CHAPTER 13: A CRACK IN THE ARMOR
259 Words
The silence in the car was suffocating.
Ava watched Rhys tight grip on the steering wheel, his knuckles turning white.
She knew that look. Anger. Restraint. A battle he wasn’t letting her see.
She refused to look away. Not this time.
“Are you going to tell me what that was about?”
Rhys didn’t answer immediately.
Then, his voice came cold and sharp.
“Drop it, Ava.”
Her heart pounded. “I won’t.”
His grip on the wheel tightened. “Don’t push me.”
Ava leaned forward. “Why? Because I might actually find out what you’re so afraid of?”
The car jerked to a stop.
Ava gasped as Rhys slammed the brakes, pulling over onto the empty roadside.
He turned to her, his eyes burning with frustration.
“You think you want the truth?”
His voice was low, dangerous. “Fine.”
Ava’s breath caught.
“Your grandfather owed a debt,” Rhys said, “A debt that couldn’t be repaid with money.”
She felt cold.
“And you—“
he exhaled sharply, his gaze flickering with something unreadable. “You were the payment.”
The words hit her like a slap.
Ava stared at him, her chest tightening.
“So I was just.. sold off?”
Rhys jaw clenched. His next words came quieter. “It was never supposed to be you.”
Ava’s heart stopped.
“Then who was it supposed to be?”
Rhys didn’t answer.
And that silence was more terrifying than anything he could have said.
- Writer
