🌒 Chapter Three: The Price of Shelter
1789 Words
The sun came in too bright.
Selene opened her eyes slowly, squinting against the golden light pouring through the wide glass windows. For a second, she didn’t know where she was. The ceiling above her was smooth, high, and painted in soft cream. The sheets wrapped around her body were silk—cool, expensive, and unfamiliar.
Her body ached.
Her legs were sore. Her neck stiff. Her mouth dry.
Then it hit her.
The club.
The drinks.
The stranger with the sharp green eyes.
Richard.
She sat up fast, the sheets falling down to her waist. Her breath caught. She was wearing nothing but a black silk robe—loose and tied only at the waist. Her skin smelled like someone else’s cologne. Her inner thighs ached.
Her stomach twisted.
A slow panic crawled up her spine.
Where was her dress? Her shoes? Her bag? Not that she had much—but now she had even less.
Selene looked around.
The room was beautiful. Polished wood floors. White marble fireplace. A wall of glass looking over the city skyline. A tray of untouched breakfast sat by the bed—croissants, eggs, coffee.
It looked like a hotel. But the silence was different. This wasn’t a place for guests.
This was someone’s home.
She stood up, holding the robe tight around her. Her legs were shaky. Her throat burned. She spotted her torn dress on a nearby chair—cleaned, but folded like something no longer needed.
A cold voice came from the doorway.
“You’re awake.”
Selene turned.
Richard stood there in a dark button-up shirt, sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His hair was slicked back, his expression unreadable. He held a black mug in one hand.
She stepped back instinctively.
His gaze dropped to her legs, then slowly lifted to her face. “Don’t look so scared. I didn’t hurt you.”
She didn’t answer.
“I had your dress cleaned,” he added. “Didn’t think you’d want to put it back on.”
“What do you want from me?” she asked, voice hoarse.
He tilted his head. “That’s a complicated question.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I should go.”
“Go where?” he asked calmly.
Selene blinked.
That one question broke her.
Where could she go?
She had no family. No friends nearby. No money. No job. No ID. Not even a place to sleep.
She was carrying a child she hadn’t told anyone about. She hadn’t eaten properly in days. And she’d slept with a man who already looked at her like she was a belonging.
“I don’t know,” she whispered.
Richard stepped closer.
He didn’t touch her.
But his presence filled the room like smoke.
“You can stay here,” he said simply. “As long as you’re useful.”
Selene frowned. “Useful?”
He gave her a small smile. “I’m not asking for love. Or conversation. I don’t care about your past. You’re here. You’re beautiful. And I don’t like sleeping alone.”
Her chest tightened.
“You think I’ll just stay here with you because I have nowhere else to go?”
He shrugged. “That’s usually how it works.”
She wanted to slap him.
Instead, she turned her back.
He didn’t stop her.
“Bathroom’s down the hall. Clean towels under the sink,” he said. “You can take a shower. Get dressed. Eat something.”
She stayed silent.
“I’ll be in the office when you’re done.”
Then he left.
---
The bathroom was marble and glass, too perfect for someone like her.
Selene sat on the edge of the tub, staring at the floor.
She didn’t cry. She was too dry for that. All the tears had been used up.
She touched her stomach gently.
There was no bump. No movement. Nothing yet.
But she knew.
Her body was changing. Her instincts sharper. Her nausea returning every morning.
She stood up and turned on the shower.
Hot water poured down her skin like a reset button.
But nothing washed away.
Not the night before.
Not the shame.
Not the truth.
---
Selene sat by the window, hair damp, body wrapped in clean clothes—sweatpants and a black tank top from the closet Richard had stocked “for guests.” She picked at the toast, not hungry.
Her new phone buzzed.
She hadn’t given anyone the number.
Except one person.
She grabbed it fast.
Maya:
> “Please tell me you’re okay.”
Selene swallowed hard.
Her fingers shook as she typed back.
Selene:
> “I’m fine. Just tired.”
Maya:
> “Where are you?? I’ve been calling your old number. No answer. You just vanished.”
Selene stared at the screen. Her chest ached.
Selene:
> “Crescent City.”
There was a pause.
Maya:
> “Are you safe?”
Selene looked around the penthouse.
Tall windows. Empty walls. A man she barely knew watching her every move.
She typed:
Selene:
> “I don’t know.”
---
Selene set the phone down on her lap and stared at the window again.
The sky was pale blue. The streets below buzzed with cars, sirens, people with places to go. People with names, lives, plans.
She had none of that.
Just a baby she hadn’t asked for. A mark she hadn’t wanted. And a man who now owned the only bed she had to sleep in.
The door opened behind her.
Richard walked in slowly, holding a steaming mug. Another one for her.
“Chamomile,” he said, setting it on the side table. “You looked like you needed something warm.”
Selene didn’t thank him.
He didn’t care.
Instead, he sat across from her in a leather chair and rested his elbows on his knees.
“Tell me your name.”
She didn’t move. “Selene.”
“You told me nothing last night,” he said. “Just a kiss, a dance, and a look that said the world had already eaten you alive.”
Selene looked down at her lap. “It doesn’t matter.”
“I think it does.”
She met his eyes. “Why?”
“Because you’re still here.”
He said it so simply. Like that was proof of ownership.
“You think giving me food and clothes means I owe you something?” she asked.
“I already took what I wanted,” he said coolly. “The rest is up to you.”
Her jaw clenched.
“But if you stay,” he added, “you follow my rules.”
She narrowed her eyes. “What rules?”
He stood and walked to the window, hands in his pockets, looking out at the world like it belonged to him.
“No lying. No sneaking out. You don’t leave unless I say so. You don’t bring strangers here. You don’t lie about who you're talking to.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “You want to keep me here?”
“I want you safe,” he said.
“Safe,” she repeated, her voice bitter. “Is that what this is?”
He turned back to her. “Look around, Selene. The sheets are clean. The walls are strong. No one touches you here unless I say so. That’s the best safety you’re going to find.”
Her mouth opened. Then closed.
She hated how calm he sounded. Like he believed every word. Like he thought this was kindness.
“And what do I give you in return?” she asked quietly.
He walked over to her again. Leaned down. His voice lowered.
“You already know.”
Selene’s stomach turned.
“I don’t want to be your—”
“Then leave,” he said simply.
She froze.
“Walk out the door right now. I won’t stop you.” He stepped back, arms crossed. “But don’t come crawling back when Crescent City chews you up.”
Silence filled the room.
Selene thought of the alley she’d passed the night before. The man who grabbed her wrist. The empty train station. The fear of sleeping on concrete with a baby in her belly and no one to call.
She thought of Kael.
Of the look in his eyes when he rejected her.
Of the way he tore her soul out in front of a crowd and didn’t blink.
She had nothing.
Her hand moved to her stomach without thinking.
Richard noticed.
“What are you hiding?” he asked.
Selene jerked her hand away.
“Nothing,” she said quickly.
He stared at her for a long moment.
Then he smiled.
Not sweet. Not cruel.
Just amused.
“You’re not the first girl to show up here broken,” he said. “But you’re the first one who didn’t beg.”
“I’m not begging,” she said quietly.
“Not yet,” he replied.
He walked to the door, then turned back.
“You’ll have your own room. For now.”
She looked up, surprised.
“But when I come to you,” he added, “you don’t say no.”
Her throat went dry.
“I don’t like to be ignored, Selene.”
Then he left.
The door shut with a soft click.
---
That night, Selene lay in bed staring at the ceiling.
Her new room was smaller. No windows. No locks. Just soft sheets and a glass of water on the table.
She hadn’t eaten dinner.
Her stomach flipped again. She pressed a pillow to it and tried not to think about the nausea.
Tried not to think about what would happen when her belly grew. When the baby started to show.
Richard couldn’t know. Not yet.
He wouldn’t understand.
He’d ask too many questions. He’d want control. He already wanted her.
Selene curled into herself.
She missed her father. The way he used to hold her when nightmares came. Before he remarried. Before Zara turned everything to poison.
She missed Maya.
Her phone buzzed again.
She grabbed it fast.
Maya:
> “Are you somewhere safe to sleep?”
Selene hesitated.
Then typed:
> “Yes.”
Maya:
> “Is someone hurting you?”
Selene stared at the words.
Was he?
No bruises. No yelling. No chains.
Just… power. Held too tight in a pretty room.
Selene:
> “I’m fine. Just… tired.”
Maya didn’t reply for a long time.
Then:
Maya:
> “I miss you.”
Selene’s chest ached.
Selene:
> “I miss you too.”
She turned the phone off and lay back down.
She didn’t cry.
But she didn’t sleep, either.
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