YOU ARE MINE

Chapter one: Breaking News

Sophie’s POV

The desk in front of me felt like it weighed a thousand pounds.

I sat there,

my right fingers pressed on my head,

staring at the stacks of legal documents that threatened to bury everything my family had ever built over the years.

Outside the windows of our office,

New York City sparkling in the night streets, and somewhere in that skyline,

Nathan Maxwell was sitting in his tower, counting down the minutes until he could take what was his.

My father’s voice was quiet when he spoke, broken in a way I’d never heard before. “Sophie, the judge is going to rule against us. We both know it.

My father said heartbroken.

The debts are adding up,

the investors have pulled out on us already, but Maxwell’s offer,

it’s the only thing that's keeping us from totally broke.

I stood up,

my chair scraping loudly against the floor.

Then we fight harder.

We appeal.

We find another buyer.

Anything but him,

Dad.

Anything but Nathan Maxwell.

“Sophie”

He’s ruthless.

You know what happens to companies he gets.

He breaks them down,

sells what's left of it,

fires everyone.

Do you think our own's is gonna be different,

No.

He cares about winning.

And he doesn’t just want the company,

He wants to win against us,

He wants the fame of claiming Luckwood Tech,

And I won't let him have that.

My mother reached across the table,

her hand shaking as she rested it on my arm. There’s another way,

Sophie.

A solution Nathan came up with this morning. One that saves the company,

keeps it in the family,

and secures our future.

My heart drops in a way I know what is coming.

“What kind of solution?”

My father took a deep breath,

like the words were too heavy to say.

Marry him.

Nathan wants to fix the company through marriage.

You become his wife,

and Luckwood Tech remains under our families control,

with his help,

his capital,

his protection. It’s the only way.

Please Sophie

For a second,

I thought I’d heard wrong.

Marry him?

The man I’ve been fighting in court for three months?

The man who’s been trying to destroy us?”

He’s not trying to destroy us, Sophie.

He’s trying to build something bigger.

And he wants you at the center of it.”

I’d rather lose the company.

“Sophie, please.”

My mother’s voice cracked.

Think about what this means. For all of us. For the employees,

for the legacy your father built. It’s just… a marriage. It’s paperwork. You don’t have to love him.

You just have to be his wife,

in name,

until we’re stable.

I turned away,

staring out at the city I’d grown up in. Twenty-two years old,

five-foot-nine, a career I’d barely started,

and now I was being asked to trade my freedom for a company that might not even survive.

I thought of Nathan.

Thirty-two years old,

six-foot-two,

unyielding jaw, the way he looked at me in the courtroom like I was something he’d already claimed.

He was the most powerful man I’d ever met, and the most dangerous.

And I hated him.

But I also knew my parents were telling the truth.

If I said yes.

My father breathes a sigh of relief,

like he’d been holding his breath for hours. Tomorrow.

A private ceremony.

Just family, Nathan,

and his sister Anita.

He wanted it quiet.

But I want you to know,

I’m doing this for the company.

For you.

Not for him.

And I will never, ever let him win.

The chapel was small,

and smelled of old stone.

There were no flowers,

no music,

no guests.

Just my parents,

Michael, my brother who looked like he’d rather be anywhere else,

Anita Maxwell who offered me a sympathetic smile,

and Nathan standing at the altar in a black suit,

watching me walk toward him like he’d been waiting his whole life.

I wore a simple white dress,

nothing fancy.

Refused to pretend this was anything but a business deal.

When I reached him,

his voice was low enough only I could hear.

You look beautiful, Sophie.

Even when you’re angry.

This is a contract,

Nothing more. Don’t act like it’s a wedding.

Everything I do is more than it seems, he murmured. You’ll learn that.

The vows were short, emotionless.

When the priest said you may kiss the bride, Nathan lifted my chin with his thumb,

his touch firm, possessive, and brushed his lips against mine.

Once,

gentle but deliberate.

I pulled away the second he let go,

my face is burning.

I hate him, I told myself. I will never love him. This is just a deal. And I’m going to make him regret it.

“It’s late,”

I said, standing as far from him as possible.

“I’m tired and I’m sleeping in the guest room.”

Nathan didn’t move.

He leaned against the wall,arms crossed as a devil smirk appeared on his face watching me. You’re my wife, Sophie.

We share a room.

We share everything.

We share a last name and a business arrangement.

That’s it.

And until the company is stable, until we can dissolve this,

whatever this is you stay on your side of the bed. And you don’t touch me.

A slow, dark smile spread across his face.

It didn’t reach his eyes ,

it never did ,

But it made my heart race anyway.

You think you can set the rules? In my house? In my life?

I think we agreed to a marriage of convenience. Not a real one. And if you try to make it real, I’ll fight you. Every single day. Just like I did in court.”

He pushed away from the dresser and walked toward me, slow and deliberate, until he stopped a few feet away.

“Fight all you want, Sophie,” he said, his voice low and calm. “I expected nothing less from you. But you need to understand something. You’re my wife now. Whether you like it or not, this arrangement affects both of us.”

“You haven’t won anything yet.”

A faint smile appeared on his face.

“Haven’t I? You’re here. The company is safe. And the deal we made is now official.”

I stepped back, putting more distance between us.

“This marriage changes nothing between us.”

“Maybe not today.”

His eyes stayed on mine.

“But things have a way of changing, Sophie.”

“I’m going to change. Get out.”

Nathan gave a quiet laugh and shook his head.

You’re impossible.

I’ve heard that before.

Fine. I’ll be studying. But don’t think for a second that this is over.

He turned and walked toward the door.

“This is only the beginning.”

Then he left, closing the door softly behind him.

I stood there for a moment, staring at the door.

Only when I was sure he was gone did I finally sit on the edge of the bed.

The tears I had been holding back began to fall.

I had done it.

I had saved the company.

But I had also married the man I hated.

I looked around the room, taking in the unfamiliar surroundings. This was supposed to be my new life now.

A life I had never asked for.

A life with Nathan Maxwell.

And somehow, I knew he was right about one thing.

This was only the beginning.

I just had no idea how much I would have to sacrifice before it was over.