The Billionaire’s Secret Witness

Chapter Seven: Breakfast rebellion

I woke to the quiet hum of the morning. Everything else in the room remained perfect unlike my life. I laid there for a moment, staring at the ceiling, the weight of my predicament settling in my chest. This place, this beautiful mansion, was nothing more than a luxurious cage, and it was inescapable.

Slowly, I pushed myself out of bed and made my way to the bathroom. Undressing without thinking, l let the fabric slip from my skin before stepping into the bath. The warm water wrapped around me like false comfort, seeping into my bones, softening the anxiety I carried. For a moment, I closed my eyes and let it take me easing the tension off my shoulders trying to pretend like none of this was real, like i hadn't just signed my life away to Kaiden, or that my little Alora was gone.

But eventually, the water cooled, and reality waited for me outside the glass doors of the bathroom all over again.

I finally stepped, not rushing. Drying myself slowly before stepping back into the room, my damp hair clung lightly to my back. Then my gaze drifted to the closet. I hesitated before opening it. Inside, rows of dresses greeted me: different fabrics, different styles, all arranged with unsettling precision. I remembered the first morning I'd woken up here, how they had all just appeared. Perfectly fitting like he had known. Like there was nothing about me he didn’t already understand. I carefully traced my fingers over the fabrics until they stopped on one.

A white silk dress. Soft feathers traced the neckline, delicate and light, while subtle embroidery ran along the sides. It was simple. Too beautiful for something I was used to.

I took it anyway and when I slipped it on, it fit just right. The silk rested gently against my golden-brown skin, the colour made me glow in a way I didn’t yet recognize.

I looked in the mirror and paused for a bit. The girl staring back at me looked softer. Quieter in a manner I couldn’t name. Like someone who belonged in all of this but I didn’t. A knock came at the door interrupting my inner self war

“Ma’am, breakfast is…”

“I’m not hungry,” I cut in immediately, irritation rising as I pressed my toes into the rug beneath me. There was a pause then another knock followed, that did it. I went to the door, yanking it open.

“Tell your master I’m not going down there,” I snapped. “I’m not hungry.”

The maid kept her gaze lowered, nodding slightly before stepping back. She didn’t argue or insist she left.

I exhaled sharply as I stepped back into the room forgetting to close the door. I was pissed about everything going wrong with my life and for once I should have the luxury of eating on my own terms shouldn’t I. My stomach twisted as the memory of the previous breakfast crept in. The commands. The control. The way I had been made to sit, to eat, to exist on his terms. If he wanted to drag me down there again, he could try. I wasn't going.

Another knock came and I spun around instantly, already irritated. “I said I don’t want to eat your stupid…”

The words died instantly in my throat because it wasn’t the maid. The man standing at my door didn’t look like the others in this house. There was no tension in his posture, no silent threat in his presence, he looked normal.

“Easy now,” he said, his voice filtering through the room calmly, his blue eyes meet mine. They felt warm and that kind of caught me off guard.

“He sent you, didn’t he?” I rushed out, anger spilling before I could stop myself. “To drag me down there because I refused to obey him?”

The man raised his hands slightly, almost like surrender.

“No one sent me”. His tone was steady and easy.

Then, with the faintest hint of amusement, he added, “You could make toast with how hot your anger is right now.”

I blinked twice, trying to catch myself. That was unexpected? His smile followed, softening his entire face, making him look dangerously charming. It felt somewhat genuine, and just like that, I felt some of my anger evaporate.

“Can I come in?” he asked, gesturing lightly.

I hesitated for a bit then nodded. He stepped inside.

“I’m Ethan,” he said. “Kaiden’s brother.”

The words me like a quiet echo. Brother?

That was when it clicked: That night, the groans I heard. The man I had gone back for. The blue eyes I'd seen in the dark. It was him.

But how?How could he be so different? the man standing in front of me now felt nothing like Kaiden. There was no weight to him, no suffocating authority pressing down on me it was just presence.

As if reading my thoughts, he smiled slightly.

“You’re wondering about the contrast,” he said. “the thing is Kaiden likes control. It’s his thing, but he's a good man”

I let out a short, humorless laugh.

“Oh, I’ve noticed.”

My voice sharpened before I could stop myself. “Oh he sure as well as hell a good man, kidnapped and forced me to marry him whilst keeping me here under subjection as a prisoner and my little sister is out there in the hands of ruthless men who I don't know how she is, yeah he is a good man I know” i rushed out before she I could them the words came fast, messy and unfiltered.

Silence setteled between us

Ethan didn’t interrupt her. Didn’t defend Kaiden immediately. He just leaned back against the wall, as if it wasn't the same heavily guarded mansion that was owned by the most dangerous man of Valrane.

“I didn’t say he was easy to understand,” he said quietly.

I looked away fron him realisation of what I'd just said catching up to me.

“I… didn’t mean to..” I started

“It’s okay, Alyssa.”

My name. The way he said it, it did something to me I wasnt expecting.

“You have every right to be upset,” he said calmly. I swallowed the dry lump that was beginning to form in my throat.

“Did you eat?” he asked.

My jaw tightened. “That seems to be a very important topic in this house.”

Ethan huffed a quiet laugh. “Yeah, Kaiden has a thing about control.”

She looked away, of course he did.

“I’m not hungry.”

“You are,” Ethan said calmly. “You’re just upset right now.” my eyes snapped back to him.

“Don’t…”

“I’m not him,” he cut in, still gentle. “I’m not going to force you.” That made me keep quiet because he didn’t sound like he was trying to win, he was just him.

I released my shoulders trying to steady my voice to be quieter. “Then why are you here?”

Ethan hesitated this time for just a fraction.

“Because you’re not supposed to break this early.”

My chest tightened. “I’m not breaking.”

“I know,” he said. “But you’re close.”

I looked at him like I wanted to deny it like I needed to. But my eyes betrayed me.

Ethan pushed off the wall, walking toward the small table in the room. He picked up a glass of water and held it out to me.

I stared at it then back at him suspiciously

“It’s just water,” he said.

“I know what water is.”

“Good,” he replied lightly. “Then we’re making progress.”

That almost made me smile I l stretched out my hand and slowly took it. Our fingers brushed for the briefest second qnd unlike everything else in this house It didn’t feel dangerous. Ethan stepped back immediately, giving me space again.

“Eat something,” he said. “Even if it’s small.”

I didn’t respond but didn’t refuse either.

He nodded once, like that was enough.

“I’ll be around,” he added. “If you need something just ask for me.”

I frowned. “Why would I trust you?”

Ethan paused at the door. Then he looked back at me.

“You shouldn’t,” he said simply.

“And that’s exactly why you might.”

And just like that he left.

I stood there, glass still in my hand, thoughts tangled in ways I didn’t understand.

For the first time since I'd stepped into this house not everything felt like a cage. And that was dangerous because hope was a dangerous thing for a woman like me.