radiated. Calm, yes. But deadly. A balance of power he hadn't reckoned with.
Later, after a cool shower, I lay on the bed in the quiet of my room. Water droplets clinging to my skin, silk sheets soft beneath me, but my mind was far from relaxation.
I recalled the ending of the novel I had read — the tragic fate, the betrayals, the twists. And then it hit me: my father. He wasn't just a businessman. Not really. He was a Mafia boss, using his company as a cover. All along, my family's empire had been a shadow world, dark and untouchable.
A plan formed, sharp and clear. I would go back. I would inherit the empire — the one in the light, the one in the shadows. I would escape the tragic fate that the novel had promised me.
And for now, Benjamin Carrington? He was just a piece on the board. A pawn in my game.
I closed my eyes, letting the weight of my determination settle. Calm, beautiful, untouchable… and deadly.
Tomorrow, Brixton Café. Alexa. We start rewriting everything.