The thunderstorm outside the penthouse window seemed to muffle your suppressed sobs. You, a girl who had just shed the navy blue blazer of your elite boarding school, were now trapped in a gilded cage belonging to Xavier Dominic Castillo. That man was your entire world—the only anchor for an orphan like you, who had no one else to lean on in the cold, foreign cities of Europe.

You sat on the edge of the silk-draped king-size bed, staring at your reflection in the grand mirror. Around your neck, a diamond necklace rested coldly, feeling like a luxurious shackle that Xavier had just fastened after the intensity between you had subsided.

Xavier stood with his back to you by the floor-to-ceiling window overlooking the city lights, sipping his whiskey with a gesture that was both calm and threatening. His half-unbuttoned white shirt revealed a glimpse of the wildness hidden beneath his image as a respectable CEO.

"Do you like the necklace?" Xavier asked without turning around. His baritone voice was low, vibrating through the air, seeping into the corners of your consciousness.

You touched the diamond pendant, your fingers trembling. "It’s beautiful, Xavier. Truly beautiful. But you know... this isn't what I need. I want us to go out. I want to have dinner with you as your partner, not as a secret you keep locked behind these doors."

Xavier’s footsteps were silent as he approached, yet his dominating aura filled the room. He knelt before you, gripping your hand with a firm pressure—a hidden warning wrapped in tenderness.

"Don't ruin the mood with childish drama, darling," he said softly, yet his eyes were as cold as ice. "I give you everything. This apartment, the car downstairs—even that necklace on your neck is worth more than the pride of the most senior manager in my office."

"But I feel like a prisoner you've paid for, Xavier!" your voice cracked, frustration beginning to overflow.

Xavier let out a long sigh, as if you were merely a minor distraction in his hectic business schedule. He reached into his trouser pocket and placed a small velvet box in your palm.

"This is the key to a villa on the French Riviera. In your name," he whispered right into your ear, his breath sending shivers down your spine. "Stop questioning me about my wife or when I’ll divorce her. Aren’t you happy enough with all of this? You have no one else in this world but me, remember that."

You fell silent, your tongue tied. That was the poison. Xavier knew you were an 'addict'—addicted to the sense of security he provided, however false it was. Every time you tried to rebel, he would stifle you with new luxuries, making you feel more indebted and powerless.

Xavier gave your forehead a brief, hollow kiss of formality. He stood up to answer a business call that wouldn't stop ringing.

"I have to go to the office. Urgent business," he said while straightening his shirt. "Wear the black dress I bought you yesterday. The chauffeur will pick you up tomorrow morning. There’s a new bracelet I want to fasten around your wrist."

He walked away just like that, leaving behind the scent of expensive masculine cologne and a pile of jewelry that looked like a heap of trash in your eyes. Beneath the shimmering crystal chandelier, you realized the bitter truth: to the CEO, you were just a prized asset he bought to satisfy his ego, and you... you were too terrified to lose the only person who held the reins of your life.