Defiance
1040 Words
Chapter Two
The night was silent, heavy with the kind of quiet that pressed on Aurora’s chest and made her throat ache. She had cried until her eyes stung, until her body felt small and useless against the massive bed that swallowed her.
Her face was buried in the pillow, damp with tears she hated to shed. She hated giving him that victory—even in private. But grief didn’t bend to pride. Losing her father, losing control, losing her freedom—it was too much.
The door clicked.
Aurora stiffened, curling tighter into herself. She didn’t need to look up to know who it was. His presence filled the room before he even stepped inside.
Millano.
His footsteps were slow, measured, deliberate as he entered. When the scent of food reached her—rich, savory—her stomach betrayed her with a soft growl. She pressed her lips together, refusing to move.
“Sit up.”
His voice was low, calm, but it carried that sharp edge that made disobedience dangerous.
Aurora didn’t move.
“I said,” his tone hardened, “sit up.”
She shook her head stubbornly, her face still pressed to the pillow. “I’m not hungry.”
“You haven’t eaten all day.”
“I don’t care.”
The silence stretched, heavy and suffocating. She expected him to leave. She prayed he would. But Millano Cole wasn’t the kind of man who walked away when defied.
The mattress dipped under his weight. She flinched when his hand pressed lightly against her shoulder, coaxing, insistent.
“Sit up, kitten.”
“No!” Her voice cracked, thick with tears. “I don’t want your food, and I don’t want to be here! If you don’t let me go, I’ll—I’ll run so far you’ll never find me!”
The threat hung in the air, trembling, childish, but desperate.
Millano’s hand stilled. Then, slowly, he leaned closer, his breath brushing the shell of her ear.
“You won’t run.” His words were quiet, too quiet. “Because you’re smart enough to know I’ll always find you.”
A shiver ran down her spine.
She opened her mouth to argue, but his grip shifted, firmer now. In one swift, practiced motion, he guided her up until she was sitting against the pillows, her arms folded across her chest, her glare watery but fierce.
“There.” His voice was smooth, annoyingly satisfied. He set the tray across her lap. “Eat.”
Aurora stared at the plate. Pasta, roasted chicken, steamed vegetables. It smelled heavenly. She clenched her fists until her knuckles whitened.
“I told you—”
“You’ll eat.” His gaze locked with hers, dark and unyielding. “You don’t have to like me. You don’t have to talk. But you will eat.”
Her defiance cracked under the weight of his stare. Slowly, reluctantly, she picked up the fork and stabbed at the food, shoving a bite into her mouth.
Millano leaned back, satisfied. “Good girl.”
Her cheeks burned at the words, heat crawling up her neck.
She focused on the food, refusing to look at him. Still, she felt the weight of his presence, the way his gaze lingered. When his hand brushed her wrist briefly—only to steady the tray—her body betrayed her again with a sharp, confusing rush of warmth.
She hated it.
When she was nearly finished, he stood, taking the tray. “The wardrobe is filled with new clothes. After you bathe, change into something comfortable.”
“I don’t need your clothes,” she snapped, her voice hoarse from crying.
He shrugged, unbothered. “Then don’t. But they’re there when you do.”
He moved toward the door, and Aurora, in her fury, blurted, “What about school?”
Millano paused, hand on the doorframe. Slowly, he looked over his shoulder. “You’ll study online.”
Her eyes widened. “What?! No. No, you can’t—”
“I can.” His voice was calm, final. “You’ll continue your education from here.”
“I have friends. I have a life outside—”
“You’ll see your friends.” His tone sharpened. “With guards. Always.”
Aurora threw the blanket off herself and stood, fists clenched at her sides. “You can’t control everything I do!”
He turned fully, his expression unreadable. “I can control what matters. And you matter, kitten.”
The words stole her breath, though his tone was as cool as stone.
“I won’t live like this,” she whispered.
“You already are.”
Her lip trembled with frustration. “I’ll hate you forever.”
Millano’s eyes darkened, but he only inclined his head slightly, as though accepting her threat like a trivial detail. “Then hate me. As long as you’re safe.”
Her throat tightened, fury clashing with the dangerous warmth twisting in her chest.
He set the tray aside and reached for the door again. “I’ll be out for business. Don’t know when I’ll return. Behave while I’m gone.”
Aurora bit her lip. “And my school?”
His gaze softened by a fraction. “Tomorrow, I’ll have everything you need delivered. Laptop, books, equipment. You’ll start immediately.”
Her arms folded, her chin tilted stubbornly. “I still don’t want it.”
His mouth curved into that maddening smirk. “That’s fine. You’ll do it anyway.”
And with that, he opened the door, stepping out like a shadow disappearing into the night.
The lock clicked.
Aurora sat on the edge of the bed, heart hammering, her chest rising and falling too quickly. She hated him. She hated his control, his rules, his dominance.
So why did her skin still tingle where his fingers had brushed her wrist?
Why did her stomach twist not just with anger, but with something she refused to name?
She cursed under her breath, curling back into the pillows.
Millano Cole was a monster. A cage in human form.
And yet… even as her eyes drifted shut, she knew one thing with terrifying certainty.
Monsters had a way of taming the stubborn.
And she was already trembling.
- Writer
