PRETTY LITTLE SECRET

Chapter Five

Vanessa’s Pov

The strap of my heavy canvas backpack dug painfully into my shoulder, but I didn't care. I stood my ground right in the middle of the room, glaring at Ryan as he blocked the doorway.

His breathing was heavy, and the raw, wild panic in his dark eyes told me he was losing control—something Ryan Blackwood never allowed to happen.

"I asked you a question, Vanessa," Ryan said, his voice dropping low, trembling with a dark, dangerous fury. He took a slow step forward, looking down at my packed bag on the floor as if it were a physical insult. "Where do you think you’re going with that bag?"

"Away from here!" I shouted back, my voice cracking as tears of pure frustration spilled over my lashes. I threw my hands up in the air. "Are you deaf, Ryan? Or are you just so used to owning people that you can't hear the word no? Our arrangement is finished! I’m walking out that door, and I am never coming back!"

"You are not going anywhere," Ryan snapped, his voice booming through the bedroom. He closed the distance between us in two giant strides, grabbing my arms with hands that gripped me tightly, though he was careful not to hurt me.

"Look at me, Vanessa! You think you can just pack a bag and disappear into the city? Without money, without protection, with half my father's men looking for anyone who steps out of line? You belong here with me!"

"I am not a piece of property you can keep on a shelf while you go marry another woman!" I sobbed, struggling against his grip, though it was completely useless. My heart was breaking into pieces against his chest. "You want me to stay? Why? So I can sit in this room while you play happy families with Ella Carter? Do you enjoy watching me suffer? Is that your idea of control?"

Ryan flinched as if I had slapped him right across the face. His grip on my arms loosened slightly, and his dark eyes flashed with a sudden, desperate pain. He opened his mouth, his lips parting as if he were finally going to say the words I had been dying to hear—that he loved me, that he wouldn't marry Ella, that I meant everything to him.

His chest heaved as he fought a massive war inside his own head, his pride holding him back like a heavy anchor.

"I don't keep you for control, Vanessa," Ryan whispered hoarsely, his face inches from mine. "You don't understand—"

Ring! Ring! Ring!

My phone, lying on the bed behind us, suddenly started vibrating loudly, breaking the heavy, electric silence between us.

Ryan swore under his breath, stepping back just an inch. I quickly reached over and grabbed the device. The caller ID flashed Mother. A cold dread washed over my stomach. I swiped the screen and hit speakerphone before Ryan could stop me.

"Vanessa?" my mother’s voice chirped through the tiny speaker, sounding annoyingly cheerful and completely unbothered. "Thank goodness you picked up. I have wonderful news!"

"What do you want, Mom?" I asked, my voice flat and dead. "I’m busy."

"Oh, don't use that tone with me," Linda snapped back instantly, her sweet act vanishing. "I’m doing you a favor! I just finalized a brand-new arrangement with the finance firm. I needed a little extra cash to fix up the kitchen and pay off some old debts, so I used your name again. Congratulations, sweetheart! You’ve signed on for another three years of collateral. Isn't that wonderful?"

The room spun around me. My knees felt weak, and the breath completely left my lungs.

"You... what?" I whispered, my voice shaking so badly I could barely form the words. "You did what?"

"You heard me," my mother said dismissively, as if she were talking about buying groceries. "You’re already tied to those rich people anyway. What’s another three years? It’s not like you were doing anything important with your life. Be a good daughter for once and pay off your family's debts. Bye!"

Click.

The line went dead.

I stood there frozen, the phone slipping from my trembling fingers and clattering hard against the wooden floor. Three more years. My mother had just sold me out all over again. Just when I thought I was finally free, she chained me right back to the very nightmare I was trying to escape. I wasn't just trapped by Ryan anymore; I was trapped by my own blood.

I let out a broken, hopeless laugh, tears streaming down my face like a river. I looked up at Ryan, my eyes burning with defeat. "Did you hear that?" I whispered, my voice completely hollow. "Three more years. I’m never getting out. I am chained to this life forever."

Ryan stared at me, his expression turning from anger to absolute, chilling darkness. He hated my mother more than I did in that exact moment. He reached out to pull me into his arms, but before he could touch me, the heavy bedroom door swung wide open.

Standing in the doorway was Ella Carter.

She wore a pristine white designer dress, her blond hair styled into perfection, and a sweet, fake smile spread across her red lips. She looked around the grand bedroom, her eyes landing on my packed bag on the floor and then moving to Ryan standing close beside me. If she was surprised or jealous, she didn't show it at all.

"Ryan, darling," Ella said, her voice smooth like honey, though her eyes were sharp as glass. "Your parents sent me over to settle into my new wing. But it seems you have a little problem lingering in the master suite."

Ryan stepped directly in front of me, shielding me with his tall body. His voice turned into solid ice. "Ella. What are you doing in this part of the house?"

"Oh, don't look at me like that," Ella laughed softly, walking further into the room. She looked past Ryan's shoulder right at me, her smile growing wider.

"Your parents and the board agreed. We can't have rumors flying around right before our wedding day. Having a random girl living in your private residence is a scandal waiting to happen. But since she’s legally tied to your household... Well, my future mother-in-law had a brilliant idea."

Ella took another step closer, her eyes locking onto mine with pure venom hidden behind her sweet expression.

"You need a personal maid to unpack my luggage and keep my rooms clean," Ella said smoothly, tilting her head. "And since this little girl is so used to serving debts, she’s going to be my personal maid starting tonight."

My jaw dropped. A maid? She wanted me—Ryan’s lover, the girl he had kept by his side for months—to bow down and unpack her clothes? To clean her room? It was the ultimate humiliation, a cruel joke designed to break my spirit completely and throw me out of Ryan's life without causing a public scandal for his family.

"No," Ryan snarled, his voice vibrating with absolute rage. He took a threatening step toward Ella. "She is not your maid. She is staying right here as my guest, and you will leave this room immediately."

"She stays, Ryan, or my father pulls our funding from your board by morning," Ella replied calmly, her smile never fading as she met his angry glare without a single ounce of fear. She turned her gaze back to me, raising an eyebrow. "I hope you’re good at ironing, Vanessa. We have a very busy week ahead of us."

Ella turned around on her high heels and strolled out of the room, leaving the door wide open.

I stood there in silence, feeling completely empty inside. My mother had sold me, the law had trapped me for three more years, and now the woman marrying the man I loved was going to treat me like dirt under her feet. I looked down at my canvas bag, defeated. I bent down to pick it up, ready to accept my miserable fate.

Before my fingers could touch the bag, a large, warm hand wrapped firmly around my wrist, stopping me.

I looked up slowly.

Ryan was staring down at me, his jaw clenched so hard a muscle twitched in his cheek. His eyes weren't cold anymore. They burned with a fierce, terrifying fire that promised war.

"Put that bag down," Ryan whispered, his voice dangerously soft. He pulled me up to my feet, standing right beside me in front of the open door. "You are not her maid, Vanessa. And you are never leaving this room."