The silk sheets of Julian's massive bed felt like cool water against Rhea's skin, but she couldn't stop the shivering. Every time she closed her eyes, she wasn't in this mansion. She was back in the rain, standing in the hallway of the apartment she had shared with Leo for three years.
The memory hit her with the force of a physical blow.
It had been exactly one hour before the accident. Rhea had left work early to surprise Leo with his favorite takeout. She had been humming a song, her heels clicking softly on the carpeted floor of their building. She had reached for her keys, but the door was already slightly ajar.
Then, she heard it. A laugh. It wasn't Leo's usual bark of a laugh; it was low, intimate, and breathless.
Rhea had pushed the door open just an inch. The light from the kitchen spilled into the hallway, casting long shadows. There, pressed against the wall where their framed vacation photos hung, was Leo.
His hands weren't on Rhea. They were tangled in the blonde hair of the woman wrapped around his waist.
Sarah.
"I can't wait anymore, Leo," Sarah had whispered, her voice thick with a want that made Rhea's stomach turn. "When are you going to tell her? I'm tired of playing the best friend while you sleep in her bed every night."
Leo had groaned, burying his face in Sarah's neck. "Soon, babe. I just need to make sure the joint accounts are handled. If I leave now, she'll freeze everything. Just a few more weeks of playing the doting boyfriend, and then we're free."
Rhea had stood there, frozen. The bag of food had slipped from her hand, hitting the floor with a dull thud.
The two of them had jumped apart, their faces pale and guilty. But Rhea hadn't stayed to hear the excuses. She hadn't stayed to watch Leo fumble for a lie. She had turned and bolted. She had run down the stairs, out into the pouring rain, and straight toward her car.
She remembered the blur of the city lights. She remembered the tears stinging her eyes, making the road a smear of grey and yellow. She remembered the sudden glare of high beams from an oncoming truck—and then, the world had gone black.
"Rhea?"
The voice snapped her back to the present. The hospital, the crash, and the betrayal were all behind her, but the sting was still fresh.
Julian was standing by the large floor-to-ceiling window of the master suite. He had discarded his suit jacket and tie. His white shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, the sleeves rolled up to reveal muscular forearms. He looked less like a CEO and more like a king surveying his kingdom.
"You're thinking about something," Julian said. He didn't turn around, yet he seemed to sense every shift in her mood. "Something that makes you look like you've seen a ghost."
Rhea sat up, pulling the covers to her chest. She had to stay in character. She had to be the girl who didn't know her own name, let alone the name of the man who had broken her heart.
"I... I had a dream," she lied. "I saw a man and a woman. They were laughing at me. It felt cold."
Julian turned then. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were dark with an intensity that made Rhea's breath hitch. He walked toward the bed with a slow, deliberate pace. Each step felt like he was claiming more of the room, and more of her.
"Dreams are just shadows, Rhea," he said. He sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to trace the line of her collarbone. His touch was warm, a sharp contrast to the icy memory of Leo's betrayal. "In this house, there are no shadows. Only what I give you."
"Why did you bring me here, Julian?" Rhea asked. She needed to know his angle. Why would a man of his stature claim a woman he barely knew as his fiancée?.
Julian's hand moved up to her neck, his fingers resting over her pulse. He could feel her heart racing. He leaned in until their foreheads touched.
"Because you were being wasted," he whispered. "I watched you for years, Rhea. I watched you give your light to a man who didn't deserve a second of your time. I watched you settle for crumbs when you could have had the world."
Rhea's eyes widened. "You watched me?"
"I don't leave things I want to chance," Julian said. His voice was a low, possessive hum. "When I heard about the accident, I knew it was time. You don't remember Leo because your mind is finally doing what it should have done a long time ago. It's erasing the trash to make room for me."
He leaned down and kissed the pulse point on her neck. It wasn't a comforting gesture; it was a mark.
"Leo and Sarah are gone," Julian continued, his lips moving against her skin. "I've already started the process of wiping them out. They took from you, Rhea. Now, I'm going to take everything from them. And in return, you're going to give me everything."
Rhea felt a surge of fear, but beneath it, a dark sense of satisfaction. She wanted Leo and Sarah to suffer. She wanted them to feel the weight of their betrayal. Julian was offering her revenge on a silver platter.
But at what cost?
Julian pulled back just enough to look her in the eyes. "Do you trust me, Rhea?"
It was a trap. If she said yes, she was surrendering to his control. If she said no, she risked exposing her lie.
"I don't have anyone else to trust," she whispered, which was the most honest thing she had said all day.
Julian smiled. It was a beautiful, terrifying sight. He leaned in, his lips hovering over hers. "That's right. You have me. And I'm the only truth you need now."
As his mouth finally met hers, Rhea realized the stakes had changed. This wasn't just a prank on a cheating boyfriend anymore. She was playing a high-stakes game with a man who had been waiting in the shadows for years.
She had caught her boyfriend cheating and used her "amnesia" to escape. But as Julian's hands moved over her, possessive and demanding, Rhea wondered if she had traded a small-time liar for a world-class architect of deception.
She was in the lion's den, and for the first time, she wasn't sure if she wanted to leave.