Chapter 5: Unspoken Rules
776 Words
The mansion felt smaller every day. Every hallway, every door, every shadow reminded Victoria Sinclair that freedom had limits she had never faced before. She was careful, but not careful enough not for Leo Martins.
He was always there.
In the mornings, he followed her through the corridors. In the afternoons, he monitored the property and every visitor. In the evenings, his presence was constant, almost suffocating. He didn’t hover, but the silent weight of his watchful eyes was inescapable.
Victoria found herself growing restless. She hated feeling caged. She hated that a man—no, a stranger, no, her bodyguard—could make her feel both safe and trapped at the same time.
“You can’t leave the property,” Leo reminded her over breakfast, his voice flat, even as he carefully studied her expression.
Victoria looked at him, her lips tight. “I can’t?”
“You can try,” he said. “But it won’t work.”
“Why?”
“Because I won’t allow it,” he replied simply, the firmness in his voice leaving no room for argument.
Her fork paused midway to her mouth. He was impossible. Always precise. Always correct. Always infuriating.
She set her plate down. “You’re infuriating, you know that?”
Leo didn’t respond immediately. He just watched her, eyes dark and unreadable, like a storm held at bay.
“You stare too much,” she said after a long pause. “It’s uncomfortable.”
“I notice everything,” he replied. “It’s my job.”
Victoria’s lips curved into a sarcastic smile. “Everything includes me.”
He didn’t flinch. “Especially you.”
The words hit differently this time. She felt them, unspoken weight pressing against her chest. She didn’t look away. She couldn’t. Not entirely.
Later, Victoria attempted to sneak into the garden. She had just told herself she needed fresh air, a breath of freedom that wasn’t measured by windows and locks.
Leo intercepted her before she could reach the terrace.
“You can’t go out there,” he said.
“I just want a moment,” she argued.
“You already have a moment,” he replied. “Now go back inside.”
“I’m not a child!”
“You’re not a child,” he said evenly. “But someone tried to kill you last night. You are under my protection.”
The word protection sounded more like possession. Victoria froze, caught between irritation and a strange, unwelcome fascination.
“Leo,” she said quietly, “do you ever stop thinking about danger?”
His gaze softened for the briefest second. “Only when I know you’re safe.”
Victoria’s chest tightened. She didn’t know if it was fear, anger, or something else entirely.
“I hate this,” she admitted.
“I know,” he said. “But rules exist for a reason.”
They stood there, only a few feet apart, and neither moved. The air between them was heavy, charged with a tension neither wanted to name.
Then, a knock on the door startled them both. It was the butler, informing Victoria that a friend had arrived. Adrian Cole.
Victoria turned toward the door, her guard lifted slightly at the sight of someone she trusted.
Leo’s eyes darkened. “I’ll meet him outside.”
“No,” Victoria said immediately, surprising herself. “He’s my friend.”
Leo hesitated. He didn’t like it. He wasn’t meant to like it. “You don’t know he’s safe,” he said quietly.
“He is,” she insisted. “And you’re not the one controlling my life.”
“I am controlling your safety,” he corrected her. “That is my job. Nothing more.”
Victoria’s gaze locked with his, a silent battle of wills. Neither spoke for a long moment.
Finally, she smiled faintly, the smallest spark of defiance. “Fine. But don’t follow him too closely.”
Leo’s jaw tightened. “I’ll do what’s necessary.”
“And necessary might not be your choice,” she said, stepping past him into the hallway.
For the first time, Leo hesitated. His gaze lingered on her longer than usual, dark and unreadable, as if weighing his next move.
Victoria didn’t look back. She didn’t know if she wanted to. She only knew that every rule Leo set, every command he gave, every silent watchful glance, drew her closer to him, even as she fought against it.
And somewhere deep down, she realized that the danger outside might not have been the only threat.
Leo Martins, with his quiet control and unwavering presence, was a danger of his own.
- Writer
