Chapter 8 - The Velvet Cage
Success brought a different kind of danger: domesticity in the heart of the storm. Adrian began treating Mara less like a partner and more like a treasure he needed to keep in a velvet-lined cage. He installed state-of-the-art security in the penthouse, insisted on armored escorts, and began to curtail her freedom under the guise of "protection."
“I am not one of your assets, Adrian,” Mara argued one evening, after discovering he had cleared her schedule of an impromptu meeting with a local political contact.
“You are the most valuable asset I possess!” he countered, his control slipping. “You have a target on your back, Mara. You are the woman who brought down Calder. Every low-life in this city wants to prove they can hurt you to get to me.”
“Then let them try!” Mara snapped. She grabbed his lapels, pulling him down to her level. “Don’t you dare turn me into the victim I spent my entire life avoiding. I didn't survive that corridor just to be a trophy on your shelf.”
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Adrian looked at her, his anger slowly giving way to a grudging, intense respect. He sighed, pulling her into a fierce, suffocating embrace. “I don't know how to keep you safe without keeping you close.”
“Then keep me at your side,” she whispered. “Don’t put me behind you.”
