SOPHIA:
I woke up screaming.
The nightmare was always the same. Fire consuming everything. My father's voice calling my name. Smoke so thick I couldn't breathe. The sound of metal collapsing and my mother's scream cutting off too suddenly.
"Sophia, you're safe. I've got you."
Drake's arms wrapped around me, pulling me against his chest. His heart beat steady and strong under my cheek. Real. Alive. Here.
"I'm sorry," I gasped, still shaking. "I thought I was past these."
"Don't apologize." He stroked my hair, his voice gentle. "Tell me about it."
I never talked about the nightmares. Not to therapists Uncle Marcus hired. Not to Julian who'd held me through panic attacks. Not to anyone.
But with Drake, the words spilled out.
"I dream about the fire. About being sixteen and getting the call that my parents were dead. The factory burned so hot they couldn't recover the bodies for three days." My voice broke. "I never got to say goodbye. Never got to tell them I loved them one last time."
Drake held me tighter. "I'm so sorry."
"Uncle Marcus came to get me from school. Told me they were gone like he was discussing the weather. Said I needed to be strong because I was a Castillo now and Castillos don't cry." Tears ran down my face. "So I didn't. I held everything inside and focused on the company. Proved I deserved the name they left me."
"You shouldn't have had to prove anything. You were a child who lost everything."
The understanding in his voice broke something open inside me. All the grief I'd buried for twelve years came flooding out.
"I watched the factory burn," I whispered. "Marcus wouldn't let me get close but I saw the flames. Knew my parents were inside. Knew I was alone." I looked up at Drake through tears. "I've been alone ever since. Until you."
Drake's expression was tortured. He kissed my forehead, my cheeks, my lips. Like he was trying to kiss away the pain.
"You're not alone anymore," he promised. "I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."
"Promise?"
"I promise."
I believed him. Fell asleep in his arms feeling safe for the first time since I was sixteen.
I had no idea his promises were lies.
The next few weeks were the happiest of my life.
Drake remembered everything about me. How I took my coffee with too much sugar. That I hated mornings but loved sunrise. That I touched my necklace when I was nervous.
He showed up at my studio with lunch when I forgot to eat. Listened to me talk about design theory for hours without getting bored. Made love to me like I was the most precious thing in his world.
"Tell me about this piece," he said one afternoon, pointing to a sketch on my desk.
"It's for the charity auction next month. A necklace representing rebirth. Phoenix rising from ashes." I traced the drawing with my finger. "After my parents died, I felt like everything burned down. But I rebuilt myself. Became stronger."
"Like a phoenix," Drake said softly.
"Exactly." I smiled at him. "You understand me better than anyone ever has."
Something painful crossed his face. "Sophia, there's something I need to tell you."
My heart jumped. "What?"
He stared at me for a long moment, conflict clear in his storm-gray eyes. Then he shook his head.
"Nothing. Just that I love you."
"I love you too."
He kissed me like he was drowning and I was air.
The Carter Foundation Charity Gala was Manhattan's biggest event of the season. Everyone who mattered would be there.
I wore emerald green and diamonds I designed myself. Drake looked devastating in his tuxedo, commanding attention just by existing.
"Manhattan's new power couple," someone whispered as we walked in.
Pride swelled in my chest. This was real. We were real.
But across the ballroom, Uncle Marcus watched us with calculating eyes. His smile was cold, predatory. Like he knew something I didn't.
"Marcus is staring at us," I told Drake quietly.
"He's probably jealous. You're successful and happy. Everything he's not."
"It feels like more than that. Like he's waiting for something."
Drake squeezed my hand. "You're overthinking. Marcus is harmless."
I wanted to believe that. But the way my uncle looked at me made my skin crawl.
Marcus approached us with a champagne glass and a fake smile.
"Sophia, darling. Drake. What a lovely couple you make."
"Thank you, Marcus," I said carefully.
"I hope you're both free Tuesday morning. Emergency board meeting. Nothing serious, just routine financial review."
My stomach dropped. "You didn't mention a board meeting."
"Last minute decision. Several members requested it. You'll be there?" His eyes gleamed with something ugly.
"Of course."
Marcus walked away, leaving me with a sick feeling.
"Something's wrong," I told Drake. "Marcus never calls emergency meetings unless he's planning something."
"It's probably nothing. Financial reviews happen all the time."
"Not like this. Not with that look on his face."
Drake pulled me close. "Stop worrying. Whatever Marcus is planning, we'll handle it together. I promise."
There was that word again. Promise.
I relaxed into his arms, trusting him completely.
That night at home, I couldn't shake the feeling that something bad was coming.
"Talk to me," Drake said, finding me staring out the window at midnight. "What's wrong?"
"I keep thinking about my parents. About how fast everything can be taken away. One minute they were alive, planning the future. The next minute they were gone."
"That's not going to happen to us."
"How do you know?" I turned to face him. "How do you know someone won't take this away? That I won't lose you too?"
Drake's face twisted with something that looked like guilt. Or grief. Or both.
"Because I won't let that happen," he said fiercely. "Whatever comes, we face it together."
"Even if Marcus tries something at the board meeting?"
"Especially then."
I wanted to believe him so badly.
"I'm scared," I admitted. "Scared of being happy because every time I let myself feel safe, something terrible happens. My parents died. Uncle Marcus turned cruel. Every good thing in my life gets destroyed."
"I'm not going anywhere." Drake cupped my face in his hands. "You hear me? I'm not leaving you."
"Promise?"
He hesitated. Just for a second. So brief I almost missed it.
Then he said, "I promise."
We made love that night with desperate intensity. Like we both knew something was ending but refused to admit it.
Afterward, I lay in Drake's arms planning our future. Maybe we'd get married next year. Have kids eventually. Build a life that honored both our parents' memories.
I sketched wedding venues in my mind. Imagined Drake's reaction when I finally showed him the ring designs. Pictured us old and happy, still in love after fifty years.
"What are you thinking about?" Drake asked, his voice rough.
"Our future. All the years we'll have together."
His arms tightened around me. "Sophia, if I could go back and change things, I would. I need you to know that."
"Change what?"
"Everything. Nothing. I don't know." He sounded tormented. "Just know that I love you. No matter what happens, that's real."
"You're scaring me. What's going on?"
"Nothing. I'm just tired." He kissed my temple. "Get some sleep. Big day tomorrow."
The board meeting. Right.
Anxiety curled in my stomach but I pushed it away. Marcus couldn't do anything too terrible. The company was mine. I'd earned it.
And Drake would be there. My partner. My love. The man who promised he'd never leave.
I fell asleep feeling safe and loved.
I didn't know that in twelve hours, the man holding me would be sitting at my father's desk, announcing he owned my company.
I didn't know every kiss was a calculated lie.
I didn't know the board meeting tomorrow would destroy everything I believed about love, trust, and the possibility of happiness.
I just slept peacefully in the arms of my destroyer, dreaming about a future that would never exist.
The last moment of perfect happiness before my whole world burned down.