Grayson didn't say a word as they climbed the stairs, his hand gripping Kate's arm. His stride was steady. Hers was shaky, stumbling, trying to break free.

"Let me go! You can't do this!" she cried, furious, tears in her eyes.

He didn't answer.

They reached a set of double doors. Grayson shoved them open and pushed her inside.

The master bedroom was spacious, elegant, and grand. But to Kate, it felt like a prison cell.

"You're a monster! You ruined my family! You threw them out like they were garbage!"

Grayson shut the door behind them and turned to her, unmoving.

"Your family was already garbage. I just dragged the truth into the light."

Kate clenched her fists, shaking with helplessness.

"My father may have his faults, but what you did… it's unforgivable! You didn't destroy him for justice. You did it out of hate!"

Grayson laughed—dry, bitter.

"Justice?" He stepped closer. "Do you even know what your father did to mine? He stole his work. His legacy. Betrayed him when he trusted him most. He broke him. And you know what my father did after that? He put a bullet in his own head, rather than face the shame."

Kate froze. All the air left her lungs.

"No… not my dad…" she whispered, unable to believe it.

"Your father is trash," Grayson said, voice low and unrelenting. "Accept it."

Kate looked at him in horror, like she was just now realizing who she had married. She stepped back.

He watched her too—his face cold, unreadable.

But his eyes burned with something else.

Desire.

And that only made him angrier.

Because this wasn't how it was supposed to go. With Catherine, he never planned to touch her. She was just a pawn. But Kate… Kate was different.

And that drove him mad.

She backed up until she hit the edge of the bed, her breath shaky, chest rising and falling fast like she couldn't get enough air.

"Please…" she whispered, unable to meet his gaze. "Don't do this…"

Grayson clenched his jaw.

"You're my wife. This is your duty."

Kate shook her head, inching away. But there was nowhere left to go.

He stepped forward. She tried to dodge to the right, but he caught her.

"Don't touch me!"

She struggled, pushing against his chest with both hands, desperate to get free.

He didn't budge.

Unable to stop himself, he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her.

She fought him, hitting his chest again and again, but his mouth was burning against hers, demanding. And somehow—somewhere in that chaos—her body started to give in. Her lips trembled… and responded. Not out of duty. Out of something deeper. Instinct.

Something terrifying.

Grayson kissed her with anger. With restraint on the edge of breaking. His body pressed against hers, his heat swallowing her up. Kate's legs trembled—she didn't know if it was from fear or something worse.

And just when her hands gripped his shirt, he pulled away.

He stared at her like he didn't understand what he had just done. Like he hated himself for feeling it.

Kate stood frozen, shaking. Her lips were wet. Her heart raced like it might explode.

"Take off your clothes," he said.

His voice was flat, clipped.

Kate looked at him, eyes wide and full of tears.

He stepped forward, and without warning, tore open the back of her dress.

"Ahhh!" she cried, covering herself as best she could. But he just gave a cold, cruel laugh.

"Don't play innocent," he said, with no compassion. "You sold yourself for money. This is what I bought, isn't it?"

She swallowed hard, her eyes brimming, the tears about to fall.

He leaned in, his breath hot against her neck. He inhaled deeply.

His hands went back to her ruined dress.

But this time… she stopped him. Her hand trembled against his.

"I… I'll do it," she whispered.

She stepped back, and with trembling hands, removed the last remnants of the dress. The fabric pooled around her feet like spilled silk. She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to cover what she could. She stood half-naked in front of a man she barely knew—a man who didn't look at her with tenderness, but with resentment.

Grayson stared at her, his breath heavier than he'd ever admit.

He didn't want to want her.

But he did.

"Get on the bed," he ordered.

Kate felt a knot tighten in her chest. She thought of Ethan. Of all the dreams they once shared. Dreams that were now gone. Because this man was her husband now. And she had no choice but to obey.

She climbed onto the bed slowly, feeling the cold sheets against her bare skin. Then he joined her—naked. Every muscle of his body sculpted like temptation itself. And for a brief moment, the cold vanished from his gaze, replaced by something darker, deeper. Hunger.

"Please…" she murmured. "Could you… be gentle? It's… it's my first time."

Something inside Grayson cracked.

'She's a virgin.'

And then, he couldn't hold back any longer.

His mouth crashed onto hers with a ferocity that made her arch and gasp against his lips. It was clumsy at first, but she soon found the rhythm, her body learning with an urgency that shocked them both.

He pulled away only to trace fire down her neck, his teeth grazing her skin, his hands mapping every curve like she was a landscape of secret pleasures.

"You're beautiful," he murmured, moving lower across her stomach. "Incredibly beautiful."

His lips kept going, leaving a burning trail across her skin. Kate closed her eyes and let out a soft moan.

Before she realized it, her fingers were tangled in his hair. She let herself sink into the unknown heat, knowing deep down there was no turning back.

"Relax…" Grayson whispered.

She shut her eyes. Her hands clutched his back. A choked sound escaped her lips as he pushed in—just slightly.

"Ah…"

The pain was sharp. A stab that stole her breath. But he didn't stop.

"It hurts…" she sobbed.

He paused, just for a moment. His voice held a flicker of softness.

"Only at the beginning."

Then he took her completely—breaking through the last fragile piece of her innocence in one powerful thrust. Kate cried out. The pain tangled with an unbearable fullness, a feeling of being claimed, invaded, marked.

But he didn't give her time to adjust.

His hips began to move—slowly at first, then with growing force. He dragged her into a rhythm her body didn't recognize but, against all logic, began to follow.

The pain faded.

And in its place, heat bloomed.

Every movement made her tremble, made her gasp—and soon her cries were no longer of pain, but pleasure.

"God…" Grayson growled, his hands gripping her hips. "You're so damn tight…"

But Kate wasn't thinking anymore. She was just feeling.

Each thrust brought her closer to an edge she didn't understand—one that terrified her and pulled her in all at once.

And then, when she thought she couldn't take any more, he slammed into her with desperate hunger.

"Look at me," he demanded.

And she did.

Her eyes found his—burning, wild, consuming.

"Look at me when I make you mine."

With one final thrust, he came inside her, and Kate felt everything. Her body trembled, her mind blank, teetering on the edge of an ecstasy she didn't know how to name.

When he finally pulled away, silence settled over them. Exhaustion dragged her into a heavy, dreamless sleep.

But when she woke, with the first rays of dawn slipping through the curtains, she reached out for warmth…

And found only cold sheets.

Her husband was gone.

And a new reality had begun.