Chapter Two: A Cage Of Gold And Shadows

Chapter Two: A Cage of Gold and Shadows

Elena’s POV

The walls of my new bedroom were too perfect—too pristine to feel real. They were painted in muted shades of cream and gold, matching the massive bed that sat in the center of the room, its silk sheets untouched. It was the kind of bedroom that should have belonged to a queen.

But I was no queen.

I was a prisoner.

I sat curled on the edge of the bed, still in my wedding dress. The fabric, once smooth and elegant, was now wrinkled from hours of sitting in the same position. My fingers dug into the expensive material, gripping it like it was the last piece of myself I had left.

I had cried myself into exhaustion, but the tears wouldn’t stop.

Because no matter how much I wished to wake up from this nightmare, reality wouldn’t change.

I had been sold.

Given away like property, a mere substitute bride for a man who loathed me.

My father had assured me I would be safe, but he was a liar. He had never cared about my safety, only his debts. And now I was trapped in this mansion, bound to a man who didn’t even want me here.

A man who had made that very clear.

“You are nothing but a replacement. An inconvenience.”

Lorenzo’s words replayed in my mind, sharp as daggers.

I hugged my arms around myself, shivering despite the warmth of the room.

Then the door swung open.

I flinched. My heart jumped to my throat as Lorenzo stepped inside, his towering frame filling the doorway. He was still dressed in his wedding attire, though he had shed his suit jacket. His white dress shirt was unbuttoned at the collar, his sleeves rolled up, revealing forearms marked with faint scars.

His dark eyes landed on me, unreadable.

“You’re still in that dress,” he muttered, as if the sight of me disgusted him.

I swallowed hard. “I—I don’t know what to do.”

His gaze narrowed slightly, his fingers flexing at his sides before he exhaled sharply. He stepped further into the room, his presence suffocating.

“Listen carefully, Elena,” he said, his voice like cold steel. “This marriage is nothing but a business transaction. You are here because your father put you in my path, and I had no choice but to take you.”

I flinched at the way he said take you—like I was nothing more than a burden he had unwillingly carried home.

“You will do as I say,” he continued, his tone sharp. “You will follow my rules. And in return, I will make sure you live comfortably. But don’t mistake my generosity for kindness. I don’t care about you. I don’t trust you. And I never will.”

Something inside me snapped.

I lifted my gaze to his, my voice shaking but firm. “Do you think I wanted this?”

Lorenzo’s expression darkened.

“You think I wanted to be forced into a marriage with a man who despises me? That I planned this? That I wanted to leave my life behind and be thrown into a world I don’t understand?” My voice broke, but I didn’t care. “I had no choice! My father—he would have killed me if I refused. And your family would have hunted me down if I ran. So don’t stand there and act like I did this to you.”

For the first time, Lorenzo hesitated.

His jaw tightened, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. He looked at me for a long moment, something unreadable flickering in his gaze.

Then, just as quickly, it was gone.

“That’s not my problem,” he said coldly.

A bitter laugh bubbled from my throat. “Of course, it isn’t.”

I wiped at my tear-streaked face, my hands trembling.

“You’re a DeLuca,” I whispered. “You don’t care who gets destroyed in the process, do you?”

Lorenzo’s entire body tensed.

For a split second, something shifted in his expression—something dangerous.

He took a slow, deliberate step toward me, his voice dangerously low. “Careful, wife.”

A shiver ran down my spine, but I refused to look away.

“I lost everything,” I choked out, my voice trembling. “My freedom, my life—my name. And you look at me like I’m a burden, like I planned this. Do you even know what it feels like to have your entire life ripped away in a single night?”

Silence.

Lorenzo stared at me, his jaw locked tight.

I saw it again—that flicker of something in his eyes. Guilt? Anger?

I didn’t know.

And then, just like before, it vanished.

“You should sleep,” he muttered.

Sleep?

I let out a hollow laugh, shaking my head. “You mean how I’ll be your prisoner.”

He didn’t deny it.

Instead, he turned and walked toward the door. But before he could leave, I found myself asking the one question I shouldn’t have.

“Will you ever let me go?”

Lorenzo stopped.

His back was to me, his shoulders rigid.

Then, after a long pause, he said, “No.”

The finality in his voice shattered something inside me.

I bit my lip to keep from sobbing as he disappeared into the hall, leaving me alone in the silence of my golden cage.

But I wasn’t just afraid of Lorenzo.

I was afraid of what I was becoming.

And part of me that, despite everything, wondered if there was more to him than the monster I saw tonight.

I curled up on the bed, staring at the ceiling as the weight of his answer settled over me. No. One word, but it sealed my fate. There would be no escape, no mercy. I was bound to him, to this life, and no amount of tears would change that. But as the silence stretched on, a new thought crept into my mind—a dangerous one. If I couldn’t leave, then I would find another way to survive. And maybe, just maybe, I would find a way to make Lorenzo DeLuca regret ever underestimating me.

As I lay in the suffocating silence of my new prison, memories of my old life came rushing back like waves crashing against the shore—relentless, unforgiving.

I saw myself in my family’s garden, the scent of fresh roses filling the air as my mother brushed my hair, her soft voice humming a lullaby from my childhood. “One day, my darling, you’ll marry for love, just like I did.” She had smiled at me then, her eyes warm and full of hope.

That hope had died with her.

Then came another memory—sharper, colder.

My father’s voice, deep and merciless, as he grabbed my wrist the night before the wedding. “You will do as I say, Elena. This is your duty. If you disobey me, you will regret it.” His fingers had dug into my skin, his face a mask of pure calculation. There had been no love in his eyes, only the weight of a deal that had already been sealed.

And then, the moment that had shattered everything.

Standing at the altar, my hands trembling, waiting for my sister to take her place beside Lorenzo—only for my father’s hand to press against my back, pushing me forward instead.

My sister had already disappeared.

The whispers had spread like wildfire. The looks of confusion, of shock. And then, Lorenzo’s cold, murderous glare as he realized the truth.

I had never felt so small, so unwanted.

And now, staring at the ceiling of this gilded prison, I knew that feeling wasn’t going away anytime soon.