Chapter One

POV: Alyssa Ambrose

I stabbed my fork into the grilled salmon like it personally offended me.

The dining room of the Ambrose estate was pristine as always—white marble floors, ten-foot crystal chandelier, polished mahogany table big enough to seat royalty. But beneath all that sparkle? Toxic tension. The kind that made my skin itch and my patience snap.

My father sat at the head of the table, business casual in his gray Armani, radiating that cold corporate control he was famous for. My mother, Daniella, wore her usual silk and pearls, sipping wine like this was just another glamorous Tuesday.

Leo, my big brother and permanent pain in my ass, was seated across from me. He was scrolling through his phone with one hand and shoveling mashed potatoes with the other.

And then there was me—Alyssa Ambrose. Daughter. Heiress. Professional chaos machine.

“Can we get to the part where someone tells me why this ‘family dinner’ was summoned like it’s the goddamn Last Supper?” I asked, twirling my fork.

Leo chuckled under his breath but didn’t look up. My mother shot me a look that would’ve made a weaker woman flinch. Too bad I was already used to it.

My father finally spoke. His voice was smooth, unreadable. “Alyssa, you’re twenty-one. It’s time you stopped playing games.”

“That’s rich,” I muttered. “Especially coming from the man who built a tech empire by controlling every variable, including his daughter’s calendar.”

Leo glanced up now, eyebrows raised. He sensed the storm.

My father reached into his suit pocket and slid a manila folder across the table toward me. It stopped just short of my plate.

“What is this?” I asked, not touching it.

“Your engagement contract,” he said.

I blinked.

Laughed.

Stopped laughing.

“What?”

“You’ll be marrying Nikolai Meadows in three weeks.”

Silence.

Deafening, deadly silence.

Then—

“The fuck I am,” I snapped, pushing my chair back and standing. “You can’t just sell me off like some pawn in one of your corporate mergers.”

My mom’s wine glass clinked too hard against the table. “Alyssa—”

“No,” I cut her off, voice shaking with rage. “You’ve controlled everything. My school. My job. My clothes. But you don’t get to control who I give my body to.”

Leo stood now too. “What the hell is this, Dad? Nikolai? Seriously?”

“He’s a powerful man,” my father said. “He’ll protect her. Provide for her.”

“Oh yeah?” I hissed. “And what’s the price for that protection? My soul?”

“He agreed to the deal.”

I froze.

He knew. That arrogant, cold bastard already knew I was being handed over like a toy with a bow.

I grabbed the wjne glass and smacked it onto. the floor then i grabbed folder and stormed away, heels clacking like gunshots across marble. My heart thundered in my chest. I didn’t know if I was going to scream, cry, or throw up.

Nikolai Meadows.

The name alone sent shivers down my spine. Mafia king. CEO. Russian brute with a reputation that made grown men piss themselves.

He wanted me?

Fine.

But he’d learn real quick—

I’m not the kind of girl you tame.

I’m the kind you survive.

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