Rain stings my face as I stand at the edge of the penthouse balcony, the city sprawled below like a circuit board of dreams and lies. My reflection in the glass shows a man composed—but inside, I’m unraveling. Today was supposed to be a formality: sign the marriage contract, seal the alliance, keep Ethan Chase close and under control. But when his hand brushed mine during the ceremony, something primal stirred. A memory. A warning.

Then the alert came. Facial recognition pinged at the airport. Sophia Laurent has returned.

My breath hitches. She’s supposed to be gone—buried in the past where she belongs. Instead, she’s here, and the system just flagged her entering the country under a false passport. She knows I’m alive. Or she suspects.

Ethan steps onto the balcony, his voice low. "You’ve been quiet since the signing. Regretting your decision already?"

I turn to him, the man I married for power, for protection, for revenge. But now, with Sophia back, none of those reasons feel certain anymore.