Chapter Five – A Dangerous Bargain
1042 Words
I was trapped.
Not by walls or locked doors.
But by the simple fact that Damien Blackwood held all the power.
And worse?
I had willingly given it to him.
The Penthouse That Feels Like a Cage
I spent the next hour pacing in my new room, my mind spinning.
The space was breathtaking, a king-sized bed with velvet sheets, a closet full of designer clothes, and a private balcony overlooking the city. But no amount of luxury could disguise what this really was.
A cage.
I tried to tell myself I still had control. That I wasn’t owned by him.
But the contract said otherwise.
And so did Damien.
The moment I had taken the key to this penthouse, something between us had shifted.
I wasn’t just an employee anymore.
I was his.
An Invitation That Feels Like a Demand
A knock at the door pulled me from my thoughts.
I turned, expecting to see the security guard from before.
But instead, a stunning woman stood in the doorway.
Tall. Poised. The kind of beauty that could bring a man to his knees.
Her dark hair was styled into a sleek bun, and her green dress clung to her like it was made for her.
For a second, I thought she was another one of Damien’s… interests.
But then she smirked.
“Eleanor Blackwood,” she said smoothly. “Damien’s sister.”
I blinked. “His sister?”
She arched a perfectly sculpted brow. “Surprised?”
I didn’t know what to say.
The thought of Damien Blackwood having a sibling, someone who might actually understand him, seemed impossible.
But before I could wrap my head around it, she handed me a sleek black box.
“Wear this,” she said. “Dinner is in one hour.”
I stared at her. “Dinner?”
She smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes.
“Damien expects you.”
And just like that, she turned on her heel and disappeared down the hall.
Dressed Like Someone I’m Not
The dress inside the box was unlike anything I’d ever owned.
Deep red. Satin. Off-the-shoulder. A slit that ran dangerously high.
I should have hated it. Should have refused to wear something that made me feel like I was playing a role in a game I didn’t understand.
But as I stood in front of the mirror, the woman staring back at me was… different.
She wasn’t a struggling waitress barely making rent.
She was someone else.
Someone Damien Blackwood might actually look twice at.
And that realization made my skin prickle.
The Dinner I Never Wanted
When I stepped into the dining room, Damien was already there.
Seated at the head of a long, candlelit table, dressed in another perfectly tailored black suit.
He looked up at me.
And just like the first night I met him, his gaze lingered.
Slow. Calculated. Dangerous.
Something inside my stomach twisted.
“I see Eleanor chose well,” he murmured.
I folded my arms. “Did she dress all your assistants?”
His lips curved slightly. “Only the ones who intrigue me.”
Heat crept up my neck, but I refused to let him see it.
I sat across from him, gripping the edge of the table as he poured me a glass of red wine.
The same wine I had spilled on him that first night.
I narrowed my eyes. “Is this some kind of joke?”
Damien smirked. “Would it bother you if it was?”
I clenched my jaw. Bastard.
The Devil’s Proposition
Dinner passed in a tense silence.
I wasn’t sure why Damien had invited me here, what game he was playing.
But then, just as I placed my wine glass down, he finally spoke.
“Tell me, Sophia,” he said. “Why did you stay?”
I froze.
My pulse stumbled.
He leaned forward, his elbows resting against the table. “You had a choice. You could have walked away.”
My throat tightened.
I had stayed for Ryan.
For my brother, who was in more trouble than he realized.
For the money I desperately needed.
But Damien was watching me like he already knew the truth.
“You didn’t stay because of the contract,” he murmured. “You stayed because you’re curious.”
I let out a breathless laugh. “Curious?”
His gaze dropped to my lips.
“You want to know what it’s like to surrender to someone who doesn’t break.”
The air between us crackled.
I gripped my wine glass tighter. “You think I want to surrender?”
Damien smirked. “I think you’re closer than you realize.”
My pulse pounded.
Because the worst part?
Somewhere deep inside me… he wasn’t wrong.
The Intrusion That Shatters Everything
But before I could answer, before I could even process what was happening between us,
A loud crash shattered the silence.
I flinched.
Damien’s entire demeanor shifted.
The amusement vanished. The heat in his gaze turned to ice.
I turned just in time to see the front doors of the penthouse slam open.
Footsteps.
Fast. Heavy. Furious.
And then,
A man stormed inside.
I barely had time to react before his voice cut through the air like a knife.
“Where the hell is she?”
I froze.
My blood ran cold.
No.
No, no, no.
It couldn’t be.
But then the man’s gaze landed on me.
And my entire world came crashing down.
Ryan.
My brother.
His eyes were wild, his clothes wrinkled, his jaw tight with rage.
And before I could even get a word out,
His fists slammed against the table.
“You need to get the hell away from him, Sophia,” he spat. “Now.”
I stared at him, stunned.
And then, just as my pulse began to race,
Damien slowly rose to his feet.
Calm. Unshaken. Dangerous.
And with a voice so cold it sent a chill through me, he said,
“You just made a very big mistake.”
I sucked in a breath.
Because I knew, at that moment…
This wasn’t just a dinner anymore.
This was a war.
And I was trapped between two men who would do anything to win.
- Writer
