Chapter 8
1124 Words
The Chains Tighten
LILA'S POV
I slept slightly that night.
James’s words clung to me like a shadow, wrapping around my ribs like chains, squeezing until I couldn’t breathe.
"If you try to deport me, Lila… I will find you."
I lay on a mattress, looking at the ceiling, my coronary heart pounding difficult towards my chest. I had recognized James became possessive. Controlling. Dangerous. But closing night? That changed into the first time I certainly understood what that meant.
James Sinclair didn’t just want control.
He desired ownership.
And I was his.
Whether I favored it or not.
I turned onto my aspect, pressing a hand to my belly. It changed nevertheless too early to sense something, however, I ought to already experience the lifestyles growing inside me.
And for the first time, worry crept in.
Not just for myself.
But for my infant.
If I didn’t play this right, James could in no way let me depart.
I needed to be clever. I had to be cautious.
I needed to faux.
Until I discovered my manner.
BREAKFAST AT THE LION’S DEN
When I sooner or later dragged myself away from bed and made my way downstairs, James was already sitting on the dining table.
He looked unbothered like last night’s threat hadn’t passed off in any respect.
I clenched my fists, forcing my expression into something neutral.
Two ought to play this recreation.
I sat down across from him, attaining a plate of toast. "Morning," I said casually.
James raised an eyebrow, truly amused by my unexpected shift in mindset. "Morning."
Silence stretched among us, thick and suffocating.
I forced myself to smile. "Last night time… I assume we misunderstood each other."
He leaned again in his chair, watching me cautiously. "Is that so?"
I nodded. "I don’t want to fight with you, James. We’re about to have a baby together. We must try to get along."
James smirked, sincerely enjoying some recreation of the concept I had become gambling. "That’s quite the change of heart."
I shrugged, taking a sip of orange juice. "I just don’t see the factor in making things tougher than they want to be."
James tilted his head barely, reading me. "I agree. But meaning you prevent sneaking around."
My breath stuck in my throat.
He knew.
He knew I was planning something.
I pressured my grip on the glass to stay steady. "I don’t recognize what you’re speaking about."
James leaned forward, resting his elbows at the desk. "You went to look at Sophie on the final night. Spent hours speaking to her. You’re now not silly, Lila, however neither am I. Whatever you have been planning? It ends now."
A chill ran down my backbone.
I needed to think rapidly.
I let loose a tender snort, shaking my head. "James, I turned to speaking to my sister about the infant. That’s it. I swear."
For a long moment, he said nothing.
And then
"Good," he murmured. "Because I’d hate to have to remind you what takes place while people betray me."
I swallowed tough, my arms tightening around my fork.
This wasn’t only a warning.
This was a promise.
And I had just made a very risky mistake.
SOPHIE'S SECRET
That night, I drove to Sophie’s condominium, desiring to clear my head.
But the instant I stepped internal, something felt… off.
Sophie changed into sitting on the couch, her cell phone clutched tightly in her arms, her expression.
"Soph?" I frowned, past the door at the back of me. "What’s incorrect?"
She hesitated.
And for the first time in our whole lives, I noticed the fear in her eyes.
"Lila…" She licked her lips, moving uncomfortably. "There’s something I want to inform you about."
A lump formed in my throat. "What is it?"
Sophie exhaled sharply, setting her phone down at the espresso desk. "The attorney I told you about? He’s… he’s connected to a person."
I frowned. "Connected to who?"
Silence.
Then, in a voice barely above a whisper
"Jordan."
The global tilted.
I stumbled lower back barely, shaking my head. "No. No, that’s no longer feasible."
But Sophie wouldn’t meet my gaze.
"He’s the only one who delivered me to the lawyer," she admitted. "I didn’t realize it until recently. He's been supporting me financially for a while now."
My belly dropped.
"Helping you?" I echoed, my voice hole.
Sophie bit her lip, nodding. "I thought he was just a pleasant guy. Someone who cared. But now… I don’t recognize."
I pressed a hand to my temple, my mind spinning.
Jordan.
My ex.
The guy who had broken my heart years in the past.
The guy who had left me for cash and power.
And now?
Now he is concerned about my break-out plan.
My breath came out sharp, choppy. "Soph, you need to stay away from him."
Sophie’s eyes widened. "Why? You assume he’s risky?"
I didn’t recognize it.
But what I did realize was that nothing top ever got here from Jordan Kavinsky.
And if he becomes concerned about my destiny, I become more of a problem than I conceive.
JAMES’S FINAL WARNING
I barely made it domestic that night.
My thoughts were racing, my hands trembling towards the steering wheel.
By the time I pulled into the driveway, James began anticipating me.
Leaning towards the hood of his vehicle, hands crossed, eyes dark and unreadable.
I stepped out, my pulse hammering. "You’re up past due."
James didn’t pass. "Where have you been?"
I forced my expression into something neutral. "I went to look at Sophie. You stated I need to prevent you from sneaking around, right?"
Something shifted in his gaze.
Something dangerous.
"You went to peer Sophie," he repeated. "Not Jordan?"
My breath hitched.
He knew.
Somehow, he knew.
I swallowed tough, forcing myself to hold his stare. "I have nothing to do with Jordan."
James exhaled sharply, pushing off the car. "Lila, you don’t appear to recognize something."
I didn’t flow.
I didn’t blink.
He stepped closer until I could sense his warm temperature, odor the faint hint of whiskey and cologne.
"I am no longer a patient man," he murmured. "I don’t like gambling games. And I no longer like sharing what’s mine."
My heart stopped.
"James "
His palms tilted my chin up, forcing me to look at him.
"Don’t push me, Lila," he said softly. "Because if I discover you’re lying to me?"
His thumb traced alongside my jaw, sluggish, planned.
"You won’t like what takes place next."
My breath came out in a shudder.
And for the first time, because this struggle began, I found out something.
James wasn’t simply my captor.
He turned into my punishment.
And I will never get out alive.
- Writer
