The silence in Isabella's room was a blade.
Damian's command still echoed in the air Sit on the bed but Isabella couldn't move. Her legs refused to obey, her heart hammering against her ribs as if it could break free.
Luca's hand brushed hers briefly, steadying her. "You don't have to listen to him," he whispered.
Damian's gaze flicked to their joined hands. The faintest smile curved his lips, but it wasn't amusement. It was promise. A predator's patience before the kill.
"Touch her again," Damian said softly, "and I'll break your fingers one by one."
The threat was delivered so quietly, so calmly, that Isabella shivered more than if he had shouted.
Luca squared his shoulders. "You don't own her, Damian."
For a moment, the air stilled then Damian struck.
It happened so fast Isabella barely saw it. One second, Luca was standing tall. The next, Damian had him slammed against the wall, forearm pressed to his throat. The sound of impact rattled the framed painting above Isabella's bed.
Isabella cried out. "Stop!"
Damian ignored her, his face inches from Luca's, gray eyes burning like ice on fire.
"You think courage will protect you?" Damian hissed. "You think her eyes on you make you her savior?" He pressed harder, and Luca's breath hitched. "You're a fool. In my world, men like you die first."
Luca choked out, struggling against the iron grip, but Damian's strength was terrifying.
Isabella rushed forward, clutching Damian's arm. "Please, stop! You'll kill him!"
Damian's gaze flicked to her, sharp and possessive, before returning to Luca. Slowly, deliberately, he released him. Luca collapsed against the wall, coughing, his face flushed with rage and humiliation.
"Leave," Damian ordered.
Luca wiped his mouth, his voice hoarse but defiant. "This isn't over."
"Oh, it's over," Damian said smoothly. "The next time I see you near her, you'll be carried out in pieces."
The promise hung heavy in the air.
Luca's eyes met Isabella's soft, desperate, apologetic before he stumbled to the door and slipped out.
When the latch clicked shut, the silence that followed was deafening. Isabella stood trembling, her breath uneven.
Damian turned slowly toward her.
She stepped back instinctively, her spine pressing against the wall. "Why would you do that?" she whispered. "He was only trying to help me."
Damian's expression softened not with kindness, but with something darker. He stalked toward her, every step controlled, lethal.
"Because you don't need saving," he murmured, caging her in with his hands braced against the wall beside her head. His scent surrounded her whiskey, smoke, and something undeniably male. "You're mine, Isabella. From the moment our fathers made the deal, you ceased to belong to yourself."
Her breath caught, tears stinging her eyes. "That isn't love. That's prison."
"Prison?" Damian leaned closer, his lips brushing her ear. "No, bella. It's protection. In this world, freedom will destroy you. But under me" His breath was hot against her skin. "You'll learn to crave the chains."
Her knees buckled, heat coursing through her body despite the terror clawing at her chest.
"Y-you're a monster," she whispered.
Damian smiled faintly, his eyes gleaming. "Maybe. But I'm your monster now."
His hand rose, brushing the tears from her cheek with startling gentleness. The contradiction made her heart ache with confusion. How could hands that hurt one man hold her so tenderly?
Before she could respond, he tilted her chin up, his mouth hovering just above hers. Her body screamed at her to push him away, but her lips parted against her will.
And then he pulled back, leaving her gasping.
"Not yet," Damian whispered, his voice rough. "When I finally take you, Isabella, it won't be because you fear me. It'll be because you can't breathe without me."
Her stomach twisted with dread and something far more dangerous.
Damian stepped back, straightened his cuffs, and left the room without another word.
The door shut with a click, and Isabella sank to the floor, shaking. She pressed her hands to her face, torn apart inside.
Because Luca had offered freedom.
And Damian had offered chains.
And her heart didn't know which terrified her more.
The floor was cold beneath her knees, but Isabella barely felt it. Her hands trembled against her face, hot tears slipping between her fingers. Her chest heaved with the aftermath of everything the violence, the threat, Damian's nearness.
Her heart wasn't steady. It wasn't calm. It was burning.
A knock jolted her. Not sharp like before soft, hesitant.
"Bella?"
Sophia's voice.
Isabella scrambled up, wiping her cheeks quickly before opening the door a crack. Her best friend slipped in, her silk nightgown whispering against the floor. Sophia's eyes widened as they swept over Isabella's face.
"What happened?" she whispered urgently. "I heard shouting. And Damian he looked like he wanted to kill someone when he left."
Isabella's throat tightened. "He almost did."
Sophia grabbed her shoulders. "Who?"
"Luca," Isabella whispered. Her voice cracked. "He came to see me, and Damian… Damian nearly"
She broke off, shaking her head.
Sophia's mouth parted in shock. "Are you insane? If Damian caught him here"
"He did!" Isabella snapped, her voice rising before she lowered it again, glancing fearfully at the door. "He saw us. He…" Her words trailed off as the memory of Damian's hands on Luca's throat seared through her again.
Sophia paled, then pulled her toward the bed, making her sit. "Bella, you can't let Luca do this. Damian will kill him. He's not bluffing."
Isabella hugged herself, curling forward. "But Luca's right. I don't belong here. This isn't life, it's a cage."
Sophia's eyes softened, but there was fear in them too. "I know. But, Bella… cages are safer than coffins."
The words hit like a stone.
Isabella's gaze dropped to her lap. Her hands shook, twisting the hem of her nightgown. "Maybe. But how long before this cage eats me alive?"
Sophia didn't answer. She only wrapped her arms around Isabella, holding her as if that could shield her from the storm outside.
The comfort didn't last. A shadow fell under the door, footsteps deliberate, heavy. Isabella froze, her heart leaping to her throat.
The handle turned.
The door opened.
Damian stepped inside.
Sophia shot up instantly, bowing her head. "Goodnight, Damian." Her voice trembled. She hurried past him, disappearing into the hall before the door shut again.
Now it was just him.
And her.
Damian's gaze found Isabella on the bed, her tear-streaked face, her trembling hands. Something flickered in his eyes pride? Possession? Hunger?
He crossed the room slowly, the predator at ease after the kill.
Isabella's breath hitched. "Why are you here?" she whispered, her voice breaking.
"To remind you," Damian said, his tone deep and dangerous, "that your choices are not yours anymore."
He crouched before her, close enough that she could feel the heat of his body. His fingers brushed hers, prying her clenched fists open one by one. "Your hands… they're too delicate for chains. But if you keep testing me, Isabella…" His lips hovered over her knuckles. "…I'll have to bind them."
Her stomach twisted, fear and forbidden desire colliding inside her until she couldn't tell one from the other.
His eyes lifted, pinning her with their storm. "Tell me, Bella. When you dream tonight… will it be of Luca's freedom?" His mouth curved, dark and intimate. "Or my chains?"
The question stole her breath. She didn't answer. She couldn't.
And Damian…Damian smiled like he already knew.