AMARA POV
Two weeks.
That's how long it's been since I sold my soul with a pen stroke.
The world didn't end.
The sky still looked the same, cruelly blue, painfully bright — but nothing inside me was alive anymore.
The news broke days ago: "Stone Heir to Wed Business Tycoon Alexander Voss."
A perfect lie wrapped in gold and smiles. They called it a merger, an alliance, a power move. But no one said what it really was nothing but a cage, built just for me.
Lily and Noah are here tonight, doing what they always do — trying to fix me.
But some things can't be fixed.
"Amara," Lily's voice is soft, cautious. "You haven't eaten. Please, at least a bite?"
I sit on the couch, knees drawn to my chest, staring blankly at the wall. My apartment feels too small, too quiet — like it's mocking me with its freedom.
"I don't feel like it," I mumble, my throat raw from crying.
The tears don't even fall anymore. They just burn.
From the kitchen, Noah's voice cuts through the silence, sharp but gentle. "You can't keep doing this to yourself, babe. I'm worried. You barely sleep, you barely talk. You just… fade."
"I'm fine," I whisper.
"No, you're not." He comes closer, sits beside me, and takes my hand. His eyes — warm, worried — hold mine. "I know you, Amara. You're the girl who used to talk about traveling the world, full of life, smiling even at the most irrelevant thing,starting her own brand, being free. What happened to her?"
My chest tightens, the ache swelling until I can't breathe.
"She died," I say quietly. "She died the moment I signed that contract."
Lily kneels in front of me, cupping my face in her hands. "Then fight, Amara. Don't let him or your father take that from you."
My lips tremble. "I don't even know how anymore, Lily. My whole life feels like it belongs to someone else now. My father gets what he wants. Alexander gets control. And me?"
A shaky laugh escapes me. "I just get a beautiful prison with gold walls."
Noah swallows hard, looking away, because he hates seeing me like this. "You deserve better.You deserve so much better"
My phone vibrates against the table, cutting through the heavy air. I reach for it with numb fingers.
"Dress fitting tomorrow. 10 a.m. sharp. Don't be late." — A.V.
The letters blur.
That signature — so precise, so cold ,makes my stomach twist.
"Is that him?" Noah asks, already knowing the answer.
I nod.
Lily clenches her jaw. "God, even his texts feel like orders."
I let out a hollow laugh, but it dies too quickly. "He hasn't called, hasn't reached out since that meeting .Just this. Just commands."
Noah sighs, standing up. "You know, I've never met this man, but I already hate him."
I shake my head. "Don't. He's not the kind of man you hate out loud. He's the kind of man who makes the world bend around him without saying a word."
Silence settles again.
The kind that crawls under your skin and makes you want to scream.
When they finally leave, I sit by the window alone, knees hugged to my chest.
The city lights blur through my tears.
"I wanted a life," I whisper to no one. "A life that was mine."
I think about all the dreams I once had,studying abroad, starting a fashion line, being free from my father's shadow. I see them all burning now, one by one, until there's nothing left but ash and duty.
My phone buzzes again. Another text.
"Goodnight, Amara. See you soon." — A.V.
I close my eyes. His words shouldn't make my heart skip, but they do — like an unwanted echo from that night I can't forget.
And I break.
Silent tears stream down my cheeks as I press my forehead to the window.
"I'll never belong to anyone," I whisper.
But deep down, a cruel voice reminds me
I already do.