CHAPTER SIX: THE MASKED MAN RETURNS
1065 Words
Adrian stood in his private security room, arms crossed, jaw tight, watching the footage again.
Roxy on her knees.
Dante smirking in the background.
Adrian’s entire body burned with rage.
He had married a woman he couldn’t control.
Slept with her.
Impregnated her.
Loved her?
Now he was being blackmailed by the one man from her past who had called himself “family.”
This wasn’t just betrayal.
It was war.
Meanwhile, Roxy…
Roxy stared into the bathroom mirror, makeup untouched, lips pale. Her reflection didn’t even look like her anymore.
She wasn’t the seductress. The wild vixen. The mistress of chaos.
She was tired. Pregnant. Trapped.
And worse—tempted.
The last two nights she had dreamed of the masked room. Not the night with Adrian.
But before that.
The man who touched her without needing words.
Who kissed her like he knew her.
And she remembered something—
something she hadn’t thought of in months.
A scar.
Near the base of the masked man’s wrist. A faded burn.
Adrian didn’t have one.
Which meant…
It hadn’t always been him.
Back at The Den…
She arrived in secret.
She didn’t text. Didn’t call. Just showed up in black leather and a hooded cloak.
Security recognized her instantly.
“This way, Miss Vale,” the doorman said, eyes avoiding hers.
The music was louder tonight. The air thick with desire. The walls pulsed with moans and shadows.
She stepped into Room 3—her usual.
Heart pounding.
She waited.
And then…
he entered.
Not Adrian.
Taller.
Wider shoulders.
The same black matte mask.
But the second he touched her wrist—
She knew.
It was him.
The original one.
The one from before.
Her first masked lover.
“You came back,” he whispered.
Her breath caught.
“I needed to know who you were.”
He didn’t answer.
He kissed her.
Slow. Devouring. Familiar.
His fingers traced her hips, then stopped at her stomach.
“You’re showing.”
“I’m married now.”
He froze.
“To the man I accidentally slept with in your place.”
Still, silence.
“You knew,” she whispered. “Didn’t you?”
“I knew someone had taken my mask and entered my room that night,” he murmured. “I didn’t know it was him.”
“Who are you?”
He leaned in.
“Someone who’s watched you for a very long time.”
Then he placed a small object in her hand.
A ring.
Her wedding ring.
The one Adrian had removed the night he found out the truth.
“How did you—?”
The masked man kissed her once more and disappeared into the shadows.
Back at the Mansion
Dante was in the pool, shirtless, sipping champagne like he owned the world.
Adrian watched from the patio.
“You know,” Dante said casually, “I used to kiss that mouth before you ever touched her.”
Adrian didn’t respond.
“Roxy’s just like me,” Dante added. “Wild. Addicted to chaos. And you? You’re just her ticket to a softer prison.”
Adrian took a step forward.
And smashed the champagne bottle against Dante’s head.
Roxy Returns
She found Dante being stitched by the in-house doctor.
“You look like s**t,” she said.
He laughed through blood.
“Your husband has a temper. Cute.”
“Why are you really here?”
Dante smiled slowly. “You think I want money?”
“You always want money.”
He leaned close.
“This time, I want him.”
“What?”
“I want you to destroy Adrian from the inside. Slowly. Emotionally. I want him to beg for you while choking on his pride.”
Roxy blinked.
“Why?”
“Because he once destroyed someone I loved.”
She froze.
“You had someone you—?”
He cut her off.
“He did to me what he’s doing to you now.”
And for the first time, she saw something behind Dante’s smirk.
Hurt.
Adrian’s Breaking Point
Adrian watched her from the doorway.
She was sitting on the edge of the bed, barefoot, brushing her hair.
So simple.
So normal.
It hurt.
“I saw you leave,” he said.
She turned.
“Saw who you went to.”
Her chest tightened.
“You have a pattern, Roxy. Whenever things get too real—you run to someone else’s bed.”
“I didn’t sleep with him.”
“Yet.”
He walked closer.
Then stopped.
“You’re carrying my child. And yet, I still don’t know if it’s even mine.”
“You could take a test,” she said coldly.
“DNA tests only confirm biology. Not truth.”
“What does that even mean?”
“It means you can give me a child. But you’ll never give me peace.”
She Lashes Out
Roxy stood, voice trembling. “Then why the hell did you marry me?”
“Because I thought owning you would stop me from wanting you.”
Silence.
Pain.
Then: “And now?”
Adrian stared at her.
“I want you more than ever.”
“But you hate me.”
He nodded. “Yes. Every time I look at you… I feel it in my teeth.”
She stepped closer.
“So kiss me.”
“What?”
“If you hate me—kiss me like you do. Show me how much.”
He grabbed her.
Crushed her lips with his.
It was brutal. Desperate. A war of tongues and breath and fingers digging into skin.
They crashed onto the bed.
Her robe torn open.
His shirt ripped apart.
His mouth traced her belly, her breasts, her neck.
But just before he entered her—
She whispered, “Do you think it’s yours?”
He froze.
Everything stopped.
And in that moment, something in him cracked.
He stood.
Walked away.
Didn’t look back.
Later That Night
Roxy sat alone in the dark, wrapped in the same torn robe.
And her phone lit up.
Unknown Number:
“You’re not safe. He’s not the only one watching you.”
Attached:
A picture of her standing in The Den hallway.
Taken from above.
Security camera?
But it wasn’t Adrian’s system.
It was someone else’s.
Someone who had been following her long before any of this began.
- Writer
