Knowing I was safe, her tone turned playful again. I could hear the gossip in her voice even through the phone.
"He..." I gripped the phone, hesitating.
How could I say it? That he'd imprisoned me for nearly a week? That I'd almost starved myself, nearly slit my wrists with broken porcelain to win my freedom?
"He locked me up."
"What?" Sarah's voice shot up predictably.
I instinctively pulled the phone away. The driver was watching me in the rearview mirror, expression complicated. Shit, what had I just said? I pretended not to notice his gaze and kept talking to Sarah.
"But he let me go."
Sarah didn't answer right away, processing.
Finally, she spoke.
"Wait, wait," confusion filled her voice. "So what the hell happened? I remember you two were fine at the bar that night. You said you had feelings for him again. He helped us with those assholes. How did it turn into this?"
Yeah. God, how did it turn into this? But God didn't answer.
"It's complicated." I sighed.
"Okay, where are you now? Need me to pick you up?" Sarah didn't push for now.
"No, I'm in a car. I can get home myself." I watched the car turn onto a familiar street.
Soon I'd be back at my apartment.
"I'm coming over tonight. You're telling me everything." She demanded affectionately.
"Okay."
After hanging up, I tried Julian, but the line was busy. By the time the driver told me we'd arrived, I'd put my phone away. The elevator quickly reached the third floor. The moment I pushed the door open, familiar smells washed over me. Everything was exactly as I'd left it. My unfinished coffee still sat on the table, my blanket still lay on the couch.
Like the nightmare of the past week had never happened.
"Once I deal with the potential threats, I'll give you custody of Olei."
That's what Silas had told me. Would he really do it? I'd trusted him too many times before. Each time, I'd been torn apart. His promises meant nothing to me anymore. But... I remembered how he'd looked at me this morning.
Those deep gray eyes held none of their usual darkness or possessiveness. Only exhaustion, pain, and something I couldn't name. He'd really let go.
My stomach suddenly growled. I realized I hadn't eaten properly in days. During those days at the manor, I could barely swallow anything. I shook my head, clearing away everything about Silas.
I walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Milk and bread inside. I checked the dates—still good. I poured a glass of milk and sipped it slowly. Tore off a small piece of bread and chewed carefully. I didn't dare swallow too fast, afraid my empty stomach couldn't handle it.
The milk and bread tasted ordinary, but right now, they were the best things in the world.
Later, Julian called back. I gave him a brief update, but he heard something off in my voice. I agreed to meet him at noon, planning to tell him everything in person. I didn't want to lie to someone who'd helped me so many times.
At noon,I met Julian at a restaurant near my apartment.
He wore a dark blue shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows, revealing lean forearms. When he saw me, he stood quickly.
As I approached, he looked me over.
"You've lost a lot of weight." He frowned with concern. "You look terrible. What happened?"
