“Think? You mean plot,” she shot back, finally turning to face me. The fire blazed in her eyes again—my favorite kind of challenge.
“You can plot all you want,” I replied casually, glancing at her for just a moment before returning my focus to the road. “But remember this: I’m always two steps ahead.”
She scoffed but didn’t respond further, her mind racing with possibilities I had already anticipated and countered long before tonight unfolded.
With every mile we covered together, I could almost hear her resolve hardening into something more dangerous—like kindling catching fire in a dark room—but it wouldn’t be enough.
I glanced sideways at her again as we sped into the night—trapped and still so utterly unaware of how tightly fate had wound its threads around us both.
The engine hummed as I maneuvered the car through the winding streets; the darkness wrapping around us like a cloak. Persephone’s silence hung heavy in the air, but I knew better than to expect her to stay quiet for long. She was a storm waiting to unleash its fury.
“You’ll move in with me,” I said, my tone casual as if we were discussing dinner plans.
Her eyes snapped toward me, wide and defiant. “You think I’ll just?—”
I cut her off. “You will.” The conviction in my voice brooked no argument. “I’ll have you settled into my home before the week ends.”
Her mouth tightened, and for a moment, she looked ready to unleash her wrath. Good. This was part of the plan.
“You’ll smile in public,” I continued, savoring each word as if it were a fine wine. “People will see you as the perfect wife—beautiful, charming, and utterly devoted.”
Her laugh was bitter, tinged with disbelief. “You think that’s what it takes? Just pretending?”
“Pretending?” I chuckled darkly, relishing how her anger sparked even more brightly in response to my words. “No, little Persephone. It’s not just pretending; it’s playing your part in this family.”
“I’ll never belong to you,” she spat back, venom dripping from each syllable.
I laughed then—a low, dark sound that reverberated within the confines of the car. It amused me how naïve she could be about her own reality.
“That’s where you’re wrong,” I replied with a smirk tugging at my lips. “You already do.”
The realization would come crashing down on her soon enough; she just didn’t see it yet. The fire flickering in her eyes was nothing compared to what awaited when we reached our destination—the walls of my domain where every rebellion would feel like a whisper against an avalanche.
As we continued our journey into the night, I could feel her resistance simmering beneath the surface—a perfect blend of anger and helplessness that made this entire game all the more delicious.
The city lights blurred past us like fleeting thoughts, but there was nothing fleeting about this arrangement we’d forged tonight; it was set in stone. And once she fully understood that? The real fun would begin.
Without warning, she reached for the door handle, her eyes wild. I couldn't help but smile at her last-ditch effort to escape.
“Don’t be stupid.” My voice remained calm, almost casual as I pressed the lock button. The soft click echoed between us, sealing her fate within the confines of the car.
She whipped around to glare at me, fury burning in her eyes. “You think locking a door will stop me?”
“Your family sold you to me,” I said slowly, letting each word sink in like nails into a coffin. “You have no one left.”
Her breathing quickened, but I could see the gears turning in her mind—she was calculating her next move, weighing options that had long since vanished.
“Try to run,” I continued, leaning back against my seat with an ease that belied the tension simmering beneath my skin, “and I’ll drag you back.”
She shot me a look filled with disbelief and anger, but there was a flicker of uncertainty in her expression too. She needed that doubt to fully comprehend who had control here.
“Fight me,” I said, lowering my voice so it cut through the air like a knife, “and you’ll lose.”
For all her bravado, she hadn’t yet grasped the extent of my influence or how tightly I held the strings that bound her life now. This was merely a game for me—a power play—but for her? This was reality crashing down like an avalanche.
I watched as she struggled against that reality, fury dancing on her features. Her spirit ignited something deep within me—a hunger for challenge. But it wouldn’t be enough; it never would be.
Her hand lingered near the handle as if she might try again. But beneath that fierce exterior lay a desperate understanding: escape was impossible now. The walls were closing in on her even as she clawed at them.
