Mine,My Bunny

Chapter 12:The suffocating Cage

The mansion grew quieter with each passing day. Arielle’s presence filled every corner, but the world beyond its walls shrank until Leah felt it press against her ribs.

At first, Arielle’s possessiveness came as gestures of care. She dismissed the house staff, insisting she could tend to Leah herself. Meals arrived only when Arielle fed her. Outings were denied under the guise of “safety.” Even the phone Leah once used to scroll aimlessly was replaced with a sleek device that only dialed one number Arielle’s.

“You don’t need the noise of the world,” Arielle cooed one morning, brushing Leah’s hair with slow strokes. “All you need is me.”

The brush caught in Leah’s tangles, but she stayed still, her body rigid under the gentleness. Arielle kissed the crown of her head, humming as if she hadn’t spoken words that strangled.

Leah told herself it was love. That being chosen, being kept, was proof of how deeply she was wanted. But at night, when Arielle’s arms pinned her close, she found herself staring at the ceiling and wondering if she had disappeared.

The turning point came the afternoon Arielle locked her in the bedroom while meeting a business associate downstairs.

“I won’t be long, my sweetpie,” Arielle said, stroking her cheek. “But I can’t risk anyone stumbling upon you. You’re too precious to leave unattended.”

The key turned. Silence followed.

Leah sat on the edge of the bed, pulse hammering. For the first time, she felt less like a lover and more like a secret. A possession too fragile to show daylight.

That night, when Arielle finally returned, Leah smiled, played the part. But deep inside, something shifted.

And the next evening, when Arielle left for another late meeting, Leah’s body moved before her mind could catch up. She slipped from the bed, heart thrashing against her ribs. She found the servant’s stairwell Arielle had kept hidden but never locked, the one that led to the side garden.

Cool air hit her face like freedom’s first kiss. She almost wept.

Leah ran.....not far, not fast, but far enough to reach the café at the corner, far enough to see him.

Daniel.

He looked up from where he sat waiting, his eyes widening with relief and guilt tangled together. “Leah…”

Her breath caught. For the first time in weeks, she heard her name spoken without ownership, without a leash tied to it.

And despite the danger, despite Arielle’s shadow clawing at her mind, Leah sat across from him, trembling but alive.

“Please,” Daniel said softly. “Tell me everything.”

For the first time in what felt like forever, Leah wasn’t someone’s bunny. She was just Leah.

But only for tonight.