Owned by the enemy

Living in his Father Shadow

Dax rushed into my bedroom, this time, his expression wasn’t cold, he had panic written all over him.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, sitting up right.

“Get up,” he said.

I didn’t move, I looked at him slowly, from head to toe, measuring the urgency in his stance.

“Mia, I don’t have time for this, get up,” he snapped.

I finally slid off the bed. “What happened?”

He stared at me, jaw tight, clearly struggling to speak. When he finally did, his voice was clipped. “Get dressed, you have thirty minutes.”

“Thirty minutes for what?” I asked.

“My parents are coming,” he said. “And my mother is not someone you want to piss off.”

I folded my arms. “What if I don’t want to come downstairs?”

He turned toward the door. “It wasn’t a request, Mia.” He said leaving me alone.

I obeyed and slipped myself into a soft floral dress, something harmless, something safe and made my way downstairs.

The house felt wrong, it was too quiet, all the female staff were nowhere to be seen.

I found myself outside, standing beside Dax as we waited to greet his parents, suddenly a car pulled into the drive way and the first person to come out was his mother.

“Come give Mama a hug!” she called brightly.

Dax opened his arms, but she walked straight past him and pulled me into a tight embrace.

My eyes widened in shock as I hugged her back, behind her Dax straightened and walked to the car again.

A tall, slender woman dressed in style stepped out, holding a child.

Dax took her hand. “Sister.”

“Brother,” she replied coldly.

The child’s face lit up. “Uncle Dax!”

Dax crouched and scooped him up, spinning him around as the boy laughed uncontrollably.

I froze and I was in shock, “ I had never ever seen this side of him before” I whispered to myself.

Then an older man stepped out of the car, he was in his late fifties, he was cold and cruel.

Dax immediately handed his nephew back to his sister, the warmth I saw in him vanished and the man I saw now was the Dax I knew, the ruthless, powerful king everyone feared.

“Father,” Dax said.

The man scoffed. “Willl you stop fooling around, you are an ungrateful bustard, no wonder I hoped you died, stop acting like a child and help Jemma out.”

The name slammed into my chest — Jemma, the lady that is supposed to take my place.

She stepped out next — elegant, well dressed, at that moment anybody could tell she was from power and from a very powerful family at that.

Dax offered her his hand and all I could do was smile.

“Can we go inside now?” his mother said cheerfully, taking my hand. “We have a lot to discuss.”

She pulled me in, with Dax, Jemma, and the rest of the family walking behind us as we made our way to the Dining Hall.

Dinner was already served, Dax’s father sat at the head of the table, his mother took the seat to his right, dax sat beside his father and I moved to sit next to my husband.

“Excuse me,” Jemma said smoothly, stepping in front of me. “That seat is mine.”

I glared at her. “No, it isn’t. You’re a guest in our home and I would like to sit beside my husband.”

Before Dax could speak, Jemma looked at his father in one kind of way and that look felt wrong in so many ways.

“Mia,” his father said calmly, “Jemma came a long way to visit Dax. Surely you can let her sit there just for today.”

He smiled looking directly at Dax. “We wouldn’t want to upset our guests.”

Dax finally looked at me. “You can take another seat Mia.” He said.

“But—”

“Mia, dear,” his mother interrupted gently. “Come sit with me.”

I hesitated, then sat beside her as Jemma took my place next to Dax, I felt defeated.

The table fell silent, forks scraped plates, no one speaks to each other.

Then his mother smiled. “So, Mia, Dax has told me a lot about you.”

“Oh, he did,” I said, cutting my steak with unnecessary force, forcing a smile while glaring at him.

“Yes. I don’t quite understand how you two have been together for three years and he never once invited me to visit.”

I choked on my steak, Dax half–stood immediately, handing me a glass of water.

“Excuse me,” I said hoarsely, pushing back my chair and rushing out, he dropped the water and followed me.

“Three years?” I snapped once we were alone. “Our marriage isn’t even a month old.”

“I had to tell her something,” he said quietly. “I couldn’t tell her I married you because of a contract, it would ruin her.”

I laughed bitterly. “So you’re not just a ruthless killer but you are also a bloody liar.”

“Watch your tongue,” he said, slamming his hand on the wall beside me. “ You won't like it when I get angry.”

I stared into his eyes, my heart pounding faster, “ You may own me but you can't control me.” I said as I left the room, Dax walking behind me.

His mother worried about me, “ how are you feeling now?” she asked.

I smiled saying “ better now” trying my best to reassure her and taking my seat beside her.

“If Mia finds this life too much,” Jemma said sweetly, “there are always others willing to accept this life.”

“Those others can suck it up because my son is married and he is going to stay married ,” she snapped. “No one here is disposable.”

I smiled at Jemma, letting her know I won this battle because I have Dax mum on my side and the woman was a savage queen.

Dinner ended and I was finally able to slip away, I didn’t hear him behind me until it was too late.

Dax's father's hand closed around my wrist. “You’re prettier up close,” he murmured.

I froze trying to force myself out of his grip, “please stop, ” I whispered.

Before he could say more, the door slammed open, dax entered, removing his father's hand from me.

“Not her.” He said, voice was low and lethal.

His father laughed cruelly and walked out of the room, Dax followed behind him without saying a word to me.

I barely made it back to my room before my legs gave out.

A knock came softly.

His sister stepped in. Without speaking, she handed me something for the shock.

As she turned to leave, I stopped her. “Do you not like me?” I asked.

She walked back and sat beside me. “No it is not that, I’m just protective of my brother.”

I studied her for a moment. “You’re close,” I said.

Luna nodded. “Closer than most people think, Dax tells me things he doesn’t tell anyone else, not everything but enough.” Her voice lowered. “ And he wasn’t always like this, he used to be different but our father had a huge impact on his life.”

My fingers curled into the fabric of the sheets. “Your father tried to touch me.”

Luna didn’t move, she just stared at me.

“But Dax came in time,” I added quickly. “He stopped him.”

A short, dry chuckle escaped her. “Classic dad.”She said.

I looked at her, stunned. “You’re not surprised?”

She shook her head. “No. Why do you think there were no female staff in the house today?”

The words hit harder than I expected.

“Dax lives by a code now,” she continued. “No women here should be present if his father is coming, He doesn’t trust our father and for good reason.” Her eyes met mine. “He lives by a code now to protect others and try to make up for his father's past.”

My chest tightened.

Luna stood up “ I have your back, if you have brother's.” She said while taking her leave and for the first time I felt like I had someone I could trust.

“ I need to talk to Dax.” I said standing up, as I reached the study, I heard voices.

“If you marry Jemma,” his father said, “ I will give you what you’ve been searching for.”

I stepped back, heart pounding, the contract had more clauses than I realised and whatever Dax wanted so badly that he was willing to bend to his father was another piece in a much larger puzzle that I was only beginning to understand.