Chapter4: SecretsBehindLockedDoors
1232 Words
(Aurora’s POV)
The Forbidden Room
I woke up to silence. The space beside me in the huge bed was empty, the sheets cold.
Zane was gone.
Not that it surprised me. He wasn’t the kind of man to sleep beside someone, not even his wife.
I sat up, stretching. The dim glow of the city lights seeped through the tall windows, sending long shadows across the apartment. The place felt empty.
Something about that made my chest tighten.
I stood, wrapping the silk robe around myself, and stepped into the hallway.
I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. Maybe proof that I wasn’t alone in this marriage.
But then, I noticed something odd.
Zane’s study door, usually locked, was slightly open.
I paused.
Zane was the sort of guy who kept secrets. I had felt it from the minute I met him, experienced it in the way he evaded inquiries and controlled discussions.
And yet…
The door was open.
An invitation? A mistake?
I swallowed hard and stepped inside.
The air smelled like wood and expensive perfume. A huge wooden desk sat in the middle, clean and tidy, save for a single door left slightly ajar.
I knew I should turn back.
But something about that half-open drawer spoke to me.
Carefully, I grabbed for it and pushed it open.
Inside were neatly arranged files. Thick, hefty boxes stuffed with papers.
But what made my blood run cold... Were the pictures.
Dozens of them. And not just any images or Pictures of my family.
My mother is outside the hospital. My younger brother is in school. My father—before he died.
Each picture was dated and tagged as if someone had been watching us for years.
My hands shook as I flicked through them. Some of these were from long before I met Zane.
Why did he have these?
What did he know about my family?
Before I could explore deeper…The air moved.
A power. A darkness hovered over me.
The door banged shut.
I swung around, my heart rising to my throat.
Zane stood there, his tall frame blocking the only exit. His gray eyes burned with something dark, something dangerous.
I had seen him cold before. Ruthless.
But this?
This was something else.
Something scary.
Caught in the Lion’s Den, Zane moved toward me, each stride slow, deliberate.
I took a hesitant breath. "Zane, I…"
"Never," he cut me off, voice low and menacing, "touch my things again."
I swallowed, my fingers folding on the folder. "Why do you have these?"
He didn’t respond.
Instead, he grabbed for the folder, but I snatched it back, my pulse pounding. "You knew about my family before we ever met. You’ve been monitoring us—why?"
His jaw ticked. "Drop it, Aurora."
"No!" I stepped back, my spine smacking the desk. "I deserve to know!"
Something flashed in his gaze…anger, frustration, something unreadable.
Then, in one swift move, he grabbed my wrist and pulled me flush against him.
His body was warm, hard, and unyielding. His hold was strong but not painful, his breath blowing over my cheeks.
"You’re playing with fire," he warned, his voice quieter now, more threatening.
I glanced up at him, my heart pounding. "Then burn me."
His eyes darkened.
The tension between us increased, a fight neither of us wanted to recognize.
For a moment, I thought he would kiss me.
For a moment, I wanted him to.
But instead, he yanked the folder from my hands and tossed it onto the desk.
"Stay out of my business, Aurora," he said, freeing me. "Or you’ll regret it."
His words sent a shiver down my spine, but I forced myself to stand tall. "Is that a threat?"
His mouth curled into something that wasn’t quite a smile. "No, sweetheart." His voice was silk and steel. "It’s a promise."
My stomach twisted.
I didn’t know who my husband was.
But I was beginning to realize....I may not like the answer.
The Nightmare That Felt Real
The stress from earlier was still stuck to my skin like a second layer. No matter how many times I turned in bed, I couldn’t escape the feeling that something was… odd.
Zane’s warning stayed in my head.
"Stay out of my business, Aurora. Or you’ll regret it."
I had spent the rest of the evening reliving the moment in his office, the fire in his eyes when he grabbed me, the way he had brought me close.
The way his presence both scared me and made my heart race.
I didn’t comprehend him.
Didn’t understand why he had files on my family.
Didn’t understand why he married me.
And worst of all, I didn’t understand the way my body failed me whenever he was near.
I groaned and pulled the covers over my head. I just needed sleep.
I just needed to forget.
At first, the dream was silence.
Too silence.
I was in the middle of a dark room Zane’s study. The air felt heavy, smothering, pushing in on me from all sides.
Then, I felt it.
A power.
I turned, my heart pounding, and there he was.
Zane. But he wasn’t the Zane I knew. His keen gray eyes shone like molten silver in the darkness, his face half-hidden in shadows. The air surrounding him was electric, charged with something strange.
He took a step closer, his movements deliberate, planned.
My body froze, unable to run, unable to move.
“Aurora,” he mumbled, his voice deeper than normal, almost… inhuman.
I swallowed hard. "Zane?"
He c****d his head, a grin ghosting across his lips. But it wasn’t warm. It wasn’t reassuring.
It was a predator’s smile.
His hand rose, fingers tracing the air as if reaching for me, but everything within me shouted not to let him touch me.
I tried to step back, but my feet wouldn’t move.
“You shouldn’t have gone into my study,” he mumbled.
I gasped as the blackness surrounding us increased, pushing in like a live thing.
Zane took another step, his eyes shining even brighter.
"Aurora," he mumbled again, but this time, his voice wasn’t his own.
It was something dark. Twisted.
Something… not human. Then, he lunged.
I startled up with a muffled scream, my chest heaving.
The room was dark, but my skin burned like I had been touched by something real.
It was simply a dream.
Just a nightmare.
But suddenly, my breath caught.
Because at the edge of my bed, standing in the shadows….
Was Zane.
His tall form was barely visible, but I could feel him watching me.
I swallowed, my throat dry. "Zane?"
Silence.
My pulse beat against my ribs. I could still see the sparkling eyes from my nightmare, still feel the cold fear curling around my spine.
He didn’t move.
Didn’t speak.
He simply stood there.
Watching. The air between us seemed too heavy, too thick. Then, eventually, his voice broke the quiet.
"Go back to sleep, Aurora."
His tone was unclear, yet something about it sent a shudder down my spine.
And before I could say another word...He turned and went into t
he darkness.
I laid there, my heart beating, my skin tingly.
I wanted to think it was simply a dream.
But deep inside, I knew the truth.
Zane Kingston was hiding something.
And whatever it was… it wasn’t human.
- Writer
