Lethal
I’d somehow made it through the embarrassment. Whatever he thought he was doing, pretending to play house with me, appointing rules as if I was a prisoner and not a human. The damn emotions he made me feel all at once: ashamed, enraged, and pathetically scared.
I was not one to get intimidated by men easily. But him… he had this superior aura, something that wrapped around my neck and choked me. I couldn’t breathe in his presence, I couldn’t fucking think. It was like he could read me like an open book, solve every damn puzzle in my head, and then leave me panting and squirming under his stormy gaze. Nothing about him was human. Not the way he assessed me, or the way he looked down on me as if I were just an insignificant creature.
I finally stood, wobbling slightly on my feet as the chair screeched against the floor. The sound echoed. My kneesbuckled, but I caught myself on the edge of the table, glaring at the dark wood as if it were the source of my humiliation. The reality of my situation felt surreal—like a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from, no matter how hard I tried.
Adrian was gone. Dead. The man who had once held my heart in his hands had been ripped away from me in the cruellest of ways. And now, I was tied to his murderer, bound by law and circumstance to the man who had stolen not only my love but every shred of control I’d ever possessed.
The burn on my ass was nothing compared to the fire raging in my chest. A storm brewed beneath my skin, the combination of anger, pain, and a humiliating pull I couldn’t shake. I could still feel the ghost of his touch on me like a brand.
Obey me.
My fists clenched, nails digging into my palms hard enough to draw blood. I hated him. I hated the way his presence hovered over me even in his absence. And most of all, I hated myself for the way my body betrayed me—for the way it burned and tingled in places I didn’t want to acknowledge.
I limped toward the window, needing air but finding none. The view outside the mansion was bleak, the roaring waves reminding me of the prison I was trapped in. I leaned against the cold glass, hoping it might numb me, but it did nothing to dull the heat that simmered beneath my skin.
Why me? Why did he have to choose me? I wasn’t strong enough for this. I wasn’t strong enough to endure his torment, to face the darkness that seemed to consume him. Adrian had been light, hopeful, and loving. And now I was shackled to theopposite—his killer, a man who seemed to delight in stripping me bare of every defence, every ounce of dignity.
But why? What did he want from me? Why did he go out of his way to break me? Was it revenge for something I didn’t understand? Or was this simply who he was—a killer toying with his victim?
I pressed my forehead against the glass, closing my eyes against the overwhelming swirl of emotions. Tears threatened to spill, but I bit them back, refusing to give him the satisfaction of breaking me completely. He might have power over my body, but he wouldn’t have my soul.
He might have taken everything from me, but he wouldn’t take me—not fully, not completely. Somewhere deep inside, beneath the shame and the fear, a small flicker of defiance still burned. It wasn’t much, but it was enough to remind me that I was still here, still fighting. And no matter how much it hurt, no matter how much he tried to destroy me, I wouldn’t let that fire go out.
Not yet. Not ever. Not in this lifetime, at least.
It wasn’t just hate. No, that would have been easy. Clean. This was messier. This was the shameful flicker of warmth that accompanied his gaze, the traitorous pull of my body toward his, the unbearable recognition that even as he crushed me, I burned in the presence of him. And that made me hate him—and myself—even more.
I buried my face in my hands, fingers curling into my scalp as I tried to silence the war raging inside me. But my thoughts were relentless, unravelling me thread by thread. How had this happened? How had my life been reduced to this? A puppet toa man with darkness in his eyes and cruelty in his hands? I was suffocating under the lethality of it all.
I needed to get out. I had to escape.
There was no future for me here, no version of this life where I came out whole. Every moment I spent under his roof, under his control, chipped away at me. The longer I stayed, the more I’d lose—pieces of myself, my dignity, my sanity. And eventually, I would lose all of it.
Escape. It sounded so simple, but I knew it would be anything but. This house was a fortress. And him… he was always there, always watching as if he could see every thought I tried to hide.
But I couldn’t let the fear stop me. If I didn’t act, if I didn’t find a way out, I would drown here. He would consume me, body and soul, until there was nothing left of the woman I used to be.
I thought of Adrian again, of the life we’d dreamed of together. I thought of the promises we’d made, the love we’d shared. And then I thought of him—of the monster who had stolen that future from me.
I swallowed hard.
I didn’t have a plan yet. I didn’t know how or when, but one thing was certain—I wouldn’t stay here. I wouldn’t let him win. No matter how tightly he tried to hold me, no matter how deeply he tried to carve himself into my soul, I would find a way out.
And when I did, I would make sure he regretted ever thinking he could break me.
CHAPTER TEN
Red
I shouldn’t be here.
Not in this house. Not in this situation. And definitely not standing behind a damn pillar, heart pounding like a caged bird while I watched him.
The man of my nightmares. The man who killed Adrian.
He stood in the centre of the foyer as he barked into his phone. Twenty minutes. That’s how long he’d been pacing, threatening whoever was on the other end. His posture was rigid, his fingers clenched around the device as if he could crush it. The way his jaw ticked, the sharpness in his tone—it was almost hypnotizing.
