HIDING IN HIS SHADOW CHAPTER 3: A STRANGER IN SILK
1073 Words
CHAPTER THREE – A Stranger in Silk
“Sometimes, the most dangerous prisons don’t lock you in… they dress you up and make you forget you’re trapped.”
---
Jessy woke up feeling watched.
Not because someone was in the room.
But because she was starting to understand something she didn’t want to accept—
This house never truly slept.
---
A soft knock came at the door.
“Come in,” she said, her voice still heavy with sleep.
Two maids entered.
Not one.
Two.
Jessy frowned immediately.
“What’s this?”
“Get ready,” one of them said. “You’ve been called.”
“Called?” Jessy repeated. “By who?”
The maids exchanged a look.
Then—
“Mr. Kay.”
---
Jessy’s stomach tightened.
“Why?”
“You’ll see.”
She hated that answer.
---
They led her to the bathroom.
Before she could react, clothes were already laid out.
Shoes.
Jewelry.
A dress.
Jessy stared at it.
“No.”
The maids paused.
“I’m not wearing that,” she said firmly.
“You don’t have a choice.”
Jessy crossed her arms. “Watch me.”
Silence.
Then one of them stepped closer.
“You don’t understand yet,” she said quietly. “When he asks for something… it’s not a request.”
Jessy held her ground.
“I don’t care.”
---
Minutes later—
She was dressed.
---
The silk clung to her body in a way that made her uncomfortable.
It wasn’t revealing.
But it was… intentional.
Every detail.
Every line.
Every movement.
She looked at herself in the mirror.
And for a second—
She didn’t recognize the girl staring back.
---
“Done,” one of the maids said.
Jessy said nothing.
---
They led her downstairs again.
Different hallway.
Different doors.
Until they reached one that stood out.
Larger.
Darker.
More guarded.
---
The door opened.
Jessy stepped inside.
And froze.
---
Kay wasn’t alone.
---
A woman stood beside him.
Tall.
Beautiful.
Confident in a way Jessy had never been.
She was dressed like she belonged here.
Like she owned the air she breathed.
Her eyes landed on Jessy—
And immediately judged her.
---
“Well…” the woman said slowly, her lips curving slightly. “So this is her.”
Jessy’s fingers curled slightly at her sides.
She didn’t like her.
Not even a little.
---
Kay said nothing.
He just watched.
---
The woman walked closer to Jessy, circling her slowly.
Jessy stayed still.
But inside—
Her heart was racing.
“She’s… pretty,” the woman admitted. “In a simple way.”
Jessy’s jaw tightened.
“I’m standing right here,” she said.
The woman smiled slightly.
“I know.”
---
Kay finally spoke.
“That’s enough.”
The woman stopped.
But her eyes didn’t leave Jessy.
---
“Jessy,” Kay said.
Her name again.
That same tone.
Jessy looked at him.
“Yes?”
He gestured slightly.
“Come here.”
---
She hesitated.
Just for a second.
Then she walked forward.
---
The woman watched every step.
Like she was measuring something.
---
Jessy stopped in front of Kay.
Too aware of everything.
Her dress.
Her breathing.
Him.
---
Kay looked at her for a moment.
Then—
“You clean up well.”
Jessy blinked.
Was that… a compliment?
She didn’t want it to be.
---
“I didn’t ask to be dressed like this,” she said.
“I didn’t ask if you did.”
Her lips pressed together.
---
The woman laughed softly.
“She’s got a mouth,” she said.
Kay didn’t respond.
---
“Who is she?” Jessy asked suddenly.
Both of them looked at her.
The woman raised a brow.
“You don’t know?”
Jessy shook her head.
---
“I’m Elena,” she said, her voice smooth. “Kay’s past.”
Jessy felt something twist in her chest.
Past.
That meant—
---
“Present visits sometimes,” Elena added with a small smile.
Jessy looked at Kay.
He didn’t deny it.
---
Something about that bothered her more than it should.
And she didn’t like that.
---
“Why am I here?” Jessy asked, turning back to Kay.
He leaned back slightly.
“You’re coming with me.”
Her brows pulled together.
“Where?”
“A meeting.”
Jessy stared at him.
“I’m not part of your business.”
“You are today.”
---
Elena tilted her head.
“Interesting,” she murmured.
Jessy ignored her.
“I’m not going anywhere with you.”
Kay’s eyes darkened slightly.
“You don’t get to choose that.”
---
Jessy stepped closer.
Her voice lowered.
“I’m not your showpiece.”
Silence.
Then—
Kay stood.
---
The room shifted instantly.
---
He stepped toward her.
Close.
Very close.
Jessy’s breath caught.
---
“You’re not a showpiece,” he said quietly.
“Then what am I?”
A pause.
Then—
“You’re with me.”
---
Her heart skipped.
She hated that it did.
---
Elena watched them both carefully.
Something unreadable in her eyes now.
---
“Don’t be late,” Kay said, stepping past Jessy.
“Ten minutes.”
---
Jessy turned slightly as he walked away.
Her mind spinning.
---
Elena stepped closer again.
But this time—
Her tone changed.
Less playful.
More warning.
---
“Be careful,” she said softly.
Jessy frowned.
“Of what?”
Elena smiled.
“Of thinking you’re different.”
---
Jessy’s eyes hardened.
“I don’t think that.”
Elena leaned in slightly.
“Good,” she whispered.
“Because girls like you…”
A pause.
“…don’t last long.”
---
Jessy didn’t respond.
She couldn’t.
Because something about the way she said it—
Felt true.
---
When Elena left, Jessy stood there alone.
Again.
---
She looked down at the silk dress.
At the version of herself she didn’t choose.
---
“A meeting…” she whispered.
---
She didn’t belong there.
She didn’t belong in his world.
She didn’t belong in his shadow.
---
But she was going anyway.
---
And deep down—
She knew something was about to change.
---
Not slowly.
Not gently.
---
But all at once.
---
“The moment you step into someone else’s world… you stop living by your own rules.”
- Writer
