Mine,My Bunny

Chapter 11:Silk And Shackles

The morning light poured in soft and golden, but Leah’s eyes were swollen, her head heavy from the night before. She stirred beneath the silken sheets, her body aching where rope and leather had kissed her skin too roughly. Arielle lay beside her, watching, awake and calm as if she hadn’t unleashed storm and fire just hours ago.

“My little bunny,” Arielle murmured, her voice velvet again, gentle enough to almost make Leah believe last night hadn’t happened. “You’re awake.”

Leah swallowed, throat raw. She expected coldness, suspicion,but Arielle’s hand only smoothed across her cheek.

“I was cruel,” Arielle whispered, though her tone carried no apology, only ownership. “But it’s only because the thought of losing you…” She trailed off, tightening her hold. “…it drives me mad.”

" I never even want to think of such possibilities......you leaving me......"

Before Leah could respond, Arielle rose from the bed and disappeared, returning with boxes tied in ribbons......gifts laid one by one on the sheets. Jewelry that glittered in the light, delicate dresses in pastel silk, a small collar lined with velvet, too beautiful and too sharp a reminder of what she was.

“These,” Arielle said, opening the last box, “are for you. For my sweetpie. For my bunny who belongs to me alone.”

Leah’s fingers trembled as she touched the silk. It was beautiful, achingly so.....but each gift felt like another chain, satin-wrapped shackles binding her tighter to Arielle’s world.

“You don’t need anyone else,” Arielle continued, lifting a necklace and fastening it around Leah’s neck. Her lips brushed the hollow of Leah’s throat, lingering. “I’ll give you everything. I’ll be everything. That man from yesterday......forget him. He’s nothing compared to what I can give.”

Leah’s heart twisted. She wanted to argue, to explain, to tell Arielle that Daniel’s visit meant nothing, that her heart hadn’t wavered. But Arielle’s words pressed in, smothering her own voice.

Instead, Leah nodded, whispering, “Yes, Arielle.”

The approval in Arielle’s eyes was blinding. She pulled Leah into her lap, stroking her hair, feeding her bits of fruit as if she were fragile, treasured. The contrast between last night’s punishment and today’s indulgence blurred until Leah couldn’t tell where cruelty ended and love began.

Every soft kiss. Every gift. Every touch. They stitched her tighter to Arielle, until Leah began to fear what she would be without it.

Later, when Arielle stepped out to take a call, Leah touched the new necklace around her throat, tears burning at her eyes. The jewels sparkled like stars.....but the weight of them was heavier than chains.

She whispered to herself, so soft it vanished into the air:

“Why does love feel like a cage?”

But when Arielle returned, Leah smiled through the ache, slipping back into her role. Because no matter how heavy the cage grew… she couldn’t imagine living outside it anymore.