Sarah's wedding was supposed to be a fairytale. Instead, behind the towering walls of Aaron Voss's mansion, it became a prison. Cold, distant, and dangerously controlling, Aaron saw her as nothing more than an accessory to his empire. Trapped in a loveless marriage, Sarah longed for freedom-for passion. But she never expected to find it in the one man she was forbidden to love. Ethan Voss was everything his brother was not-kind, warm, and protective. What started as stolen moments of solace turned into a dangerous, all-consuming affair. But passion comes with a cost. When Sarah discovers she's pregnant, she realizes the truth could shatter not just her marriage, but the entire Voss legacy. Now, as secrets unravel and betrayals ignite, Aaron is no longer just the distant husband-he's the man who will stop at nothing to reclaim what's his. Trapped between love and survival, Sarah must make the ultimate choice: fight for the man who truly owns her heart or surrender to the one who owns her life.
Chapter 1 The Cage
Sarah stood at the edge of the grand staircase, her fingers gripping the railing as her gaze swept across the opulent foyer below. The shimmering chandeliers bathed the room in a golden glow, casting shadows on the marble floors beneath. It was all so beautiful, so perfectly designed, but to Sarah, it felt like a gilded prison. The mansion, with its towering walls and cold grandeur, was a cage that held her in, suffocating her.
The world below, filled with her husband's business associates and high-profile guests, only reminded her of how isolated she had become in this life she never asked for. Her wedding, the grandest event anyone in the city had ever seen, had been nothing more than a meticulously staged façade, a performance to hide the emptiness gnawing inside her.
She glanced at Aaron, her husband, standing at the center of the room, commanding attention with his sharp suit and even sharper demeanor. His presence was cold, distant, yet somehow domineering. He was the perfect king of his empire, but Sarah knew the truth-he had never cared for her. He saw her as nothing more than an accessory, another ornament to display beside his wealth and power. The love that was supposed to exist between them? It was a myth, one she had long since stopped believing in.
A soft voice called her name, pulling her from her spiraling thoughts. She turned to see Ethan standing in the doorway to the study, his eyes filled with unspoken words. The heat between them was undeniable, the unacknowledged attraction that had simmered for so long now palpable in the air between them. Ethan was everything Aaron was not-kind, warm, and protective. But more than that, he saw her, truly saw her, and it made her heart race.
"Are you okay?" he asked, his voice a gentle whisper in the midst of the noise below.
Sarah forced a smile, though it felt strained, like it might shatter if she held it too long. "Just another night of pretending," she replied, her voice thick with the weight of the words she said so often, words she'd convinced herself to live by.
But as her gaze flicked back to Aaron, something heavy settled in her chest. He was watching her, his piercing gaze locking with hers across the crowded room. There was nothing affectionate in the way he looked at her-only control. A possessive, calculated look that reminded her she was his, his property, in every sense of the word. The shiver that ran down her spine had nothing to do with the cold air of the mansion, but with the suffocating grip of his presence.
Ethan must have sensed the shift in her mood because his expression darkened. "Come with me," he said, stepping closer to her.
Her heart fluttered in her chest. She hesitated, torn between the obligations of her vows and the allure of escape that Ethan offered. But it was more than that-Ethan's presence wasn't just an escape. He was a lifeline, a chance to feel something other than the numbness that had crept into her soul. The weight of her trapped existence pressed down on her, and before she could think twice, she stepped toward him.
Her hand brushed his as he guided her down the quiet hallway, and the touch was electric. Every nerve in her body screamed for more, for something real, for something to make her feel alive again. The door to his study creaked as he opened it, and they stepped inside, the dim light from the desk lamp casting soft shadows on the walls.
Before Sarah could even utter a word, Ethan's hand cupped her cheek, his touch both tender and possessive. "You don't have to do this alone," he whispered, his voice a soothing balm to the rawness she hadn't realized was still there.
Her breath caught in her throat. The moment she had been waiting for-dreaming of-was finally here. She leaned into him, the desperation to feel wanted overwhelming. Their lips met in a kiss that was hot, frantic-everything she had been starved for. Ethan's kiss was unlike Aaron's; it was not cold, not calculating, but warm, offering solace and the promise of something real.
But before she could lose herself completely in him, he pulled away. His gaze hardened, filled with something darker, something more determined. "You don't have to stay with him," Ethan murmured, his words a low growl that sent a shiver down her spine. "You deserve more than this."
A knot twisted in Sarah's stomach as the weight of his words hit her. She closed her eyes for a moment, torn between the life she had been bound to and the one she could have with him. She wanted to believe that this could be the answer, that leaving Aaron was the only choice. But the consequences of such an action were unimaginable. Could she really leave everything behind-her life, her security, the stability Aaron provided-even for Ethan, even for love?
Before she could respond, the sound of footsteps echoed in the hallway. Loud, deliberate. Aaron.
"Sarah!" His voice rang out, sharp and commanding, the fury evident in every syllable. "Where are you?"
Panic surged through Sarah's veins like ice. She froze, her heart hammering against her chest. Ethan's expression darkened, and before she could even process what was happening, he pulled her into another kiss-this time more urgent, as though he could drown out the coming storm with his lips. But it wasn't enough. The footsteps grew louder, closer, and the reality of what was about to happen crashed down on her.
"Aaron is coming," she gasped, her mind racing for an escape. She had to leave, had to run. But where?
"Go!" Ethan urged, his grip tightening on her. "Now!"
Without another word, Sarah bolted from the room, her feet barely touching the floor as she ran down the corridor. She didn't know where she was going, only that she had to get out-out of this house, out of this cage, before Aaron found her.
She reached the back door, slamming it shut just as she heard Aaron's voice calling her name, dark with rage. The sound of his fury followed her, echoing through the empty hallways as she stumbled through the backyard, gasping for air.
Aaron's voice boomed from behind her, cold and menacing. "Sarah, you can't run forever."
Her chest tightened with the weight of his words. He was right. She couldn't run forever. Her life had irrevocably changed tonight.
But the question was: Could she ever go back? Could she ever return to the life she had known with Aaron? The life she was now running from?
As the distance between her and the mansion grew, the reality of what she had done began to sink in. There was no turning back now. Tonight had marked the beginning of a new chapter, one filled with fear, danger, and a love she was not sure she could escape.
As Sarah ran, her heart pounding with fear, she could hear Aaron's voice growing closer, the sound of his footsteps nearing. But what would happen when he caught up to her? Would he let her go, or would the price of her defiance be more than she could ever have imagined?