Chapter 5: You Don’t Belong Here
756 Words
I didn’t sleep.
Not really.
Every time I closed my eyes, I saw it again,
Ethan’s face.
His indifference.
Sebastian’s voice.
*Marry me instead.*
I turned onto my side, staring at the ceiling as early light slipped through the curtains.
This wasn’t real.
It couldn’t be.
But the room around me
The size of it.
The silence.
The unfamiliar comfort.
Reminded me that it was.
A soft knock broke the stillness.
I sat up immediately.
“Yes?”
The door opened slightly, and a woman stepped inside, her posture straight, her voice polite.
“Good morning, Miss… Laurent,” she corrected quickly. “Mr. Laurent has requested your presence for breakfast.”
The name felt strange.
Too heavy.
“Thank you,” I said quietly.
She nodded and left.
I sat there for a moment longer before forcing myself out of bed.
The dining room was intimidating.
Too big.
Too quiet.
Too perfect.
Sebastian sat at the head of the table, already dressed in a dark suit. His expression didn’t change as I walked in.
“You’re late.”
I stiffened slightly. “I didn’t know there was a time.”
“There is now.”
Of course.
I walked toward the table, every step feeling too loud in the silence. A plate had already been set for me—perfect, untouched.
I sat down carefully, trying not to feel out of place.
“You didn’t sleep,” he said.
It wasn’t a question.
I glanced up. “That obvious?”
“Yes.”
I let out a small breath. “I wasn’t expecting my life to change overnight.”
“Your life didn’t change,” he replied calmly.
Something in me tightened.
“Yes, it did.”
A pause.
Then
“You just stopped pretending.”
The words hit harder than they should have.
I looked down at my plate.
“I didn’t pretend.”
“You stayed with a man who didn’t deserve you,” he said. “That’s not honesty. That’s denial.”
My grip tightened slightly around the fork.
“You don’t get to decide that.”
His gaze darkened just slightly.
“No,” he said. “But I get to see it.”
Silence settled between us.
Heavy.
Uncomfortable.
I forced myself to take a bite, even though I had no appetite.
“This doesn’t feel real,” I admitted.
“It will.”
Not comforting.
Not gentle.
Just certain.
I looked at him again.
“Why me?”
The question slipped out before I could stop it.
His gaze didn’t move.
“You already asked that.”
“And you didn’t answer.”
A pause.
Longer this time.
Then
“Because I wanted to.”
Frustration flared.
“That’s not an answer.”
“It’s the only one you’re getting.”
My chest tightened.
“You’re asking me to trust you without giving me anything.”
“I’m not asking you to trust me.”
That caught me off guard.
“Then what are you asking?”
“Nothing.”
A beat.
“Trust isn’t required for this to work.”
Something about that made my chest feel tight.
Because he was right.
This wasn’t about trust.
It was about control.
“I don’t belong here,” I said quietly.
The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Sebastian leaned back slightly, watching me.
“You will.”
Simple.
Confident.
Like it was already decided.
“I don’t even fit into your world,” I continued.
His gaze sharpened.
“You don’t need to fit.”
I frowned. “Then what?”
He leaned forward slightly.
“You need to adapt.”
The word sent a chill through me.
Adapt.
Like survival.
“I’m not one of your business deals,” I said.
“No,” he replied.
A pause.
Then
“You’re far more complicated.”
My breath caught slightly.
Before I could respond, his phone buzzed softly on the table.
He glanced at it, his expression shifting just enough to notice.
“Eat,” he said, standing. “I have to take this.”
And just like that
He walked away.
Leaving me alone at the table.
Again.
I looked down at the untouched food in front of me.
At the space he had left behind.
At the silence that felt too big.
“You’ll adapt.”
His words echoed in my mind.
I swallowed hard.
“I don’t want to adapt,” I whispered.
But deep down
I already knew.
I didn’t have a choice.
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