ChapterTwo
1152 Words
I didn’t sleep that night.
The room I was in had a big bed, thick blankets, and a window that looked out over the dark forest. But the door was locked from the outside, and every time I closed my eyes, I replayed the events from the church.
I lay there in my wedding dress until morning.
When I heard the lock click, I sat up fast.
Damian stood in the doorway. His black shirt was gone, replaced with a plain gray one that fit his broad shoulders. His dark hair was messy like he’d been running his hands through it.
“Get dressed,” he said, tossing a folded bundle of clothes on the bed.
I didn’t move an inch. “Take me home.”
He didn’t even look annoyed at what I had just said. “Not happening.”
“I’m serious, Damian. People will be looking for me.”
“They won’t find you.”
“Why are you doing this?” I demanded.
He stepped into the room, closing the door behind him. “I told you. You were never meant to marry Ethan.”
“You can’t decide that for me.”
He fixed his eyes on me. “I’m not asking for your agreement, Lena. I’m just telling you the truth.”
I clenched my hands in my lap. “You don’t get to keep me here like a prisoner.”
He tilted his head slightly. “You’re not a prisoner. You’re my guest. But there are rules.”
I let out a bitter laugh. “Rules? You kidn*pped me!”
“Rule number one,” he said, ignoring what I had just said, “you don’t leave the house without me. Ever.”
I glared at him.
“Rule number two,” he went on, “you don’t contact anyone from your old life. No phone calls, no emails, no letters.”
My stomach turned. “You’re crazy.”
“Rule number three,” he said, ignoring me again, “you eat when I tell you, and you take care of yourself. I don’t want you getting sick.”
“That’s not care, that’s control,” I snapped.
His mouth twitched, and he put up a fake smile. “Call it whatever you want. Those are the rules.”
I stood up, my voice already shaking. “And what if I don’t follow them?”
He moved closer to me. “Then I'll make sure you do.”
For a moment, neither of us moved. His eyes gazed at mine, that longing look that had the capacity to pierce a person’s soul.
Finally, I looked away. “I’m not going to just… fall in love with you because you say so.”
“I know,” he said quietly. “That’s why I’m giving it time.”
“One year and six months,” I muttered.
“Yes.”
I grabbed the clothes from the bed and walked past him toward the bathroom. “You’re sick, Damian.”
His voice followed me as I shut the door. “Maybe. But I’m still right about you.”
After I changed into the jeans and sweater he’d given me, I opened the bathroom door to find him leaning against the wall.
“You ready to eat?” he asked.
I wanted to say no, but my stomach betrayed me with a loud growl. I hadn’t eaten since the night before the wedding.
The smell of coffee and toast filled the air in the kitchen. The place looked nothing like I expected. It was quite homely, a nice place to raise a family—only if it wasn’t situated in the middle of nowhere.
He poured coffee into a mug and slid it toward me. “Sit.”
I rolled my eyes and refused to sit. “You think this is normal? Acting like we’re… living together?”
He took a bite of his toast. “It will be.”
I stared at him. “You’re not even sorry, are you?”
“No,” he said, putting zero thought into it.
The blunt honesty made me uncomfortable. “Ethan’s your brother.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Half-brother. And he doesn’t deserve you.”
“You keep saying that, but you won’t tell me why.”
He leaned back in his chair and looked at me from head to toe. “You’ll figure it out.”
I wanted to throw the coffee in his face, but instead I sat and ate because I knew I’d need my strength if I wanted to get away.
Later that day, Damian went upstairs to his study, and I saw my chance.
The front door had two locks, but only one was locked. All my years of watching crime shows were finally paying off. I fumbled with the lock, and it opened.
I pulled the door and ran outside. The cold outside wasn’t something I anticipated, but I couldn’t turn back now.
I didn’t know where I was going, just that I had to put as much distance between me and that house as possible.
But I’d barely made it to the edge of the trees when I heard his voice behind me.
“Lena.”
I froze.
Footsteps crunched over the dry leaves. Then his hand wrapped around my arm.
“I told you,” he said, his tone even, “rule number one.”
I tried to loosen myself from his grip. “You can’t expect me to just sit here and—”
“Yes,” he said, “I can.”
Something in his voice made me realize he’d thought through every possibility. He had carefully planned out everything, all these years.
“Help! Somebody help!” I screamed at the top of my voice.
He pulled me back toward the house, totally unbothered by my screams.
“No one will hear you out here. Quit it, Lena!”
“You think dragging me back makes me want you?” I said.
“No,” he replied. “But I’m not here to make you want me in a day. I’m here to make you see me.”
“I see you just fine,” I spat. “You’re a controlling, selfish—”
He stopped walking, turning to face me. “And yet you’re looking at me like you want to know what I’m thinking right now.”
I hated that my heart skipped. “I don’t.”
His gaze dipped to my lips for a split second before he let go of my arm. “We’ll see.”
That night, I sat in my locked room, staring at the moon outside the window. I thought about Ethan. He must have looked for me; he must have been very worried.
But when I closed my eyes, the image that came wasn’t Ethan’s face.
It was Damian’s.
- Writer
