The drive home felt like drowning in water. It was quiet with neither of us making an attempt at conversation, we were each too immersed in our heads.
Alexander sat beside me in the car, the city's neon lights flashing across his face, highlighting the sharp edge of his jaw, the cold distance in his eyes. He didn't look at me. He didn't speak. Not once.
I stared out the opposite window, nails digging into the clutch in my lap. My ears still rang with laughter from the dinner, the fake toasts, the way people's eyes had lit up when they heard the news. His fiancée. That word had rolled off tongues so easily, like it had always been written into my life.
By the time we pulled into his estate, my skin felt too tight for my body. I stepped out before the driver even rounded the car, heels scraping against the stone driveway. I didn't wait for Alex. I didn't want his shadow swallowing me whole.
Inside, I dropped onto the sofa, tugging off my heels and curling my knees to my chest like a child. The silence of the house was oppressive. Heavy. I rubbed at my temple, fighting the urge to scream just to hear something.
Then my phone buzzed.
I froze.
The screen lit up with a number I knew by heart. Ian.
My chest squeezed so hard it hurt. I pressed the phone face-down against my thigh, biting my lip until I tasted blood. I couldn't answer. Not like this. Not while his name felt like the only safe place left in the world.
The buzzing stopped. Relief trembled through me. But then—
It rang again.
And again.
The sound shattered through the quiet room like gunfire. My hands shook, and I hit decline. I couldn't hear his voice, not when I had no answers to give.
From across the room, Alexander's head tilted. His blue eyes glinted like shards of ice.
"Answer it."
I whipped my head up, shaking it furiously. "No. I don't want to"
His stare pinned me down. He didn't raise his voice, didn't repeat himself. He didn't need to. The weight of his silence was heavier than any threat. My stomach twisted until I couldn't breathe. My finger slid across the screen, and the call connected.
"Bella?" Ian's voice was frantic, breaking, like he'd been running. "Jesus, thank God. What's happening? I just saw the news, everyone has. It's everywhere. They're saying you're engaged to him."
My throat clenched. I pressed the phone to my ear, but nothing came out. I couldn't speak.
"You can't marry him." Ian's voice cracked, his desperation bleeding through every word. "Tell me it's not true. Please, Bella. Tell me this is just some sick prank."
Tears blurred my vision. I opened my mouth, choking on words that wouldn't come.
"Talk to me!" His voice broke into a plea. "Why him? Why now? You don't even like him. This isn't you. I know you. You wouldn't—"
The phone was snatched from my hand.
I gasped, twisting to see Alexander towering over me, his fingers curling around the device like it was prey. He lifted it to his ear, his expression cut from stone. His voice was smooth, lethal.
"She's exactly where she belongs."
And then he hung up.
The silence that followed was louder than amy scream.
I stared at him, my body trembling, my heart thundering against my ribs. "You had no right." My voice was hoarse, broken.
He bent closer, bracing his hands on either side of me, trapping me against the sofa. His shadow fell over mine, his scent of smoke and cedar wrapping around me like chains. His lips brushed my ear when he spoke, his voice a warning and a vow.
"No one gets to question what's mine. Not even him."
My breath hitched. My pulse stuttered. And in that moment, I wasn't sure what terrified me more, his possessiveness, or the part of me that almost believed him and wanted to lean into him.