TITLE:RUNAWAY BRIDE

Chapter 8: THE FIRST NIGHT

12am. The guest room.

It was bigger than my whole apartment. White sheets. Cold air. No pictures on the walls.

Just like the man who owned it.

Two bodyguards were outside my door. I heard them shift every 5 minutes.

I couldn’t sleep.

A soft knock.

I froze. "Who is it?"

"Me," Alex’s voice. Low.

He opened the door. Still in his black shirt and trousers. No tie.

"What are you doing here?" I pulled the blanket up.

Alex walked in and closed the door. "Checking on you."

"With the guards outside?"

"With the threat on your phone," he said. "Did you sleep?"

I shook my head.

Alex sighed. He looked tired for the first time. Not cold. Just... tired.

He sat on the edge of the chair across from the bed. Kept distance.

"You’re safe here, Lily," he said quietly. "No one gets to you. Not while you’re with me."

"Why do you care?" The question slipped out. "This is just a contract."

Alex was quiet for a long time. Then he stood up.

"Get some sleep," he said. "We leave for my mother’s house in the morning. She wants to meet her new daughter-in-law."

He walked to the door, then paused.

"And Lily... don’t answer that number again."

Click.

He was gone.

I pulled the blanket tighter.

For the first time since I ran, someone said I was safe.

And it was the one person I was supposed to be afraid of.