Chapter 3

The sunlight hitting my eyelids felt like a physical assault. My head throbbed so bad and God! I regret drinking so much. It was torture having to wake up hungover. My mind was foggy and all I could remember was the taste of the gin and a very expensive plane ride I barely remembered.

I groaned, rolling over, expecting to feel my silk sheets. Instead, I felt strange cotton so crisp it could cut paper.

I opened my eyes immediately as I sat up instantly. This wasn't my room. I looked around even more confused.

“What…how did I get here?” I clutched my hair with my hands.

The memories hit me immediately in a flash. The black Lounge….the credit card. What else? Fuck I can't remember more…

I closed my eyes and tried to recall. Yeah, the man with eyes like charcoal. The neon lights of a Vegas chapel and signing the…

"Oh, fuck," I whispered, bolting upright.

The room was massive, a minimalist penthouse suite overlooking the Manhattan skyline. On the bedside table sat a glass of water, two aspirin, and a gold trimmed document.

I picked up the document first with trembling fingers because I could already tell what was inside.

-Marriage Certificate: Roman Voss and Ivy Sterling-

"It wasn't a dream," I choked out as I looked down at my hand. A diamond the size of a postage stamp was nestled against a platinum band. It was heavy and it felt like a shackle. When did he even have the time to get the ring?

I scrambled out of bed, still in the white gala dress which was now wrinkled and smelling faintly of the strange man's sandalwood cologne.

From the documents, his name was Roman Voss. I could swear I had heard that name before but I simply couldn't remember.

But I needed to find him. I needed to tell him this was a mistake, that we needed an annulment before…

There was a sound of someone hammering on the penthouse door which echoed through the hallway.

"Ivy! Open this damn door right now!"

I heard my father’s voice and my blood turned to ice.

"I know you’re in there, you ungrateful brat!" Marcus’s voice followed, shrill and panicked. "The paparazzi have photos of you at a dive bar with some low-life! You’re ruining the Miller merger!"

I panicked as I ran toward the living room, looking for a place to hide. How did they even find me here? I don't even know where I am at the moment.

The penthouse was all glass and cold stone. There was nowhere to hide.

"Open up, or I’m calling the police to report a kidnapping!" my father bellowed.

I panicked immediately as I opened the door and my father and Marcus burst in like rabid dogs.

"You've done it now, Ivy," my father hissed, waving his phone in my face. The screen showed a grainy photo of me draped over Roman at the bar. "A nobody? You threw away the Sterling reputation for a bar-fly? Do you have any idea what this does to the stock price?"

"He’s not a nobody," I started, my voice small.

"He’s a scavenger!" Marcus spat, stepping into my space, his eyes wild. He looked pathetic compared to the man I remembered from last night. "You’re so desperate for attention you’d sleep with a commoner just to spite me? You’re a disgrace, Ivy. No wonder I went to Elena. At least she knows her worth. You're just a broken little girl who…"

"Who what?"

The voice came from the kitchen archway. It was calm, low, and vibrated with a lethal undercurrent.

Everything froze as Roman Voss stepped into the sunlight. He was wearing black dress slacks and a crisp white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, revealing muscular forearms corded with tension. In his right hand, he held a steaming cup of black coffee.

He looked like he’d slept for ten hours and then decided which country to buy for breakfast and worst of all, I didn't even know he was still here.

That means he heard all the commotion just now. So fucking embarrassing.

My father’s jaw dropped and I thought it might hit the floor. He went from purple to a ghostly, sickly white in three seconds.

"V...Voss?" my father stammered, his finger trembling as he pointed. "Roman Voss?"

Roman took a slow, deliberate sip of his coffee, his eyes never leaving my father’s face. "The ‘nobody’ you talked about is listening, Arthur. Please, continue. I was particularly interested in the part where that lap dog beside you calls my wife a disgrace."

"Wife?" Marcus choked out, his face contorting in confusion. "No. That’s impossible. She probably only met you last night. You’re… you’re the Vulture. You don't marry people. You destroy them."

Roman set his coffee cup down on the marble island with a sharp clack. He walked toward me, his movements fluid and predatory. When he reached me, he didn't hesitate as he wrapped a heavy arm around my waist and pulled me flush against his side.

I could feel the heat radiating from his body, the absolute solidness of him.

"Ivy has a very discerning eye," Roman said, his voice dropping an octave. He looked down at me, his thumb grazing the skin above my hip in a way that made my breath hitch. "She realized that a Sterling belongs with a Voss, not a Miller. We were married in Vegas four hours ago."

"I'll have it annulled!" my father screamed, finding his voice. "This is a stunt! She was just drunk and you’re using her to get to my company!"

"Try it," Roman said softly. The temperature in the room seemed to drop ten degrees. "But while you're filing the paperwork, my legal team will be filing the audit reports for Sterling Logistics. I’ve had a look at your offshore accounts, Arthur. You’re over-leveraged by sixty million. One word from me, and the banks call in your loans by noon." He grinned, the curve of his lips looking like that of a demon.

My father’s breath hitched and he looked like he was having a heart attack.

"Now," Roman continued, his grip on me tightening possessively. "Marcus, you’re dismissed. Go find that Elena bitch of yours. I hear she’s fond of desks.” He said and I couldn't help the snort that escaped my lips.

“And Arthur?” He continued. “The board meeting is at nine and Ivy will be there as my wife and as the new majority shareholder of the Sterling-Voss alliance."

"You can't do this," Marcus whimpered, backed into a corner by Roman’s sheer presence.

Roman didn't answer with words. He turned to me, his dark eyes searching mine for a split second. Then, he tilted my head back and crushed his lips to mine.

I blinked confused for a moment, but then I leaned into the kiss. I didn't know what this man was thinking, and I certainly didn't know he was so terrifying that even my father trembled, but I guess I liked the fact that I could see them scrambling like mice.

I could hear my father and Marcus gasp. Roman pulled me closer, his kiss getting more desperate as I moaned into his mouth. I couldn't even bring myself to think about anything anymore till I heard the heavy sound of the door being slammed. They must have gotten angry and uncomfortable and left.

When Roman pulled away, he didn't let go immediately, but he waited until the sound of the elevator faded, then his warmth vanished as soon as it had come.

He stepped back, his face returning to that cold, unreadable mask.

"Go get dressed," he said, picking up his coffee again. "The show is over so now we start the real work.” I looked at him, feeling a small sense of loss.

Then his eyes hardened, “And remember..

don't ever try to hide from me in my own house again. I see everything." He smirked.