THE MAID'S FORCED VOW

Chapter Ten.

The penthouse felt too large the moment I stepped inside it. Floor to ceiling windows looked out over a city I'd only ever seen from the outside, and every surface gleamed like it had never been touched by anyone who actually lived there.

"You'll stay in the east wing," Damon said, leading me down a hallway. "There's a room already prepared."

"Prepared how fast."

"My staff moves quickly when I ask them to."

The room was beautiful and completely unfamiliar, nothing of mine in it except the small bag I'd packed in a rush that morning. I set it on the bed and turned to find Damon still standing in the doorway, watching me with an expression I couldn't quite read.

"This isn't a real marriage," I said. "I need you to understand that. Whatever this is, it's not what people are going to assume it is."

"I know," Damon said. "I'm not expecting anything from you, Elena. This is about keeping you and your brother safe until we figure out what my father actually wants."

"And when we do."

"Then we decide what happens next. Together, if you want a say in it. Which you should."

It was such a small thing to say, but it landed harder than I expected. No one had asked my opinion about anything since the phone call that morning. I'd been handed a contract, a house, a name, and no one had once asked what I wanted.

"Thank you," I said quietly. "For that, at least."

Damon nodded once, then hesitated at the door. "There's a housekeeper who starts at seven. I'd ask that you let her do her job. You don't have to clean anything in this house ever again."

Something in my chest loosened at that, small and unexpected. It was the first time since I'd taken the job three years ago that being seen as more than the maid felt like it might actually be true.