Her heart beat so wildly she feared it might echo in the room. Who is he? Why is he here?

The knock came again, louder this time, shaking the silence of the mansion.

Inside the hall, his heavy footsteps thundered toward the main door. She could hear the sharp click of the locks turning. Every second stretched longer, suffocating her. She pressed closer to the glass, desperate to see more, to understand if this stranger was danger—or salvation.

The door creaked open.

“What the hell do you want at this hour?” His voice, sharp and venomous, cut through the night.

For a heartbeat, silence answered him. Then, a voice—deep, steady, laced with something unshakable.

“I’ve come for her.”

Her entire body froze.

For me?

Her pulse hammered. The stranger’s words echoed like a lifeline she didn’t dare reach for.

Inside, he laughed—a sound colder than steel. “Her? You must be insane. She belongs to me.”

The stranger didn’t flinch. His voice sharpened, low but commanding. “No one belongs to you.”

Her breath caught. The tension between the two men vibrated through the walls. One was her nightmare. The other… could he be her escape? Or a new prison disguised as freedom?

Suddenly, the door slammed shut with a violent crash. She stumbled back from the window, her heart clawing at her ribs. Footsteps stormed up the stairs, heavy and furious.

The bedroom door burst open. His eyes blazed like fire, his face twisted in rage.

“Did you know him?” he snarled, grabbing her arm so tightly it burned. “Did you call him here?”

Tears welled in her eyes—not of weakness, but of fury. “I don’t even know who he is!”

“Liar!” His voice cracked the air like thunder. “You’re mine, and if anyone tries to take you away, I’ll kill him… and I’ll destroy you with him.”

The promise in his words was deadly, but her mind no longer cowered. For the first time, she whispered back, steady and fierce—

“You can cage me, but you’ll never own me.”

The fire in his eyes deepened, but beneath his fury, something flickered—fear.

And outside, in the shadows, the stranger waited still.

Who is this mysterious figure who dared to come for her? And how far will her husband go to keep his grip on her soul?