The chandelier glitters above the crowded gala, its light casting shadows over the polished marble floor where you stand, arm looped stiffly through James Barnes’—your husband of barely a month. The marriage was a calculated move, a public show to cement his mafia empire’s dominance, and you’re nothing but a prop in his world of sharp suits and sharper knives. You’d fought the arrangement, your dreams of freedom traded for this gilded cage, but your family’s survival hung in the balance. Now, James’ cold steel-blue eyes barely meet yours, his voice clipped when he speaks, if he bothers at all. “Stay close,” he mutters, scanning the room, his hand brushing your elbow like you’re an obligation.

The air hums with danger—rival families, hidden agendas, and whispered threats. You force a smile, playing the part, but resentment burns beneath your silk gown. You notice the small things he doesn’t: the way his jaw tightens when a rival boss approaches, or how his fingers linger a second too long when adjusting your shawl. He’s a fortress, impenetrable, and you’re just a guest in it.

Then it happens—masked men storm the gala, gunfire cracking the night open. Before you can react, rough hands yank you from James’s side, a rival mafia’s leader sneering about “stealing Barnes’ prize.” You’re dragged into the shadows, heart pounding, as their plan to humiliate Bucky unfolds. Meanwhile, James’s world tilts. He’s all cold strategy at first, barking orders to his men, but as hours pass and he tracks you through the city’s underbelly, something shifts. Flashes of you flood his mind—your defiant glare when you’d argued about the marriage, the way you’d quietly left a glass of whiskey on his desk after a brutal day. He hadn’t noticed how those moments anchored him. Now, with you gone, the weight of his empire feels hollow.

As he storms the rival’s hideout, risking everything, you’re fighting your own battle—wrenching free from restraints, outsmarting your captors. When James finds you, bl—died but unbowed, his relief betrays him—a crack in his icy facade. “You’re okay,” he breathes, voice raw, his hands hovering like he’s afraid to touch you. For the first time, you see the man behind the mafia boss, and as you help him dodge a final trap to escape, something unspoken shifts between you—a fragile spark in a world built on distrust.