Real Threats and the Tightening Golden Cage
Days passed after Valeri’s suffocating confession that had left Rian’s chest aching.
Yet the peace Rian had hoped for was nothing more than an illusion.
The real storm had only just begun gathering on the dark horizon of his life.
Valeri’s husband, whom we’ll call Darmawan, was a conglomerate businessman every bit as cunning and powerful as she was. He had begun to sense something strange about his wife.
Although their marriage had long since fallen apart and Darmawan himself kept numerous mistresses, his pride and ego as a man wouldn’t allow his wife to have a “toy” behind his back.
Through highly paid, top-tier spies, Darmawan’s suspicions led straight to one name: Rian.
The handsome young personal assistant who was always at Valeri’s side like an inseparable shadow, with unlimited exclusive access to the woman’s private life.
One cloudy afternoon, with Jakarta’s air feeling suffocating, Rian was walking alone toward the deserted basement parking area after buying the coffee Valeri had ordered when his path was forcibly blocked.
Three broad-shouldered, wire-muscled men in sharp black suits suddenly emerged from behind a concrete pillar and blocked his way.
Behind them, a luxurious jet-black SUV sat parked arrogantly.
The vehicle’s window slowly rolled down, revealing Darmawan’s cold face as he stared at Rian with suspicion, disgust, and deadly menace.
“So this is my wife’s new pet?” Darmawan sneered from inside the car, his deep voice echoing its threat through the silent basement.
Before Rian could respond, one of the burly bodyguards moved with lightning speed and roughly grabbed Rian by the collar.
The giant lifted Rian against the concrete wall until the tips of his shoes nearly left the floor.
Rian’s breath caught, and terror raced down his spine. He wasn’t a fighter at all; faced with these merciless executioners, he could lose his life at any moment without anyone ever knowing.
“W-who... are you?!” Rian whimpered, struggling to free himself from the iron grip around his neck.
“Stay away from Valeri, or you won’t live to see tomorrow morning, boy,” Darmawan hissed, his eyes gleaming savagely.
Just as Rian felt his lungs running out of air and his consciousness beginning to fade, a miracle appeared.
“Let him go!”
A woman’s shrill cry shattered the tension and echoed through the basement. Rian turned with difficulty, as did the bodyguards and Darmawan.
A young woman in a stylish office outfit hurried toward them.
Her face was filled with convincingly feigned anger, and she boldly swung her handbag at the bodyguard holding Rian.
“What the hell are you doing?! Rian! How dare you wander around here while I’ve been waiting for you in the lobby this whole time! And you—” The woman glared sharply at the bodyguards before turning her attention to Darmawan inside the car.
“Let my husband go right now, or I’ll scream for security and report you to the police for kidnapping and assault!”
Darmawan furrowed his brow, looking startled. “Your husband?” he asked uncertainly, glancing back and forth between Rian and the woman.
“Yes! He’s my husband! Rian, come on, let’s go home!” The woman forcibly tugged on Rian’s arm after the bodyguard’s grip loosened in confusion.
Darmawan didn’t want to cause a scene in a public area of an office building and risk damaging his reputation if any reporters showed up, so he finally clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Assuming his informant had identified the wrong person or that the information he’d received was inaccurate, he signaled his men to withdraw.
The black car drove away, leaving Rian sitting weakly on the concrete floor, gasping for breath with his body trembling.
A Brief Escape and a New Friendship
“Who... are you?” Rian asked after calming himself down, looking at his savior with a mixture of confusion and gratitude.
The woman let out a relieved breath, a warm smile now appearing on her previously tense face. “I’m Susan.
“I’m in the Marketing Division at Ms. Valeri’s company. We don’t talk directly very often, but I see you following her everywhere all the time, Rian.”
At a quiet little café on a street corner across from the office, Susan finally told him everything.
As a sharp-eyed senior employee, she had noticed there was something “different” about the dynamic between Valeri and Rian.
That afternoon, she had accidentally witnessed what happened in the basement on her way home and impulsively decided to help when she realized Rian’s life was in real danger.
From that life-threatening, nerve-racking incident, Rian’s defenses slowly began to crumble.
For the first time in his life, which was filled with falsehoods, Rian found someone he could talk to.
A flood of questions passed between them. Feeling indebted to her, Rian gradually revealed a few secrets about the pressure of his job and Darmawan’s threats, though he kept the central secret of the physical contract binding him tightly under wraps.
With her motherly nature, good listening skills, and deep understanding, Susan became Rian’s first friend within Valeri’s toxic world.
They began exchanging stories during their short breaks, learning about each other’s suffering beneath the harshness of life in the capital’s corporate world.
Susan’s presence offered a small oasis in the middle of Rian’s desert of despair.
Two Years Later: The Golden Cage Grows More Comfortable—and More Deadly
Time had no regard for human suffering; it continued forward without mercy.
Before he knew it, two full years had passed since Rian first signed his name on that hellish contract.
Calendar pages kept falling, and along with them, Rian sank deeper into the role he was playing.
Two years of living inside the golden cage had changed Rian radically. His appearance had transformed completely; not a trace of an ordinary young man remained on his face.
Expensive custom-made suits from international brands, a luxury watch worth billions of rupiah on his wrist, exclusive perfume, and high-end body care had sent Rian’s physical appeal skyrocketing.
He was no longer a naïve young man with a bewildered gaze. Rian had evolved into a mature, exceptionally elegant, composed man whose masculine charisma was difficult for anyone to ignore.
Ironically, however, the emptiness in his eyes had only deepened behind his dazzling expensive suits.
Every night, when he lay alone in his luxurious bed at the apartment Valeri provided, that existential question always returned to haunt him.
Will my life always be like this? Serving one master, hiding in the shadows of sin, becoming a pawn without free will?
His contract had only one year left, but to Rian, it felt like he was serving a life sentence that was slowly killing his soul.
The Master’s Obsession and Jealousy
The drastic change in Rian naturally hadn’t escaped the attention of those around him, especially the hundreds of employees at headquarters.
Rian had unknowingly become the company’s hidden heartthrob.
Whenever he strode through the main lobby or office corridors to accompany Valeri, countless eyes shamelessly stole glances at him.
Young female employees, even those at the managerial level, often couldn’t hide their admiration.
They frequently whispered flirtatiously when Rian passed, flashed him stolen smiles, and occasionally dared to greet him in seductive tones.
The employees’ blatant behavior was like awakening a sleeping lion. It hadn’t escaped Valeri’s watchful eyes.
As these two years passed, Valeri’s feelings for Rian seemed to be shifting in a dangerous direction.
What had initially been nothing more than absolute ownership of a rented “object” bound by contract was slowly becoming tangled with possessive obsession and blind, irrational emotional jealousy.
It reached its peak one busy afternoon. Valeri and Rian were walking side by side toward the boardroom when a young female Finance Manager boldly stepped into their path.
The woman greeted Valeri briefly out of formality before deliberately shifting all her attention to Rian.
With a teasing smile, she complimented Rian’s shirt and brazenly brushed her fingers against his arm to straighten his tie, even though it was already perfectly neat.
The air in the corridor suddenly froze. Valeri’s eyes sharpened instantly, and her jaw clenched so tightly that the veins in her neck stood out.
Without a word, Valeri stepped forward, closing the distance and roughly separating the woman from her assistant.
“Do I pay you tens of millions of rupiah a month just so you can flirt with my personal assistant during work hours, Lidya?!”
Valeri didn’t shout, but her voice was so cold and razor-sharp that it cut straight to the bone.
The employee instantly went deathly pale, her body trembling violently as she realized her mistake.
“I-I’m sorry, Ms. Valeri. I-I didn’t mean—”
“Shut your mouth and get back to your desk right now,” Valeri cut in viciously.
She then swept her murderous gaze across every employee on the floor, all of whom had abruptly stopped working and lowered their heads in fear.
“Listen to me carefully! If I see you—or anyone else in this building—daring to stare, smile flirtatiously, or, heaven forbid, touch what belongs to me again...
you can clear out your desks and find new jobs this very second. Do you all understand?!” Valeri barked, her voice echoing ominously through the corridor, which had suddenly fallen as silent as a graveyard.
Every employee nodded in terror in unison. Not one dared lift their head.
Valeri then grabbed Rian’s wrist with crushing force, dragged him into her private office, and slammed the teakwood door shut with a bang that rang sharply in his ears.
Inside the soundproof room, Valeri’s breathing quickened. Her chest rose and fell, her eyes blazing with fury mixed with a blind jealousy she could no longer hide behind her mask of professionalism.
Rian could only stand rigidly with his head bowed, too afraid to meet Valeri’s furious eyes.
His heart pounded violently as a horrifying realization struck the depths of his soul. He understood one thing for certain: the longer he stayed here, the more deeply he became trapped in the director’s web of emotions and obsession.
Seeing Valeri’s possessive gaze now, Rian knew... the woman standing before him would never let him go easily, even when that contract finally expired a year from now.
Rian was no longer merely an assistant. He had become Valeri’s exclusive property, entirely and completely.