Ava woke to the sound of silence. Last night she don't know how she felt sleep while asking, questions to her god. "why…god? Why my life is turn into someone wife whom I don't even know who he is, I always asked for loving partner with who I would feel in love, have my home where I build my own family as I don't have any family. Yesterday I was thinking that I would work heard make my parents in heaven don't to worried about me, I would travel around the world and live my life to the fullest but now what…. I'm in this golden cage."
Not the peaceful kind — the heavy, suffocating kind that pressed against her chest and reminded her she was no longer free. The bedroom she'd been locked in was larger than the entire orphanage wing she used to sleep in. The bed was king-sized, the sheets expensive, the curtains velvet, and the chandelier sparkled like frost.
But to her, it felt like a cage.
A golden, beautiful, terrifying cage.
She pushed the blanket aside and walked to the door, pressing her ear against it. A deep voice spoke from outside.
"Boss said she doesn't leave the room."
"She awake?" another guard asked.
Ava stepped back quickly, heart racing. She wasn't even allowed to step outside her own bedroom.
Her palms curled into fists.
What kind of marriage is this? Will I be cage in this room my whole life? No….
A marriage built on fear.
On power.
On ownership.
She stared at the ring on her finger, shiny and cold — just like the man who put it there.
"Good. You're awake."
She gasped. Adrian stood at the doorway, his presence filling the room like a dark storm. He wasn't dressed in a suit today — black shirt, sleeves rolled up, veins along his forearms visible. A gun holster sat comfortably against his chest.
He looked like danger carved into flesh.
"What do you want?" Ava asked, her voice shaky but not submissive.
He stepped in, shutting the door behind him.
"Breakfast," he replied. "Eat something."
"I'm not hungry."
He raised a brow. "You will eat or I have to feed you choice is yours."
"I said—"
In a blur, he was in front of her, fingers gripping her chin, forcing her to look up. His touch wasn't cruel, but it was firm — a reminder of how easily he controlled everything.
"You're my wife now, Ava Reed," he said, voice low. "I take care of what's mine."
She jerked her chin away. "I'm not yours."
A muscle twitched in his jaw. "You became mine the moment you said 'I do.'"
Her eyes burned. "You forced me."
His eyes darkened — something unreadable flickered in them. For a second, he looked almost… human. But the moment vanished.
"It doesn't matter," he said, stepping back. "You are mine, you're here. And you're staying."
Later that day, the guards allowed her into the mansion living room — but she wasn't allowed outside. Not even on the balcony.
The mansion was silent, luxurious, and cold. Marble floors, glass walls, expensive art that probably cost what a small town earned in a year. Everywhere she turned, there were men in suits watching her every move — armed, alert, loyal to him.
So this is his world.
She sank onto the couch, hugging her knees. The reality of it finally hit her hard.
She wasn't married to a businessman.
She was married to a mafia king.
A man feared by everyone.
A man who can take life of any one who goes against him without second thought.
A man who didn't hesitate before forcing her into his life.
Her throat tightened. How will I ever escape?
A sudden commotion broke the silence.
A man rushed inside, face pale. "Boss! We have a situation—"
Ava froze. Adrian walked in from the hallway, face calm but throat lined with tension.
"What is it?" he asked.
"The Romano family. They're challenging your shipment line again."
Ava watched as a switch flipped inside him — the CEO vanished, the mafia boss emerged.
Cold. Calculating. Dangerous.
He grabbed his gun from the table. "Call my men. Prepare the cars."
The guard hesitated. "Boss… you just got married."
Adrian's eyes turned colder than ice.
"And?"
The guard swallowed. "The men think… maybe you should stay with your wife. Just for today."
Adrian stepped forward. "My wife is not your concern. The business is."
But then — something strange happened.
His eyes drifted toward Ava, sitting quietly on the couch as white little rabbit, fear written all over her face. For a moment, just a breath, he hesitated.
A moment of weakness… the great Adrian Knight?
His men exchanged shocked glances.
Adrian forced his gaze away. "I'll deal with it. Bring the car."
The guards nodded and left.
Ava stood, voice shaking.
"Are you going to kill someone?"
He looked at her sharply. "This is not your world."
"But I'm in it now." Her voice cracked. "You dragged me into it."
For a moment, he said nothing.
Then he stepped toward her, slowly, deliberately.
When he reached her, he lifted her chin again — softer this time.
"You are safe here. No one will touch you. No one will hurt you."
His voice dropped. "Not even me."
Ava stared at him, confused. "Why do you care whether I'm safe or not? You don't even know me."
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear — a touch that made her breath hitch.
"I take care of what's mine," he said again… but this time, the words sounded less like possession, and more like a promise.
He turned away, walking toward the door.
"Adrian?" she whispered before she could stop herself.
He paused.
"Please… come back alive."
He didn't look back, but she didn't miss the way his shoulders tensed — or the tiny, tiny softness that flickered in his voice when he said:
"I will."
Then the door shut behind him, leaving Ava alone in the cage of gold… wondering why the monster she married felt like something far more dangerous:
A man she might learn to feel something for.