(Amaiyla — First Person, with Xander POV)
Amaiyla POV
Morning came quietly. Too quietly.
I woke to warmth.
Not sunlight. Not the heater.
An arm was wrapped around my waist—solid, steady. My cheek rested against a chest that rose and fell slowly beneath my ear.
For one suspended second, I didn't remember where I was.
Then it all rushed back.
The contract.
The fight.
The drinks.
Xander.
My breath caught—but I didn't pull away.
Neither did he.
"Before you panic," he said quietly, his voice rough with sleep, "nothing happened."
I lifted my head just enough to meet his eyes. Too close. Far too close.
"I know," I said. "I… I don't regret it."
The silence that followed felt dangerous.
"This can't happen again," I said—part warning to him, part reminder to myself—as I pulled away before my body could betray me.
"Agreed," he replied.
Neither of us believed it.
By noon, the clause reminded us who was really in control.
CLAUSE 17-B — DAY 4 REQUIREMENT
REYES FOUNDATION LUNCHEON
"They didn't even ask," I muttered.
"They never do," Xander said.
I looked at him. "You knew they'd escalate."
"Yes."
"And you didn't stop it."
"No. Because resistance makes them cruel."
I hated how calm he sounded. I hated more that he was right.
At the luncheon, cameras swallowed us whole.
Xander's hand settled at my back—natural, practiced. I leaned into him without thinking.
Across the room, my father smiled.
And I knew.
They were pleased.
Xander POV
I felt it before she did.
The shift.
The moment Amaiyla leaned into me not because the cameras demanded it—but because her body trusted mine.
That was new. That was dangerous.
My father saw it too. I knew the look. The subtle satisfaction. The calculation behind his eyes.
They weren't watching compliance anymore.
They were watching chemistry.
If they confirmed it, the clause would escalate.
Isolation.
Dependency.
No exits.
And Connor—
Connor was already paying the price.
I'd known they would go after him. I just hadn't expected how fast.
Madrid flashed through my mind.
The night that never stayed buried.
The secret that made my father smile when he shouldn't.
Amaiyla laughed at something someone said nearby, unaware that her life was being rewritten in real time.
I wanted to warn her.
I couldn't.
Because the moment I did, my father would destroy Connor completely.
So I played the role.
Held her closer.
And hated myself for how right it felt.
Connor POV
Elsewhere — And I Felt It Before I Knew.
Connor sat across from a lawyer he hadn't hired.
I didn't know that yet.
I only felt the pressure tightening around my chest, like something precious was already being crushed.
"They're using my past to control her," he said, hands shaking.
The lawyer didn't deny it.
Back at the Townhouse
By the time we got home, exhaustion hit me all at once.
"They're hurting Connor," I said suddenly. "Because of me."
Xander loosened his tie. "He is their leverage. One threat to Connor's life or career, and you'll fall in line," Xander replied.
I turned on him. "And you're just okay with that?"
"No," he snapped. "I'm strategic about it."
My chest burned. "You sound just like them."
The words landed harder than I meant them to.
"Say that again," he said sharply.
I froze, "I…."
"What," he cut in.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "I'm scared."
His voice softened, just slightly. "We'll play along and let them think they're in control— well, at least for now."
We stood inches apart, anger blurring into something dangerous and unspoken.
"This week ends soon," he said.
"And then what?" I asked.
His eyes locked onto mine. "Then we see who's still standing."
No one noticed the tiny red light above the bookshelf.
Recording.
Analyzing.
Learning.
The clause didn't care about intentions.
Only attachment.
And it was already recalculating.