CHAPTER 13:EVERYONE KNOWS ABOUT HER NOW
1102 Words
“Now everyone knows who you belong to.”
Elara couldn’t breathe.
The message glowed brightly against her phone screen while fear tightened painfully around her chest.
Belong to.
The wording alone felt dangerous.
Possessive.
Threatening.
And somehow deeply personal.
The warehouse had fallen completely silent again except for the sound of the news broadcast still playing in the background.
Anik took the phone from her hand slowly.
The second he read the message—
Something cold settled into his expression.
Not anger.
Not shock.
Recognition.
Like he knew exactly who would send something like this.
That terrified her instantly.
“Who is it?” she whispered.
Anik didn’t answer immediately.
Wrong sign.
Very wrong sign.
Instead, he handed the phone to one of the guards nearby.
“Trace everything.”
“Yes, sir.”
The guard disappeared immediately.
Elara watched Anik carefully.
“You know who’s behind this.”
Silence.
Then finally—
“I know the kind of people behind this.”
That wasn’t an answer.
And judging by the tension in his jaw—
He knew it.
“Elara,” he said carefully, “you need to stay calm.”
A weak laugh escaped her before she could stop it.
“Calm?”
Her voice cracked slightly.
“My face is all over the news. People are dead. My brother tried to shoot me.”
Emotion tightened violently inside her chest.
“And somehow this keeps getting worse every five minutes.”
Anik looked at her silently.
Then stepped closer.
“You’re safe here.”
The words should have comforted her.
Instead they only made her realize something terrifying.
She believed him.
Completely.
Even after everything.
Even after discovering he wasn’t who she thought he was.
Even after blood and violence and lies—
Part of her still felt safest standing near him.
That realization felt catastrophic.
Luca suddenly laughed from across the warehouse where guards still restrained him.
“She trusts you.”
The bitterness in his voice echoed sharply.
Anik didn’t even look at him.
Big mistake.
Because Luca kept talking.
“You know what’s pathetic?” he continued coldly.
“She still looks at you like you’re going to save her.”
Elara flinched slightly.
Because Luca was right.
God help her—
He was right.
Anik finally turned toward him slowly.
And the look in his eyes made every guard nearby tense instantly.
“You’ve said enough.”
Luca smirked faintly.
“Or what?”
Silence.
Terrible silence.
Because suddenly the atmosphere around Anik changed again.
Darker.
More dangerous.
The version of him from the penthouse.
The version built for violence.
“You really want to test me tonight?” Anik asked quietly.
Even Luca hesitated slightly at the tone.
That alone scared Elara.
Because if her brother—someone clearly involved in dangerous things himself—looked cautious around Anik…
Then what exactly was Anik capable of?
The thought sent chills through her.
Anik looked away from Luca first.
Like killing him was becoming tempting.
Instead he focused back on Elara immediately.
Always her.
“Come upstairs.”
His voice softened slightly near the end.
Not much.
Just enough for her to notice.
And somehow that tiny shift affected her far too much.
Elara followed him upstairs through the hidden warehouse corridors while guards remained below with Luca.
Neither spoke at first.
The silence between them felt heavy now.
Different from before.
Not tension.
Not attraction.
Something more fragile.
Finally, Elara stopped walking.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
Anik froze several feet ahead of her.
Rain hammered softly against distant windows somewhere deeper inside the building.
He turned slowly.
“Because I knew this would happen.”
“What would happen?”
“That look.”
Her heartbeat stumbled.
“What look?”
“The one where you’re trying to decide if you should be afraid of me.”
Pain flickered briefly across his face before disappearing again.
Elara swallowed hard.
“I don’t know what I’m supposed to think anymore.”
The honesty in her voice cracked something inside him instantly.
She saw it.
God, she saw it.
Anik stepped toward her slowly.
“No,” he said quietly.
“You’re angry. Confused. Hurt.”
Another step closer.
“But don’t stand there and tell me you’re afraid of me.”
The certainty in his tone shook her.
Because somehow—
Despite everything—
He still believed she trusted him.
And maybe the worst part was…
She did.
Anik stopped directly in front of her now.
Close enough to feel the warmth radiating from him again.
Close enough to notice how pale he’d become from blood loss.
“Elara.”
Her pulse quickened immediately.
“You should let someone treat your wound.”
“I will.”
Lie.
“You’re still bleeding.”
“And you’re avoiding the real conversation.”
Silence.
Because he was right.
She was avoiding it.
Avoiding the fact that no matter how much tonight changed—
The pull between them remained.
Strong.
Dangerous.
Impossible.
Anik lifted one hand slowly toward her face.
Then stopped himself halfway.
Like he suddenly remembered he shouldn’t touch her anymore.
That tiny hesitation hurt more than it should have.
“Elara…”
His voice sounded rough again.
Tired.
“If you want to walk away from this now…”
The look in his eyes darkened painfully.
“…I won’t stop you.”
The words shattered something inside her chest.
Because he meant them.
Even if it destroyed him—
He would let her leave.
That realization made her heartbeat ache violently.
Elara looked at him carefully.
At the exhaustion hidden beneath his composure.
At the restraint.
At the way he still kept watching her like losing her would ruin him.
Then quietly—
She asked the one question capable of destroying both of them.
“If I leave…”
Her voice softened dangerously.
“…would you really let me go?”
Silence filled the hallway instantly.
Heavy.
Breathless.
Anik stared at her for several long seconds.
Then finally—
A dark, broken smile touched his mouth.
“No.”
The confession wrapped around her like fire.
His eyes lowered briefly to her lips again.
And suddenly the tension returned all at once.
Hotter than before.
Because now there were no illusions left between them.
No pretending.
No distance.
Only truth.
Dangerous truth.
Anik stepped closer.
Close enough that her breathing turned uneven immediately.
“You should hate me,” he whispered.
Elara’s pulse crashed violently.
“But you don’t,” he continued softly.
And the terrifying part?
He sounded almost hopeful.
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