CHAPTER 15: WHISPERS AND WARNINGS
ARORA'S POV
The "normal date" had been anything but, and yet, it was the most normal I'd felt since arriving in New York. Nathaniel was different outside the confines of the penthouse, less guarded, almost... playful. We spent the next few days in a bubble of cautious normalcy, punctuated by calls from his legal team and the occasional, hushed update from Jake. The public storm still raged, but Nathaniel had insulated us from its direct impact. My classes, art supplies, even a small, comfortable studio space within the penthouse were arranged, a silent promise of the life I'd dreamed of reclaiming.
One afternoon, while Nathaniel was on a lengthy conference call, I found myself sketching by the panoramic window, the city sprawling beneath me like an unfinished canvas. My phone, a new one Nathaniel had insisted upon for security reasons, vibrated. It was an unknown number. My stomach tightened. I almost didn't answer, but a strange premonition urged me.
"Hello?"
"Arora Creek." The voice was cold, clipped, instantly recognizable. Elara Thorne. My blood ran cold. "Did you truly believe you could simply walk away from this?"
My hand trembled, nearly dropping the phone. "You're in custody," I managed, my voice barely a whisper.
"Custody is... temporary, child," her voice purred, laced with a chilling amusement. "My legal team is quite skilled. They will secure my release soon enough. But that is not why I call."
"Then why?" I demanded, my gaze darting towards Nathaniel's study door, wishing he would emerge.
"To offer you a final warning," Elara continued, her tone dropping to a more sinister register. "You are an anomaly, Arora. A key, yes. But a key that can also be broken. Do you truly understand the extent of Nathaniel's... affliction? It is not merely an allergy. It is a deeply rooted, inherited vulnerability. You are his current solace, his temporary respite. But that bond can be severed. And if it is..." She paused, letting the silence draw out. "He will suffer. Far worse than before. And it will be entirely your fault."
A cold knot formed in my stomach. "What are you talking about?"
"Think about it, Miss Creek," Elara scoffed, a dry, humorless laugh. "If your presence is his cure, what happens if your presence is removed? Or worse, if it is compromised? There are other ways to manipulate a physiological bond, even a natural one. Ways that will ensure Nathaniel's permanent decline."
"You wouldn't dare," I whispered, the threat palpable.
"Oh, but I would," Elara's voice was like ice. "For the Dawson legacy. For the future of the Thorne empire. Nathaniel's 'cure' cannot be reliant on a single, unpredictable variable like you. Unless you choose to cooperate, truly, and help us understand how you function, you will be a liability. And liabilities are removed."
The line went dead.
I stared at the phone, my breath coming in ragged gasps. Elara Thorne wasn't just threatening me; she was threatening Nathaniel, hinting at a power that transcended her confinement. A way to not just remove me, but to turn my very nature against him. The silk cage might have been gone, but a new, invisible threat now loomed.
NATHANIEL'S POV
I walked out of my study, the faint aftertaste of a tense conference call still on my tongue. The legal maneuvering was complex, but Elara and Vance were cornered. Justice, for Arora, for myself, was within reach. My gaze immediately found Arora by the window, a quiet, reassuring presence. The constant thrum of internal peace she brought me was a miracle I still couldn't quite believe.
But as I watched her, I saw a subtle tremor in her hand, the way her shoulders hunched inwards, her head bowed over her phone. Her entire posture screamed fear.
"Arora?" I asked, my voice sharp with concern.
She startled, dropping the phone onto the plush rug. Her eyes, wide and dilated, looked up at me, filled with a raw terror that made my stomach clench.
"Elara," she whispered, her voice cracking. "She called me."
My blood ran cold. "What? How?" My security was ironclad. Jake had assured me no calls could get through, no unauthorized access.
"She... she threatened you," Arora stammered, scrambling to pick up the phone, as if to prove the call had been real. "She said... she said if I don't cooperate, or if I'm 'compromised,' you'll suffer worse. Permanently." Her voice hitched, tears finally welling in her eyes. "She implied... she has other ways to hurt you. To break what's between us."
My jaw tightened. Elara. Even from behind bars, she pulled the strings. This wasn't just about my freedom anymore; it was about Arora's safety, and the insidious reach of my family's ambition. This was a game of shadows and whispers.
I knelt before Arora, taking her hands in mine. They were icy cold. "She's bluffing," I said, my voice firm, though a sliver of doubt gnawed at me. My aunt was a master manipulator, always had been. "She's trying to scare you, to make you run, to make you believe you're a liability. Don't listen to her."
Arora shook her head, tears tracing paths down her cheeks. "It wasn't a bluff, Nathaniel. It was a warning. She sounded... certain. Like she knows something we don't. About this 'bond.' About how to... 'break' it."
My mind raced. Could there be a truth to her threat? A hidden layer to my condition, something even my doctors hadn't discovered? If Arora was a natural anomaly, could there be a natural counter-anomaly? Or something far more sinister involving the research Elara had funded?
I pulled her into my arms, holding her tightly, feeling her trembling against me. The calm her presence brought was still there, unwavering. But now, it was tinged with a new, dangerous urgency. My "cure" was still a mystery, and it had a target on its back. And so did she.
"We won't let her," I vowed, my voice a low rumble against her hair. "Whatever she thinks she can do, we will fight it. Together."