Lila stared at the flash drive long after Dominic disappeared down the hallway. The small black object felt heavier than it should, as if it carried more than data—more than truth. It carried the weight of everything she had lost and everything she was about to become.
She didn't sleep.
At dawn, pale light crept through the glass walls, washing the city in silver. Lila sat at the edge of the bed in the guest room, the flash drive clenched tightly in her hand. Her heart pounded as she crossed the room and slid it into the laptop waiting on the desk.
The screen flickered to life.
Folders appeared. Dates. Names.
And then—Ethan.
Her breath hitched as she opened the first file. A video began to play. The timestamp read three months ago. Ethan sat across a table from two men she didn't recognize, his posture relaxed, his smile sharp.
"She trusts me completely," Ethan said casually. "The wedding gives me full access. After that, Monroe Industries is wide open."
Lila's chest tightened painfully.
One of the men laughed. "And the girl?"
"She's collateral," Ethan replied. "Nothing more."
The words sliced through her like glass.
Her hands shook as she skipped to another file—emails this time. Dozens of them. Financial transfers. Confidential documents leaked. Her father's signatures forged. Plans mapped out with chilling precision.
Ethan hadn't just betrayed her.
He had sold her family.
Lila slammed the laptop shut, gasping for breath. Her vision blurred, anger and grief twisting violently inside her chest. Every memory she had of Ethan—the late-night conversations, the promises, the way he held her when she doubted herself—turned sour.
She pressed her palm against her mouth, forcing herself not to scream.
So Dominic had been telling the truth.
The realization unsettled her more than the betrayal itself.
A soft knock sounded at the door.
Lila stiffened. "Come in."
Dominic entered, dressed immaculately as always, as though he hadn't spent the night dismantling her entire world. His gaze flicked briefly to her pale face, her trembling hands.
"You watched it," he said.
"Yes," she whispered.
He nodded once. "Then you understand the urgency."
"You knew," she said sharply. "You knew all of this and still let me walk into that wedding."
Dominic's expression hardened. "I needed confirmation. And I needed you to see him for who he truly was."
"That was cruel," she snapped.
"Reality is cruel," he replied calmly. "I simply removed the illusion."
Lila rose to her feet, fury blazing in her eyes. "You manipulated me."
"I protected you," he countered. "If Ethan suspected I was watching, he would've disappeared sooner. You would've been left with nothing."
She hated that his logic made sense.
"Say it," she demanded. "Say you enjoyed watching me fall."
Dominic's jaw tightened. "I don't enjoy weakness. I eliminate it."
The words stung, but she refused to look away. "And what am I to you now?"
He studied her for a long moment. "A woman standing at a crossroads."
Silence stretched between them.
Finally, Lila exhaled shakily. "If I sign this contract… I want conditions."
A flicker of interest crossed his eyes. "I expected nothing less."
She lifted her chin. "I won't be silent. I won't be controlled behind closed doors. And I won't be lied to again."
Dominic considered her terms carefully. "You'll have transparency in business matters. You'll speak when it concerns your safety or reputation. But outside of that—"
"I decide when and how this marriage ends," she interrupted.
His lips curved faintly. "Bold."
"Necessary," she said.
Dominic stepped closer, his presence commanding. "You're not negotiating from a position of power, Lila."
"Maybe not," she replied. "But I'm the reason your plan works at all."
A slow smile spread across his face. "You're learning."
He reached into his jacket and pulled out the contract again, setting it on the desk between them. "Add your conditions."
She scanned the document once more, her pen hovering above the signature line. Her heart thundered loudly in her ears.
"This changes everything," she said quietly.
"Yes," Dominic agreed. "That's the point."
She signed.
The moment the pen left the paper, something shifted in the air—something final.
Dominic took the document, his eyes briefly softening as he looked at her. "From now on, you don't face anything alone."
She scoffed lightly. "You make it sound comforting."
"It is," he said. "Once you stop resisting."
That night, the engagement announcement hit the media like wildfire.
Billionaire Dominic Blackwood Announces Engagement to Monroe Heiress.
Photos surfaced—edited, staged, convincing. Lila watched the headlines scroll across the screen, her name attached to his like it had always belonged there.
Her phone buzzed nonstop.
Friends. Business partners. Reporters.
And then a message from an unknown number.
You chose the wrong devil.
Her blood ran cold.
Lila: Ethan?
This time, the reply came.
Unknown: He won't protect you when the truth comes out.
Her hands trembled as she showed the message to Dominic.
His eyes darkened instantly. "He's closer than I thought."
"What does that mean?" she asked.
"It means," Dominic said calmly, "that this marriage just became very real."
Later that evening, Dominic escorted her into a black designer gown, his hand firm at the small of her back as cameras flashed. The crowd buzzed with excitement, admiration, envy.
Lila smiled for the cameras, her heart racing.
As Dominic leaned down, his lips brushing her ear, he murmured, "Remember—trust me in public. Question me in private."
She nodded subtly.
When the flashes faded and the doors closed behind them, Lila finally understood the truth.
She hadn't married safety.
She had married war.
And standing beside Dominic Blackwood, she would either rise stronger than ever…
Or burn with him.