CHAPTER 2: THE PENTHOUSE
908 Words
CHAPTER 2: THE PENTHOUSE
The elevator doors slid open with a soft chime, revealing a hallway bathed in warm, golden light. Lian Rou stepped in behind Kai Ren, her arms crossed, shoulders tense. Every inch of her screamed to run—but there was nowhere to go.
The silence between them stretched as the elevator climbed. Floor after floor ticked by.
“You live up here alone?” she asked, not because she cared, but because the silence felt too heavy to bear.
Kai didn’t look at her. “I don’t let people close. Not unless I own them.”
Her jaw clenched. “I’m not something you can own.”
His head tilted slightly, and for the first time, she saw a glimmer of amusement in his eyes. “Aren’t you already here, under my roof, in my debt? You’re mine, whether you like it or not.”
The doors opened with a soft hiss.
The penthouse stretched before her like something out of a dream—cold and modern, with glass walls that showed the city lights like a blanket of stars. It was beautiful, in an impersonal, terrifying way.
Like its owner.
“This is your home now,” Kai said, walking inside. “You’ll have your own room, for now. Don’t try anything stupid. There are guards. Cameras. You wouldn’t make it past the elevator.”
Lian didn’t respond. She followed him inside, her eyes scanning everything. The space was pristine, but there was no warmth. No trace of a life lived—no family photos, no books, no signs of humanity.
Just power.
He stopped at a door and opened it. “This is your room. Clothes, toiletries—everything you’ll need is inside. You’ll dine with me every night. And you’ll be ready for the wedding in two weeks.”
“Two weeks,” she repeated bitterly. “What, no romantic honeymoon first?”
He looked at her, unreadable. “We’ll get there.”
She stepped into the room and slammed the door behind her without another word.
Inside, she found exactly what he promised—luxury, control, and no escape.
Everything had already been prepared: dresses in her size, shoes lined neatly along the wall, and a phone placed on the bedside table. But no way to call out, no internet. Just a silent cage lined with silk and gold.
Lian sat on the edge of the bed, her hands trembling slightly. This was her life now.
A knock came ten minutes later. She ignored it.
It came again—louder.
“I’m not hungry,” she snapped.
The door creaked open anyway.
Kai stood there, holding a tray with two plates.
She raised an eyebrow. “Didn’t peg you as the room service type.”
“I like control,” he said simply. “And I want to see you eat.”
“I’m not your pet.”
“Then stop acting like one and sit down.”
That did it. Lian stood, fire lighting behind her eyes. “You don’t get to tell me who to be.”
Kai stepped inside fully, setting the tray on a small table near the window. “No. But I will tell you what to do. And you’ll do it.”
She moved to the window instead, arms crossed. “Why me?”
“What?”
“You could’ve had anyone. Why me? Why this forced marriage? Is it about money? Control? Revenge?”
He stepped closer, slowly, until she could feel the heat of him behind her.
“It’s about settling a debt,” he said quietly. “And because I’ve watched you before, Lian Rou. You just didn’t know it.”
Her breath caught.
“What?”
“You think I made your father that offer on a whim?” His voice was a low murmur now, intimate and dangerous. “I’ve had my eyes on you for months. I knew who you were. What you studied. Who you dated. I waited for the perfect moment.”
She turned, fury rising. “That’s sick.”
“Maybe. But I don’t regret it.”
She slapped him.
The sound cracked through the room like lightning.
Kai didn’t flinch.
Instead, he slowly reached up and touched his jaw, his gaze steady. Then, to her horror, he smiled.
“You’ve got fire. Good. You’ll need it.”
He stepped back and picked up the tray.
“Dinner’s in the dining room if you change your mind,” he said coolly. “But don’t test my patience too many times, wife. I won’t always be this calm.”
And then he was gone, the door closing with a quiet click behind him.
Lian stood there, her hand still shaking.
He had been watching her. For months.
She wasn’t just a pawn in a deal. She was a target.
And now… she was trapped.
She didn’t sleep that night. She paced the room like a caged animal, staring out at the glittering city far below. Each light was a life—free, unaware of the prison she’d walked into.
At some point, exhaustion pulled her into bed. But even sleep didn’t offer peace. She dreamed of chains made of silk, of Kai’s voice whispering promises that felt like threats.
When morning came, a red dress waited at the end of her bed.
Lian narrowed her eyes.
This was war.
And she had no intention of losing.
- Writer
