The penthouse didn’t feel like a home.
It felt like a perfectly curated silence.
Elara stood just inside the doorway, fingers clenched around the strap of her bag, eyes slowly taking it all in.
Floor-to-ceiling windows.
Marble floors so polished they reflected her uncertainty back at her.
Soft golden lights that made everything look warm yet somehow untouched, unlived.
This place belonged to Adrian Knight.
And now, somehow… to her.
“Your room is on the left,” Adrian said, already walking ahead, voice calm, detached, like he was discussing a merger.
“Everything you need has been arranged.”
Elara followed him, heels clicking too loudly in the quiet. “Arranged?” she repeated. “You mean… you planned my life before I even moved in?”
He stopped. Turned. Looked at her with that unreadable gaze.
“I plan everything,” he said simply.
Of course you do, she thought.
Her room was breathtaking soft neutral tones, a king-sized bed, a balcony overlooking the city. It was beautiful.
Too beautiful.
Like she didn’t belong here.
“This is temporary,” she reminded herself out loud.
Adrian’s eyebrow lifted slightly. “So is the contract.”
Something about the way he said it made her chest tighten.
That night, the penthouse felt different.
Quiet—but aware.
Elara couldn’t sleep.
The bed was too big, the silence too loud, her thoughts racing faster than the city below. Around midnight, she padded into the kitchen, hair loose, wearing an oversized T-shirt she’d packed in a hurry.
Bad idea.
Adrian was already there.
Leaning against the counter.
Shirt sleeves rolled up.
Tie gone.
Glass of water in hand.
Less CEO.
More dangerously human.
They both froze.
“Oh—sorry,”
Elara blurted.
“I didn’t know you’d be ”
“I live here,” he said dryly.
Right. Genius response, Elara.
She moved toward the fridge, deliberately not looking at him. The tension was thick, unspoken, humming between them like a live wire.
As she reached for the water jug, her hand brushed his.
Electric.
She pulled back instantly. “Sorry.”
Adrian didn’t move.
His gaze lingered just a second too long. “You should be careful,” he said quietly.
“This arrangement only works if boundaries are clear.”
She looked up at him then, chin lifted. “Don’t worry, Mr. Knight. I know exactly what this is.”
“Do you?” he asked, voice low.
For a moment, neither spoke.
The city lights flickered behind him, painting shadows across his face.
He looked less like a billionaire heir and more like a man standing on the edge of something he didn’t fully control.
Elara broke the silence first. “Good night. Husband.”
The word hit harder than either of them expected.
Adrian watched her walk away, jaw tightening.
Elara closed her door, heart racing.
Two strangers.
One contract.
One roof.
And neither of them slept that night.
Because some lines once crossed by accident refuse to stay invisible.
1.When two strangers start living under the same roof, can rules really protect their hearts or do emotions always find a way in?
2.Was Elara more afraid of the contract… or of the feelings she didn’t expect to awaken so soon?
3.Adrian believes control keeps him safebut what happens when someone enters his world who refuses to be controlled?
Hey my dear reader,🥰
I’m Aarushi, and The Golden Heir is more than just a story it’s a quiet midnight feeling, a slow breath between heartbeats, a love that begins where rules exist.
This story believes in soft emotions, unspoken tension, and the magic that grows when two guarded souls are forced to stand close.
Read it slowly. Feel it deeply. And if any moment makes your heart pause… then we’ve met at the right place.
With love,
Aaru 🥰✨
