Chapter 5 : The Devil You Dance With
545 Words
The rain had started just as they left the Moretti estate. It wasn’t the gentle kind that whispered against windows. It was heavy and loud like it was trying to wash something away.
Amira sat beside Lucien in the back seat of the black car, her dress clinging to her skin from the sudden downpour. Neither of them spoke. The silence between them had grown its own roots. Deep. Tangled. Unspoken things filling every inch of space.
She stared out the window, watching the water blur the world. For a moment, she wished she could step out and disappear in it. Just vanish into the storm.
Lucien didn’t look at her. He never really did. Not like someone looking at a person. More like a soldier scanning a threat. Or a man keeping watch on a locked cage.
When they got back to the mansion, she went straight to the bedroom. Her hands were cold. Her mind even colder.
She didn’t wait for him.
Inside, she peeled off the wet dress and wrapped herself in a towel. She stood by the window, heart pacing, thoughts racing. Every moment in that house earlier had felt like a test. And somehow she passed, but she didn’t know how long she could keep doing it.
Behind her, the door opened. She didn’t turn.
Lucien’s voice came low. You impressed my father
That was never my goal
You played the part well
And what part was that she asked turning to face him now
The obedient wife the weak link
No he said stepping closer the survivor
She didn’t move as he stood before her dripping rain onto the floor but still so calm like the storm outside had nothing on the one between them
I don’t need your praise
I’m not offering it. I’m warning you
About what
The next time we’re at the table you’ll be asked about loyalty. They won’t be testing your story. They’ll be testing your soul
I already gave them my name isn’t that enough
He stepped even closer eyes locked on hers voice barely above a whisper
They don’t care about your name. They want to know if you’ll bleed for this family. Or bleed trying to run
She looked at him and for once didn’t flinch. I don’t bleed easy
Lucien’s expression didn’t change but something shifted. Maybe in the way his shoulders relaxed just a little. Or maybe it was the way he looked at her like she’d surprised him again
You’re not what I expected Amira
Good. You don’t get to expect anything from me
They stood there in silence. Not soft. Not warm. But honest
When he finally left the room she didn’t follow. She sat on the edge of the bed towel wrapped tight around her and stared at the door long after he was gone
She didn’t want this life. She didn’t ask for it. But if she was going to be caged she’d learn every inch of the walls around her
Because if she ever found a way out
She wouldn’t run
She’d burn everything behind her
And maybe just maybe he’d be the first to fall in the fire
She laid back slowly eyes open heart steady
This wasn’t survival anymore
This was war.
- Writer
