WEDDED TO A BILLIONAIRE: Love Behind Closed Door

Chapter 6: The Secret Clause

"A signature seals your fate, but a hidden clause can shatter your world."

I stared down at the document spread out before me on the dining room table, my heart hammering in my chest. The silence of the house felt suffocating, as if the walls themselves were closing in. I had only meant to find the marriage certificate for safekeeping. Instead, I stumbled upon something far more sinister.

A hidden clause, buried deep in the fine print of the prenup I had signed before the wedding—something I had glossed over in the whirlwind of planning and the pressure of the looming marriage. Alexander had assured me it was nothing, that it was just standard legal formality. Foolishly, I had trusted him.

But this? This was far from standard. This was a noose around my neck, tightening with every word I read.

The clause was deceptively simple, worded in legal jargon that made it hard to digest at first glance. But the more I read, the more the reality of it sank in. My freedom, my choices, even the decisions I made about my own life were now subject to certain "conditions." Conditions that Alexander could enforce at any time.

My breath hitched as I read the key line again: "The wife's personal and professional activities shall be at the discretion of the husband, to be monitored and adjusted as deemed necessary for the benefit of the marital arrangement."

I dropped the paper onto the table as if it had burned me. I couldn't breathe. How could I have missed this? How could I have let this happen?

The luxurious life I had been thrust into felt more like a gilded cage now. Everything suddenly made sense—his control over my time, the way his decisions overshadowed mine, his constant dismissal of my need for independence. It had all been orchestrated. And I had unknowingly signed away my freedom.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the house, snapping me out of my spiraling thoughts. I quickly gathered the papers, stuffing them back into the drawer just as Alexander's figure appeared in the doorway.

He stood there, tall and composed, his icy blue eyes scanning the room. "Sophia," he said smoothly, his voice as calm and detached as ever. "What are you doing?"

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice steady. "Just... organizing some documents. I didn't realize we had so much paperwork."

He didn't move, his gaze fixed on me like a hawk watching its prey. "That's what we have assistants for, isn't it?"

I forced a smile, even though my hands trembled. "Right. Just thought I'd take care of it myself this time."

There was a beat of silence, his eyes narrowing ever so slightly, as if he could sense something was off. But then, just as quickly, he seemed to dismiss it. "Dinner will be ready soon," he said curtly before turning to leave.

As soon as he was gone, I let out a shaky breath, my heart still racing. I couldn't let him know what I had found—not yet. I needed time to figure this out, to understand just how deep this betrayal went.

And then there was Victoria's warning still fresh in my mind. "There are parts of his past that he's kept hidden." Was this what she had been referring to? Or was there more, something even darker lurking beneath the surface?

I couldn't stop the sinking feeling that I was only scratching the surface of Alexander's secrets. And if this hidden clause was any indication, I had no idea just how tightly he intended to control me.

Later that night, after Alexander had retreated to his study and the house had fallen into its usual eerie quiet, I made my move. I crept into his home office, my pulse quickening with every step. The room was immaculate, as always—nothing out of place, no sign of the turmoil I was feeling.

I sat at his desk, my fingers hovering over his sleek laptop. I knew it was a risk—if he found out, it could blow everything apart. But I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something more, something he was hiding not just about our marriage, but about his entire world.

The laptop's screen blinked to life, the login screen prompting me for a password. My heart sank. Of course, it wouldn't be that easy. But I wasn't about to give up.

I remembered the documents I had found in the prenup drawer earlier—there had been a series of dates on some of them. Financial agreements, business deals. Something about the dates stood out to me, so I tried one: the day we got married.

The screen unlocked, and I almost gasped aloud. I was in.

What I found next made my blood run cold.

Emails, spreadsheets, transactions—evidence of business deals I had no idea about. Alexander's name was tied to offshore accounts, to companies I had never heard of, companies that operated in the shadows. And then there were mentions of contracts, partnerships with names that raised red flags—people with reputations far more dangerous than anything I could have imagined.

This wasn't just about money. This was about power, control. And it was far-reaching, far beyond the world I thought I knew.

My heart pounded in my chest as I scanned through the emails, trying to piece together the scope of what Alexander was involved in. The more I read, the more terrified I became. If this was real—if these deals were tied to Alexander—it could destroy everything. Our marriage, his empire, even me.

And then, at the bottom of the screen, a file caught my eye. "S.K. Agreement."

With trembling hands, I clicked on it. The file opened, and what I saw made my breath catch in my throat.