CHAPTER 7: THE CAGE WITHIN
452 Words
CHAPTER 7: THE CAGE WITHIN
The moment they stepped into the elevator, Lian spun on him.
“What the hell was that?!” she hissed, jabbing a finger into Kai’s chest. “Kissing me in front of everyone? You made me look like a joke!”
Kai didn’t even blink. The elevator doors closed behind them with a soft ding.
“You’re not a joke, Lian. You’re my fiancée. And the world needed to believe that.”
“That wasn’t a kiss, that was control!”
He stepped toward her.
“That was control. And I’ll keep doing it until you learn how to play your part.”
She backed up, furious. “You can’t force me into loving you.”
He laughed—a dark, humorless sound.
“I’m not asking for love,” he said. “I don’t need it. I just need obedience.”
Her hand twitched to slap him again, but she knew it wouldn’t land.
He saw it. Read it in her body.
This time, when she raised her hand, he caught her wrist and slammed the emergency stop on the elevator. The lights froze. So did the lift.
“Kai—”
He shoved her gently but firmly against the mirrored wall, his body pinning hers. The tension snapped like a live wire.
“Go ahead,” he murmured, brushing his lips along her jaw. “Tell me you hated it.”
She bit her lip, struggling.
“Say it, Lian. Lie to my face.”
“I—”
His mouth was on hers again. This kiss was slower, more dangerous. Less about power, more about testing. His tongue flicked against hers with maddening precision, and his hand slid down her waist, gripping tight like she might vanish.
And for a horrifying second…
She kissed him back.
It wasn’t conscious. It was instinct. Her body leaned into his, her hand curled into his shirt, her lips opened just a little wider—
Then she shoved him away.
Hard.
Kai stumbled back a step, his chest heaving.
She slapped the emergency button again and the elevator lurched into motion.
“You’re disgusting,” she said, voice raw.
“You’re confused,” he replied, eyes still dark with heat. “You think you hate me, but your body already knows what it wants.”
She didn’t speak. Couldn’t.
Her heart was thundering in her chest. Her lips were swollen again. Her body was still trembling—not from fear. From something else.
She hated him.
She had to.
The elevator opened with a soft ding and she stormed out, not looking back.
Kai didn’t follow.
Not right away.
He didn’t have to.
She felt him everywhere.
- Writer
