Chapter 3
649 Words
🔥 Chapter 3 — Welcome to My World
The car stopped.
Elena didn’t move at first.
Her body was stiff, her mind still trying to process everything that had happened.
When Xander opened the door, cold air rushed in.
“Get out,” he said simply.
Elena hesitated.
“This is kidnapping,” she whispered.
Xander didn’t respond.
He only stepped aside.
And waited.
That silence forced her out.
Her legs trembled as she stepped onto wet stone ground.
The moment she looked up—
Her breath caught.
A massive estate stood in front of her.
Tall gates.
Dark architecture.
Security everywhere.
Not a house.
A fortress.
“This… is where you live?” she asked, voice shaking.
Xander walked past her.
“You don’t live here,” he said.
She turned sharply.
“Then why am I here?!”
He stopped walking.
Slowly turned.
And said:
“Because I said so.”
Elena’s anger rose instantly.
“You can’t just take me and—”
“You’re alive because I chose it,” he interrupted.
Silence hit her again.
A guard approached and opened the gate.
Xander walked inside.
And Elena was forced to follow.
🏰 The doors closed behind her.
Heavy.
Final.
Elena turned back immediately.
“They’re locked,” she whispered.
“Yes,” Xander replied.
Her chest tightened.
“Am I a prisoner?”
Xander finally faced her fully.
“You are under protection.”
“That’s not what I asked!”
His eyes narrowed slightly.
“You asked wrong question.”
Elena froze.
He stepped closer.
Not aggressively.
But enough to dominate the space between them.
“You should be asking,” he said quietly,
“what happens if I stop protecting you.”
That hit differently.
Her anger flickered into uncertainty.
He turned slightly.
“From now on, rules apply.”
Elena scoffed nervously.
“I don’t follow rules I didn’t agree to.”
Xander looked at her for a long second.
Then calmly said:
“You already did.”
A guard handed him a small device.
Elena recognized it instantly.
Her phone.
But it was turned off.
“I thought you lost that,” she said sharply.
“I removed it,” he replied.
Her stomach dropped.
“That’s mine!”
“It was.”
Elena stepped forward angrily.
“Give it back!”
Xander didn’t move.
Instead, he said quietly:
“You’ll get it back… when I decide you can be trusted.”
Elena’s breathing grew uneven.
“You’re insane,” she whispered.
Xander tilted his head slightly.
“Maybe.”
That calm answer unsettled her more than anger would have.
Then suddenly—
He stepped closer again.
Elena froze instinctively.
His hand lifted.
For a second she thought he would touch her face again.
But instead—
He adjusted her coat collar gently.
That contrast hit her hard.
Danger… and control… mixed with unexpected softness.
“You’re shaking,” he observed.
“I’m not,” she snapped quickly.
A faint pause.
Then—
“You will get used to this place,” he said.
“I won’t stay here.”
Xander’s eyes darkened slightly.
“You will.”
Suddenly—
A loud alarm echoed through the estate.
Red lights flashed in the distance.
Guards immediately moved.
Elena stepped back in panic.
“What is that?!”
Xander’s expression changed instantly.
Not fear.
Focus.
Danger awareness.
A guard rushed forward.
“Boss… someone breached the east perimeter.”
Elena turned sharply.
“What does that mean?!”
Xander didn’t answer her immediately.
Instead, he stared at the entrance gates.
Then said quietly:
“They came faster than expected.”
Elena’s heart dropped.
“Who came?!”
Silence.
Then Xander turned slightly toward her.
And said the line that froze her completely:
“They’re not here for me…”
A pause.
His eyes locked onto hers.
“…they’re here for you.”
- Writer
