CHAPTER 3 – The First Night
810 Words
Elena sat on the edge of her bed that night, staring blankly at the ceiling as the city lights blinked faintly through the thin curtains. Her room felt too small, too silent, as though the walls themselves were leaning in, demanding answers she didn’t have.
The contract still echoed in her mind, the sharp lines of ink carved like chains around her wrists. She had signed it, her name sealed in black and white, and now it followed her like a ghost she couldn’t shake.
She dragged her palms down her face, breathing in slowly, then releasing a shaky exhale. She wanted to be strong, but strength had become a heavy costume she no longer knew how to wear. Her father’s voice low, warm, weary slipped into her thoughts again.
Don’t worry about me, mija.
But how could she not? He was the only reason she kept going. Every sacrifice, every long shift, every humiliating compromise it was all for him. And now, she had tethered her life to a man she barely understood, a man who made her heart pound in ways she wasn’t ready to admit.
Her mind betrayed her again, dragging her back to that night in the rain. She could almost feel the water soaking her skin, the icy sting of the storm, and then him. His body against hers, solid and unyielding, blocking the wind as though nothing else mattered. His lips, hot and demanding, pressed to hers. The taste of rain and fire mingled until she couldn’t tell where fear ended and desire began.
She had wanted to hate him for it. But what terrified her most was the truth she hadn’t.
A sudden knock on her door jolted her back into the present. Her heart leapt to her throat.
“Elena?”
She recognized the voice instantly. Mrs. Alvarez, her kind neighbor from across the hall. Elena opened the door to find the older woman balancing a small tray with rice, beans, and a few pieces of chicken.
“You’ve been too quiet all evening,” Mrs. Alvarez said, her eyes narrowing with concern. “I thought you might not have eaten.”
Elena forced a weak smile, though her body felt too heavy to lift it fully. “Thank you… I’ve just been tired.”
Mrs. Alvarez tilted her head, studying her. She had known Elena for years, long enough to recognize when silence meant more than exhaustion. Still, she didn’t press, only handed over the tray.
“Your father would want you strong, querida,” she said softly. “Don’t forget that.”
The words stung more than they soothed. Elena nodded quickly, blinking back the sting in her eyes.
After Mrs. Alvarez left, Elena set the food aside. The aroma filled the room, warm and inviting, but her stomach rebelled. Hunger twisted into nausea. She wrapped her arms around herself and sank onto the bed, unable to eat.
She reached for her phone, scrolling through the gallery. Photos of her father filled the screen his laughter frozen in time, his eyes bright despite the sickness creeping into his body. Each image stabbed at her heart. He was the reason she had signed that contract. The reason she was enduring all of this.
And yet, another face intruded. His face.
Dark eyes. That smile, dangerous and magnetic. His voice, deep enough to unsettle her bones.
Elena groaned and buried her face into her pillow. I hate him. I hate this. But her body betrayed her with every thud of her heart, every memory of the storm, every trace of heat left behind.
“This is just a job,” she whispered fiercely, as though saying it aloud could make it true. “That’s all it is.”
The silence swallowed her words.
She lay back, staring at the ceiling until her eyes grew heavy. At last, exhaustion dragged her into uneasy sleep.
But sleep didn’t bring peace.
The storm returned in her dreams. Rain lashed her skin, soaking her hair, blurring her vision. And he was there again towering, unshaken, pulling her close as though she belonged nowhere else.
“Elena,” his voice whispered against her ear, low and commanding. “You can’t run from this.”
His breath seared her skin. She tried to push him away, but her hands wouldn’t move. The harder she resisted, the tighter his arms wrapped around her.
And worst of all she didn’t want him to let go.
When she woke, her body trembled, her pillow damp with tears she hadn’t realized she shed. Her heart beat like a war drum in her chest.
She sat up slowly, wrapping her arms around her knees. Morning light hadn’t arrived yet, but she already knew sleep wouldn’t return.
The city outside went on as though nothing had changed, but Elena knew the truth. Everything had.
- Writer
