VELVET CHAINS

Episode5: Shatter Me Gently

Powell’s POV

Months passed, but I still couldn’t keep Leah’s thought off my mind. I tried to give her the space she needed just to show her I wasn’t planning on controlling her. Everything was fine till a certain day.

Leah barged into my room like a possessed woman. She was carrying a file, and she looked pissed. The file contained some documents, documents she wasn’t supposed to find. Surveillance images, financial records…evidence that I had been watching her way before we met.

‘’You lied,’’ she said. I could hear the pain in her voice. ‘’You were watching me even before I danced for you that night.’’ ‘’Your ex-wife gave me these documents. I thought our first encounter was fate. But instead, it was premeditated.

I didn’t move. I didn’t intend for her to find out like this.

‘’I had to know who you were. I’ve made costly mistakes before. I couldn’t afford another.’’

‘’You didn’t want the truth. You wanted control.’’

She threw the folder at me, the papers hit my face and scattered on the floor.

‘’You were supposed to be the one person who saw me as I am, not another damn problem you want to solve.

My voice cracked. ‘’You are not a problem. You’re the only thing that has ever made me feel real and important.’’

Before either of us could say another word, the door burst open. It was Ethan Blackwell. I wasn’t surprised. He had a bad habit of always following me. But he had company. It was a woman.

Leah’s POV

I was about to pour out my frustrations on Powell when Ethan walked through the door. What was he doing here? I asked myself softly. But I was in for a surprise. Behind him was Roxy. And she seemed mad.

‘’What are you doing here, girl? How do you know him? What is going on?’’ I asked, without giving her a chance to explain.

‘’Who is Roxy?’’ Powell asked in shock.

‘’She is…Roxy, my friend at the club. She has been there for me and my sister.’’ I said

‘’Girl, what is going on?’’ I asked, turning to her.

Ethan let out a laugh, a mocking laugh.

‘’I didn’t understand you when you said I should trust you, but damn…your plan is brilliant. I am in awe of your majesty. You pulled this off so well,’’ he said gleefully.

‘’What is happening here? What is he talking about? I asked Powell this time.

‘’Well, this isn’t Roxy, that’s my ex-wife Claire.’’ He said.

‘’You see, honey, I came up with this plan when I noticed my husband's obsession over you. He was tracking your every step. So instead of me to sit and watching another woman take my husband, I sprang into action.’’ Roxy said, letting herself down into a chair.

‘’I followed you to that cheap club and changed my identity, just to be close to you and to keep my eye on you. You fell into my trap so easily, you dumb woman,’’ she added, now waving a gun at me.

I couldn’t explain what I felt at that moment. Beetrayal was an understatement. I have been played for a fool. I let myself onto the ground and curled up against a chair.

I watched as she walked up to Powell, ‘’You thought you could get rid of me so easily, right? She sneered at him.

‘’I initially wanted the other half that the court left for you, but now, I only want to see you dead,’’ she said, pointing the gun at him.

From where I was curled up, I didn’t think she would shoot him. But she did. She pulled the f*****g trigger. A gunshot split the air.

Powell staggered forward, he was holding his abdomen, and his shirt was already soaking in blood. I immediately stood up and rushed to his front before he collapsed in my arms.

‘’Now he knows how it feels,’’ Claire spat, ‘’To have everything taken away from you.

The next day, the headlines exploded: Billionaire Shot in Jealous Rage.’’

Claire confessed everything. She had been obsessed with getting back together with Powell because her share of his wealth was almost depleted. She said I had ‘’stolen’’ the life she deserved. Her resentment was what turned to delusion.

Powell survived.

Barely.

I stayed by his side in the hospital, though I never said a word. Not at first. The betrayal I suffered still sat like a stone in my chest. Every time Powell opened his eyes, he searched for me, and I was always there.

Eventually, silence gave way to honesty.

‘’I hate you,’’ I whispered one night, tracing the stitches along his side.

‘’I hate me to,’’ he murmured.

Months later.

The penthouse was empty. The club had closed. Claire’s trial ended with a conviction.

I started over—now teaching student ballet, helping young girls achieve their dreams. I never reached out to Powell. I wanted him to be free.

But one morning, as I unlocked the front door to my studio, I found a single velvet box waiting. Inside was a ring.

Not flashy. Not billionaire-gold.

Simple. Thoughtful.

Attached was a note in Powell’s handwriting that read:

‘’Not to own you. I just want to remind you that I would never stop choosing you.’’

‘’Will you marry me?’’

I turned slowly.

And there he stood.

No suits. No bodyguard. Just him.

And maybe this time…that was enough for me.

I said YES.