- 21 hours ago
I Found My Photos Hidden in His Room… And On the Last One, I Saw—
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00:00I was late, not the kind of late where you text someone five minutes and hope they're still lingering with their drink.
00:07No, this was the humiliating, stomach-not-in-kind, where you can practically hear the clock laughing at you as you run.
00:16The gallery steps were polished marble, gleaming like they'd been scrubbed for royalty, not ordinary nobodies like me.
00:23My sneakers squeaked in protest as I hurried, tote bag thumping against my hip.
00:30Inside, donors and critics, and people with voices that could cut like knives, were already sipping champagne and pretending to understand art better than anyone else.
00:42I was only there to deliver photographs to a client who paid half their invoices late.
00:48My career as a freelance photographer was more like a string of favours disguised as gigs.
00:55I clutched the prints against me like they were fragile bones.
00:59I'd spent hours editing, trimming, sleepless over whether they were good enough.
01:04My hands were slick with sweat when my sneaker caught on the lip of the last step.
01:10I fell, hard.
01:12The air left me in a shocked grunt as my knees slammed into stone.
01:16My bag spilled, the photographs fanning across the floor like spilled secrets.
01:22They slid, glossy edges flashing in the bright light, exposing slices of me, my work, my eye, my desperation to be noticed.
01:32And now the world could stomp on them in its thousand-dollar shoes.
01:37My face burned hotter than my knees.
01:39I scrambled, mortified, trying to scoop them up before someone stepped on them.
01:45I could hear snickers from the nearest doorway, a woman's clipped laugh, a man muttering something about, amateurs, and then, silence.
01:56It wasn't total, not really, but the laughter stopped, the footsteps slowed, the air thickened with the kind of awareness that only one thing causes.
02:07A presence, a shadow fell over me.
02:10I reached for one of my prints, an intimate black-and-white portrait I'd captured of an old man staring out a bus window, and another hand got there first.
02:22Not helping, not assisting.
02:24The movement was too deliberate for that.
02:27His hand claimed the photo, like it already belonged to him.
02:30I froze, crouched, head bowed, heart pounding against my ribs, as if it wanted out.
02:38Slowly, I lifted my gaze.
02:41The man standing over me was impossible.
02:44Tall, built like something sculpted rather than born.
02:47His shoulders filling the space, as if architecture bent to make room.
02:52His suit wasn't off the rack.
02:54It wasn't even from the usual designer boutiques.
02:57The cut whispered bespoke, stitched with precision, tailored to a man who demanded perfection.
03:05Midnight black, crisp, but with the faintest sheen, like shadows woven into fabric.
03:11His hair was dark and careless, falling forward as though no hand had dared touch it.
03:17And his eyes.
03:18God.
03:19Grey.
03:20Storm grey.
03:21Not soft.
03:23Not merciful.
03:24They pinned me in place like iron.
03:26He held the photograph between long fingers, studying it.
03:31But the weight of his gaze wasn't on the picture.
03:34It was on me.
03:35This is yours.
03:37His voice was velvet, wrapped around steel.
03:40Low.
03:41Not loud.
03:42But carrying an authority that made everything else fade.
03:46I swallowed.
03:47Yes.
03:49A flicker of something unreadable passed over his face.
03:53Not amusement.
03:54Not kindness.
03:55Possession, maybe.
03:58Or recognition.
03:59He tilted his head.
04:01A subtle movement that felt like he was cataloguing me.
04:04Setting me into a box in his mind.
04:07The room had stopped breathing.
04:09I knew people were watching.
04:11But it didn't matter.
04:13Nothing existed.
04:14But the two of us.
04:15And the fragile rectangle of paper trapped in his hand.
04:19He glanced at the print again.
04:21Then back at me.
04:23I'll remember you.
04:24Not a flirt.
04:25Not a promise.
04:27A verdict.
04:28Heat rushed up my throat.
04:30I was trembling.
04:31Though I wanted to hide it.
04:33The words tangled inside me.
04:35Questions.
04:37Protests.
04:38Please.
04:39But none made it to my lips.
04:41He crouched slightly.
04:43Bringing us level.
04:43His presence pressed into me.
04:47Magnetic.
04:48Unbearable.
04:49His thumb brushed the edge of the photo.
04:52Not rough.
04:53Not tender.
04:54But deliberate.
04:55Like a mark.
04:56And then he placed it back in my hands.
04:59His touch lingered a breath too long.
05:01And when it left.
05:03It felt like being abandoned.
05:05He straightened.
05:06Towering again.
05:08And without another word.
05:09He turned.
05:10The crowd parted for him like water.
05:13People lowered their eyes.
05:15He walked away with the same authority he'd arrived with.
05:19Leaving me crouched on the floor.
05:21My photographs scattered like broken glass.
05:24My heart a riot of confusion and need.
05:27I gathered the prints.
05:28Hands shaking.
05:29I tried to tell myself.
05:32He was just another rich man.
05:34One of those patrons who enjoyed looming over struggling artists to see them squirm.
05:40I tried to pretend his voice didn't echo through my skull.
05:44That my skin wasn't still buzzing where his presence had touched me.
05:49But I knew better.
05:50Because when he looked at me.
05:52I wasn't just seen.
05:54I was chosen.
05:55And chosen things don't get to walk away.
05:58I told myself I'd forget him.
06:01That I'd pack away the heat of that moment at the gallery.
06:04Like a bad dream.
06:05Slide it into a drawer.
06:07And never open it again.
06:09But forgetting requires indifference.
06:12And I wasn't indifferent.
06:13My body betrayed me.
06:15Replaying his words at night.
06:17In the shower.
06:18On the subway.
06:19Whispering.
06:20I'll remember you until it felt branded into my skin.
06:23I buried myself in work.
06:26Photographing products for clients who argued about shadows.
06:30Couples who wanted to look thinner in engagement shoots.
06:34Strangers who cared more about filters than truth.
06:38I told myself it was enough.
06:40That he was nothing.
06:41That I didn't want to know his name.
06:43But of course.
06:44Names have a way of finding you.
06:46It was a Thursday evening when the email arrived.
06:49Another opportunity.
06:52Forwarded from a client who couldn't be bothered to show up.
06:55Rooftop restaurant.
06:57Donor dinner.
06:58I'd be the ghost with the camera.
07:00Hovering.
07:02Documenting the powerful.
07:04While they congratulated themselves.
07:06I almost said no.
07:07But the paycheck dangled like bait.
07:10I needed rent.
07:11So I went.
07:12The rooftop glittered above the city.
07:14Strings of light crisscrossed overhead.
07:16Throwing gold across glass tables.
07:20Set with crystal.
07:21And flowers.
07:22That cost more than my groceries for a month.
07:25The skyline beyond was obscene.
07:28Buildings lit like trophies.
07:30Towers piercing the night.
07:32I blended into the background.
07:34Camera straps snug across my shoulder.
07:37Already invisible.
07:38Until the elevator doors opened.
07:40I knew it was him before I saw him.
07:43Some part of me recognised the shift in air pressure.
07:46The way conversations faltered.
07:49How laughter bent itself towards silence.
07:52And then there he was.
07:54The man from the gallery.
07:56Adrian Locke.
07:57The name rolled across the crowd in murmurs.
08:00Reverent.
08:01Fearful.
08:02Billionaire investor.
08:04Power broker.
08:05A man whispered about like a myth made flesh.
08:08But he didn't look at them.
08:10He looked at me.
08:11The glass lens in my hand trembled.
08:14I told myself to hide behind it.
08:17To let the camera shield me.
08:19Instead, I froze.
08:21My pulse slammed against my ribs.
08:24Heat spreading through my chest and throat.
08:27He didn't acknowledge me right away.
08:29He let me squirm.
08:31He shook hands.
08:32Traded half smiles.
08:34Absorbed the room like he owned it.
08:37Which, in a way, he did.
08:38But every time his head turned, his gaze cut back to me.
08:43I felt peeled open, catalogued, claimed all over again.
08:48When the speeches droned, I slipped to the edge of the terrace, pretending to photograph the skyline.
08:54Cool glass railing beneath my palms.
08:57The city stretching out like a glittering snare.
09:00Then I felt him at my back.
09:02You shouldn't run from me, he murmured.
09:05His breath touched the curve of my neck.
09:07I turned, too fast.
09:09Almost dizzy.
09:11He was closer than I expected.
09:13Shadows clinging to his face.
09:15His suit jacket undone.
09:18A predator, disguised as elegance.
09:21I'm not running.
09:22I lied.
09:23My voice cracked, betraying me.
09:25A flicker of amusement ghosted over his lips.
09:29You will.
09:30Unless you'd rather stay.
09:32The words sank deep.
09:34Heavy with something dangerous.
09:35I wanted to argue.
09:38To ask what he wanted.
09:39Why me?
09:40But my throat closed around the questions.
09:43Instead, he reached into his pocket and slipped something into my palm.
09:48A card.
09:49Smooth.
09:50Heavy.
09:51Black.
09:51Just his name engraved in silver.
09:55Adrian Lock.
09:56No number.
09:57No address.
09:59Just that name.
10:00As if it was enough.
10:02I tried to hand it back, but he closed my fingers around it with his own.
10:07His touch was warm.
10:08Steady.
10:09Final.
10:11You're already mine, he said.
10:13Voice low enough that no one else could hear.
10:16His thumb brushed the side of my hand.
10:19And it wasn't comfort.
10:21It was a seal.
10:22When he walked away, the card burned against my skin.
10:26I turned it over.
10:27On the back.
10:28In handwriting so sharp, it might have been cut into the paper itself.
10:33A single line waited for me.
10:35Don't make me prove it.
10:37My chest heightened.
10:38The city spun below me.
10:40I should have been afraid.
10:42I should have thrown the card away.
10:44Erased him from my life.
10:46Pretended I wasn't already circling the edge of something I couldn't escape.
10:51But I didn't.
10:53I slipped the card into my pocket.
10:55Fingers trembling.
10:57As if I'd just accepted a bargain with the devil.
11:00And in a way, I had.
11:02On the back.
11:03A single line.
11:04You're already mine.
11:06Don't make me prove it.
11:07I told myself I wouldn't go.
11:09I told myself ten times.
11:11While pacing the length of my apartment.
11:15Staring at the black card.
11:17Burning in my palm.
11:18Like it held a curse.
11:20His name.
11:21Adrian Locke.
11:23Was etched into me now.
11:25Whispering through my thoughts.
11:27Like a dark current I couldn't fight.
11:29Normal women.
11:31Sane women.
11:32Would have thrown it in the trash.
11:34Blocked every path he could find me through.
11:37Scrubbed him from their memory.
11:39I wasn't normal.
11:40I was insane.
11:42I was restless.
11:43Raw.
11:44Restless in my skin.
11:46Like something had been woken.
11:48And wouldn't go back to sleep.
11:50So when his driver arrived the next evening.
11:53Black car gleaming at the curb.
11:55I stepped inside.
11:57The city blurred past.
11:59As if time had lost patience with me.
12:01By the time the elevator doors opened in his building.
12:05My breath was already uneven.
12:07The penthouse swallowed me whole.
12:10Glass walls.
12:11Skyline pouring in like liquid fire.
12:15Every inch of the place curated for dominance.
12:18Not a home.
12:19A statement.
12:20And there he was.
12:22Adrian stood by the window.
12:24Hands in his pockets.
12:25The reflection of the city glittering in his eyes.
12:29He didn't greet me.
12:30He didn't move toward me.
12:32He just watched.
12:33Still and composed.
12:35As though my presence had been inevitable.
12:38Do you always obey so easily?
12:41His voice was soft.
12:42Dangerous.
12:44I shouldn't have come.
12:45But you did.
12:47He finally turned.
12:49His gaze sharp enough to pierce bone.
12:51That tells me everything I need to know.
12:54My heart kicked.
12:56And what's that?
12:58That you're ready to be tested.
12:59He moved closer.
13:01Each step deliberate.
13:03And I felt the air bend around him.
13:06He stopped just short of touching me.
13:08The heat of his body grazing mine.
13:11Obey me.
13:12And I'll give you everything you don't even know you want.
13:15The words coiled around me.
13:18Seductive.
13:19And terrifying.
13:20And if I don't?
13:22I asked.
13:23Voice breaking.
13:24His lips curved.
13:26Not quite a smile.
13:27Then you'll never know what it feels like when I say yes.
13:30It wasn't a request.
13:32It was a cage disguised as a choice.
13:35And still.
13:36My pulse betrayed me.
13:38Thrumming with a need I didn't recognize in myself.
13:41The first time he kissed me.
13:43It wasn't gentle.
13:45It was command.
13:46His mouth crushing against mine.
13:48Tongue pressing until I yielded.
13:51My back hit cool glass.
13:52The city lights burning behind me.
13:55His hands didn't wander.
13:57They held me firmly.
13:59Decisively.
14:00Exactly where he wanted me.
14:02I melted.
14:03God help me.
14:04I melted.
14:05My knees weakened.
14:07Heat sparking low and sharp.
14:09His dominance wasn't just physical.
14:12It reached into the places I'd kept locked.
14:15The secret fantasies I never dared whisper.
14:18But then.
14:19Just when my body was surrendering.
14:21He pulled away.
14:22The absence was torture.
14:25My lips ached.
14:26My breath caught like I'd been dropped mid-air.
14:29He studied me.
14:31Calm while I burned.
14:32You see.
14:33He murmured.
14:34You crave rules.
14:36Even as you resist them.
14:38I shook my head.
14:39Denial spilling.
14:40Even as my body told the truth.
14:43His hand brushed my jaw.
14:45A ghost of touch.
14:46Then fell away.
14:47I won't take you tonight.
14:49Not fully.
14:50Not until you understand the price of wanting me.
14:53The ache of restraint made my body tremble.
14:57His rejection was worse than any possession.
15:00He turned.
15:01Leaving me raw.
15:02And I stumbled deeper into the penthouse.
15:05Needing space to breathe.
15:08My bare feet carried me down a quiet hallway.
15:11Past sleek walls.
15:13And art pieces.
15:14That looked more like threats than decoration.
15:16And then I saw it.
15:18A door.
15:19Unlike the others.
15:21This one wasn't just closed.
15:23It was locked.
15:24Heavy.
15:25Bolted.
15:26A stark interruption in his world of glass and shine.
15:29I stopped.
15:31Heart hammering.
15:32Staring.
15:33What could Adrian Locke need to hide?
15:35My fingers twitched on the doorknob.
15:38Testing.
15:39Solid.
15:40Impenetrable.
15:41Behind me, the silence broke.
15:43You went too far.
15:44His voice slashed through the air.
15:47Sharp.
15:48And cold.
15:49I spun.
15:50Guilt flaming across my face.
15:53He was in the hall now.
15:54His expression unreadable.
15:56But his presence filling the space.
15:59Choking it.
16:00I...
16:00I was just...
16:01Curiosity.
16:03He said.
16:04Stepping closer.
16:05Isn't harmless in my world.
16:07His hand braced on the wall beside my head.
16:10Caging me in.
16:12That door isn't for you.
16:13I swallowed.
16:15Throat tight.
16:16But the words slipped out anyway.
16:18Then what is?
16:20His eyes burned into mine.
16:22And for a moment, I thought he'd answer.
16:24Instead, he leaned close.
16:27His lips brushing my ear.
16:29You'll find out when you've earned it.
16:31The promise.
16:32Or was it a threat?
16:34Sent a shiver slicing down my spine.
16:37I didn't know if I wanted the key to that door.
16:39Or if unlocking it would destroy me.
16:44The next time I returned to his penthouse.
16:55I told myself I wouldn't go near that door.
16:58That I'd keep my distance.
17:00Stay in the spaces he allowed me.
17:02But distance is a lie when it comes to Adrian Locke.
17:06He didn't need chains.
17:08His presence was the cage.
17:10He poured me a drink I didn't touch.
17:13We sat in silence.
17:15Him in a low chair.
17:16Me curled into the edge of the couch like a guest who couldn't decide if she was welcome.
17:22The city glowed behind him.
17:24Towers lit like gold teeth.
17:26You're quiet tonight.
17:28He said finally.
17:30I almost laughed.
17:31You don't exactly invite chatter.
17:34A flicker of something passed over his face.
17:37Then disappeared behind his usual mask.
17:40Good.
17:40I don't want chatter.
17:42He stood, crossing to the wall.
17:45His movements sharp.
17:46Precise.
17:48Then, without warning, he gestured for me to follow.
17:52My pulse quickened.
17:53I thought he was leading me back to the locked door.
17:56That forbidden place he'd snapped shut between us.
17:59But he stopped short, turning into a smaller, dimly lit room I hadn't seen before.
18:05The space was stark.
18:07One chair.
18:08A narrow desk.
18:10And the walls.
18:12Lined with photographs.
18:14Not mine.
18:15His.
18:16I stepped closer.
18:17They weren't polished, curated shots.
18:20They were raw.
18:21Grainy.
18:21Some old increased.
18:24Adrian younger.
18:25Shirtless.
18:26His body thinner.
18:27Harder.
18:28His chest mapped with scars.
18:30Fresh and angry in some frames.
18:33Healed but jagged in others.
18:35I froze.
18:36My throat closed.
18:38What?
18:39Is this?
18:40He didn't answer immediately.
18:42He stood with his back to me.
18:44His hand pressed flat against the wall.
18:46Fingers trembling.
18:48Almost imperceptibly.
18:49Before all this.
18:51He said finally.
18:53His voice was lower than I'd ever heard it.
18:55Stripped of command.
18:57Before I became who I am now.
19:00I turned to look at him.
19:01His jaw was tight.
19:03His eyes locked on a single photo.
19:06Him.
19:07Younger.
19:08Blood smeared across his ribs.
19:10Gaze.
19:11Hollow.
19:12My chest ached.
19:14This wasn't the man who had cornered me against glass walls.
19:17Who played with power like it was his birthright.
19:20This was the wound beneath the armour.
19:23I wanted to touch him.
19:24To step forward.
19:26To smooth the tension from his shoulders.
19:28To whisper that scars didn't make him unworthy.
19:31But before I could move.
19:33He spun.
19:35Eyes burning.
19:36Don't pity me.
19:38The command lashed.
19:39But his voice shook.
19:41I don't.
19:42I said softly.
19:44Though my pulse betrayed me.
19:46I just.
19:47I didn't know.
19:48You weren't meant to.
19:50His lips twisted.
19:52A cruel facsimile of a smile.
19:54No one is.
19:56Silence pressed between us.
19:58Heavy.
19:58And fragile.
19:59I felt the ground shifting beneath my feet.
20:02His dominance wasn't unbreakable.
20:05It was armour.
20:06And beneath it.
20:07He was stitched together with pain.
20:10Something in me cracked too.
20:12The part of me that wanted to resist him.
20:14To hate the control he wielded.
20:17Began to soften against the side of his vulnerability.
20:20It was dangerous this intimacy.
20:23It was more binding than any kiss.
20:25Any command.
20:26But then he shut the door.
20:28Literally.
20:30He reached out.
20:31Pulled it closed.
20:32And with that small sharp click.
20:34The moment ended.
20:36His mask slid back into place.
20:38Forget what you saw.
20:40I shook my head.
20:41I can't.
20:43Then don't.
20:44He said.
20:45Brushing past me.
20:46Voice clipped.
20:47Final.
20:49Later that night.
20:50When he fell asleep beside me.
20:51I wandered back into the main room.
20:54Restless.
20:55That's when I saw it.
20:57On his desk.
20:58Under a stack of papers.
21:00A new photograph.
21:02My photograph.
21:03Not one I'd given him.
21:05Not one he could have asked for.
21:07It was me.
21:08Candid.
21:09Walking home from the subway.
21:11My hair loose.
21:13My lips parted as if caught mid-thought.
21:16Unaware of any lens.
21:18My chest tightened.
21:19My fingers trembled as I lifted it.
21:22He hadn't just seen me at the gallery.
21:24He'd been watching me long before that.
21:27That night.
21:28I realised I wasn't only the woman he wanted.
21:30I was the obsession he'd already claimed.
21:33Sleep was impossible after what I'd discovered.
21:36The photograph burned in my mind.
21:39Sharper than any scar he carried on his chest.
21:42My face.
21:43My body.
21:44Captured without my knowledge.
21:46Tucked neatly beneath his papers.
21:49As if I were another file.
21:51Another possession.
21:52When Adrian woke.
21:54He acted as if nothing had shifted.
21:57He poured coffee.
21:58Silent as always.
22:00Dark eyes fixed on me.
22:02With that unrelenting weight.
22:04I sat opposite him.
22:06Fingers wrapped around the mug I couldn't drink.
22:09The words clashing in my throat.
22:11You've been watching me.
22:12I said finally.
22:14No hesitation.
22:16No denial.
22:17Only a slow, deliberate tilt of his head.
22:20Of course I have.
22:22The matter-of-fact tone made my skin crawl.
22:25That's not normal.
22:27Normal is irrelevant.
22:29He set his cup down with a soft clink.
22:32You intrigued me.
22:33I wanted to know if the intrigue would last.
22:36And...
22:36His gaze locked on mine.
22:39It has.
22:40I should have screamed.
22:42Demanded answers.
22:43Run.
22:44But instead.
22:45Heat surged beneath my skin.
22:48Anger tangled with something darker.
22:51An ache I refused to name.
22:53Do you realize how twisted that sounds?
22:56He leaned back.
22:57Expression unreadable.
22:59Twisted perhaps.
23:01But true.
23:02I pushed back from the table.
23:04Pacing the room.
23:05The city loomed outside.
23:07Glittering.
23:08Free.
23:09While I was trapped in his cage.
23:11You don't own me.
23:13He rose.
23:14His movements a controlled storm.
23:16Closing the space between us.
23:18His hand brushed my arm.
23:20Light.
23:21But searing.
23:22No.
23:23But I will.
23:25The words hit like a verdict.
23:27I should have resisted.
23:29I should have clawed at the bars he'd drawn around me.
23:32But instead.
23:33I froze.
23:34Caught between fury and want.
23:36My body betraying me with its trembling.
23:39Say something.
23:40He pressed.
23:42Voice low.
23:43Dangerous.
23:44I hate you.
23:46I whispered.
23:46The words cracked.
23:48Hollow.
23:49No.
23:51He murmured.
23:52Leaning closer.
23:53Lips ghosting the air by my ear.
23:56You want me.
23:57That's the part you hate most.
24:00My breath shuddered out.
24:01And for a moment.
24:02I thought I would collapse.
24:04Every instinct screamed to run.
24:07Yet when his fingers slid up.
24:09Curling beneath my chin.
24:11I lifted my face into his touch.
24:13Instead of away from it.
24:15The kiss came like a storm breaking.
24:17Inevitable.
24:19Merciless.
24:20His mouth claimed mine with bruising intensity.
24:23A collision of dominance.
24:25And surrender.
24:26I should have shoved him back.
24:28Screamed into the void.
24:30Instead.
24:31I melted.
24:32Every defense dissolving under the fire of him.
24:35When he finally pulled away.
24:37My lips were swollen.
24:39My pulse ragged.
24:41His eyes searched mine.
24:43Sharp and relentless.
24:45You're mine.
24:46He said again.
24:48Softer this time.
24:50Almost a vow.
24:51Something fractured inside me.
24:53The part that had been clinging to freedom.
24:56To control.
24:57Splintered under the weight of his certainty.
25:00I wanted to deny it.
25:02But the truth pulsed in my silence.
25:04He stepped back then.
25:06Almost merciful.
25:07As if giving me space to breathe.
25:10But the damage was done.
25:11The kiss lingered.
25:13Binding me tighter than chains ever could.
25:16All day I couldn't shake it.
25:17I replayed every second.
25:20Every word.
25:21The way his lips felt like both a curse.
25:23And a promise.
25:25My mind screamed against it.
25:27But my body remembered.
25:28Betraying me with a hunger I couldn't erase.
25:31That evening.
25:32When he returned from whatever shadowed business consumed him.
25:36He found me still pacing.
25:38Restless.
25:39Raw.
25:40You look like prey.
25:41He said casually.
25:43Stripping his jacket.
25:45His muscles taut beneath his shirt.
25:47Maybe I am.
25:48I spat.
25:49He smirked.
25:50Stepping closer.
25:52Then stop circling the cage.
25:54And admit what you want.
25:55I don't want this.
25:57The lie seared my tongue.
25:59He caught my wrist.
26:00Pulling me flush against him.
26:02His breath fanned across my cheek.
26:05His heart beat steady against mine.
26:07Your body says otherwise.
26:10I trembled.
26:11Hating him.
26:12Hating myself more.
26:13His lips brushed my ear.
26:16You can hate me tomorrow.
26:17Tonight you'll remember who you belong to.
26:20The trap snapped shut.
26:22I should have fought.
26:23Screamed.
26:24Clawed my way free.
26:26But instead.
26:27I yielded.
26:28Pulled into the dark gravity of him.
26:31Every touch burned.
26:32Every word unspooled me further.
26:35By the time dawn bled across the city.
26:37I was no longer sure where he ended.
26:39And I began.
26:41And yet.
26:42Beneath the heat.
26:43A single thought cut cold through me.
26:46This wasn't love.
26:48It was possession.
26:50And possession always came with a price.
26:53The next morning.
26:54I found the locked door ajar.
26:56Inside waited the secret.
26:57That would make me question.
26:59Not just his obsession.
27:01But my own.
27:02The lock hung open.
27:04Almost taunting me.
27:06It had been a solid barrier for weeks.
27:08A line I was never allowed to cross.
27:11But now the door to his private room.
27:13Gaped like a wound.
27:15I pushed it open with a trembling hand.
27:18Stepping inside before I could change my mind.
27:21The air smelled faintly of leather and iron.
27:24A sharpness beneath the polished wood.
27:27Floor to ceiling shelves lined the walls.
27:30Filled with files.
27:31Photographs.
27:33Things that weren't meant to be touched.
27:35At the far end sat a low table.
27:37Scattered with pictures.
27:39All of me.
27:40Different angles.
27:42Different nights.
27:43But it wasn't the pictures that froze my blood.
27:46It was the centrepiece on the table.
27:48A black box.
27:50Velvet lined.
27:51Holding a silver key with my initials engraved.
27:55Looking for something.
27:56His voice was soft.
27:58But lethal.
27:59Slicing through the silence.
28:01I spun around.
28:03Adrian stood in the doorway.
28:04Framed by the dim light from the hall.
28:07He wasn't smiling.
28:09He wasn't even angry.
28:11His expression was worse.
28:13Detached.
28:14Unreadable.
28:15As if he were a stranger wearing his own skin.
28:19You spied on me.
28:20You photographed me.
28:21You kept me here like.
28:24Like some collectible.
28:26I said.
28:26My voice shaking.
28:28I protected you.
28:30He countered.
28:31Stepping closer.
28:32The world outside this apartment would devour you.
28:35I gave you shelter.
28:37Shelter?
28:38I barked a laugh.
28:40You caged me.
28:41He reached for me.
28:43But I stepped back until my legs hit the edge of the table.
28:47Don't!
28:48His hand froze.
28:49Mid-air.
28:50For the first time since I'd met him.
28:52His composure cracked.
28:54I saw it in the flicker of his jaw.
28:57The faint tremor of his fingers.
28:59You think you can walk away.
29:01His voice was low.
29:03Rough.
29:03You think you'll be safe?
29:05I don't care.
29:07My heart pounded.
29:08I'm leaving.
29:10He inhaled sharply.
29:11Then exhaled like a man at the edge of a cliff.
29:14Then listen.
29:15Because you're not hearing me.
29:17If you walk out that door, I can't protect you from what's coming.
29:21I tilted my chin.
29:23Anger and fear colliding inside me.
29:25What's coming?
29:26His silence was an answer in itself.
29:29Something in his eyes.
29:31Dark.
29:32Haunted.
29:33Made me falter.
29:34There was a threat bigger than him.
29:36But he was still the one holding the chains.
29:39You can't keep me here.
29:41I can't let you die either.
29:43The words landed between us.
29:45Heavy.
29:46And real.
29:47For a second the mask slipped.
29:49Revealing a man.
29:50Not just obsessed.
29:52But desperate.
29:53Who are you protecting me from?
29:55I demanded.
29:56His jaw clenched.
29:58My world isn't just mine.
30:00There are others.
30:01Rivals.
30:02Enemies.
30:03If they know what you are to me, they'll use you.
30:06I'm not yours.
30:08I snapped.
30:09You are.
30:10He hissed.
30:11The word breaking on his tongue.
30:13Then softer.
30:15Almost pleading.
30:16At least for now.
30:18The silence stretched.
30:20My pulse roared in my ears.
30:22This was the fracture point.
30:24Every moment that had led here.
30:26Balanced on the edge of his next move.
30:29I won't live like this.
30:31I said finally.
30:33My voice steady.
30:34Despite the tremor in my hands.
30:36I won't be your prisoner.
30:38If you want me.
30:40You'll have to meet me on equal ground.
30:42Otherwise.
30:43I'm gone.
30:44He stared at me.
30:45As though I'd just spoken a language he didn't know.
30:49Equal ground.
30:50Power.
30:51I said.
30:52Choice.
30:53You've taken mine.
30:55I'm taking it back.
30:56For a heartbeat.
30:58He said nothing.
30:59Then with a motion so swift.
31:01I barely registered it.
31:03He swept the photographs off the table.
31:06They scattered across the floor like fallen feathers.
31:09He pressed his palms flat against the wood.
31:12Leaning toward me.
31:13Eyes blazing.
31:15You think I don't know how wrong this is?
31:18He rasped.
31:19You think I don't see what I've become?
31:22His voice cracked.
31:24The sound startled me more than his anger.
31:26I wanted to protect you.
31:28He whispered.
31:30But you got under my skin.
31:32You made me weak.
31:33And weakness in my world is death.
31:36I swallowed hard.
31:38Something sharp and fragile catching in my throat.
31:41For the first time I believed him.
31:43Not just his obsession.
31:45But his fear.
31:46Then he stepped back.
31:48Shoulders rigid.
31:49If you want to leave.
31:51Leave.
31:52But you won't survive out there without me.
31:54Choose now.
31:56It was an ultimatum.
31:57But also a surrender.
31:59He wasn't chaining me anymore.
32:02He was daring me to walk.
32:04I looked at the door.
32:05I could almost see the hallway beyond it.
32:08The city glittering like freedom.
32:10I could also see the man in front of me.
32:13Dark.
32:14Dangerous.
32:15Fractured.
32:17Offering me a choice.
32:18That wasn't really a choice at all.
32:21You're still holding the key.
32:23I said softly.
32:24He glanced down at the silver key in the box.
32:27The one with my initials.
32:29His hand trembled as he picked it up.
32:32Then extended it toward me.
32:34Take it.
32:35Or stay.
32:36But don't lie to yourself about what you want.
32:39My fingers hovered above the metal.
32:41If I took it, it would mean freedom.
32:43Or ruin.
32:45Maybe both.
32:46His voice dropped to a whisper.
32:48Choose me.
32:49And I'll tear down every wall.
32:51Walk away.
32:52And you'll never see me again.
32:53I met his eyes.
32:56They were no longer the eyes of a man in control.
32:59They were the eyes of someone stripped bare.
33:02Waiting to be destroyed.
33:03My heart hammered against my ribs.
33:06This was the moment that would decide everything.
33:09I closed my fingers around the key.
33:12And felt his hand close over mine.
33:23His fingers closed over mine.
33:28Warm and unyielding.
33:30Both of us holding the key like a blade between us.
33:33For a heartbeat, neither of us spoke.
33:36The world shrank to the silver weight in our joined hands.
33:40To the thud of our hearts colliding like fists against a locked door.
33:45Let go.
33:46I whispered.
33:47You first.
33:48He murmured back.
33:50His voice wasn't a command this time.
33:52It was raw.
33:53Stripped of the arrogance that had once wrapped him like armor.
33:57I looked up.
33:58The man in front of me wasn't the same one who had taken my life apart.
34:03Piece by piece.
34:05His shoulders slumped as if carrying an invisible wound.
34:08His eyes held no heat.
34:10Only exhaustion.
34:12Like a soldier who'd finally admitted the war wasn't winnable.
34:16What are you so afraid of?
34:18I asked softly.
34:20Losing you.
34:21He said.
34:22Almost inaudible.
34:24The answer stunned me with its honesty.
34:26For weeks he had cloaked every move in dominance.
34:29And secrecy.
34:31But now the scaffolding cracked.
34:33Underneath, he was flesh and vulnerability.
34:37Not the untouchable phantom who had dragged me into his orbit.
34:41Then stop trying to own me.
34:43I said.
34:44If you want me.
34:45Choose me.
34:47Not my obedience.
34:48Not my silence.
34:49Me.
34:50He flinched just slightly.
34:53I don't know how.
34:54Learn.
34:55Then, I said.
34:56My voice was steady.
34:58Because I won't survive as someone's property.
35:01And you won't survive as the man you're pretending to be.
35:04For a long moment, neither of us moved.
35:07Then, with a slow exhale, he loosened his grip.
35:11The key fell into my palm.
35:13My fingers closed around it.
35:15Freedom.
35:17But I didn't run.
35:18I set the key back down on the table and stepped closer.
35:22His eyes widened, but he didn't retreat.
35:26For the first time, I touched him without hesitation.
35:30My hand on his chest.
35:31Feeling the uneven rhythm of his heartbeat.
35:35Show me the scar.
35:36I said quietly.
35:38He hesitated.
35:39Then unbuttoned his shirt.
35:41The fabric slid off his shoulders.
35:44Exposing the mark etched across his torso.
35:47Jagged.
35:48Pale.
35:49A roadmap of pain.
35:50It wasn't just a wound.
35:52It was a confession.
35:54What happened?
35:55I asked.
35:56He swallowed hard.
35:58I was seventeen.
35:59They tried to kill me.
36:01My father's enemies.
36:03I survived.
36:04But I learned something that day.
36:06That anyone you love becomes a target.
36:09His gaze flicked up to mine.
36:11Raw and unshielded.
36:13That's why I hide.
36:14That's why I cage.
36:16I brushed my fingers along the scar.
36:19His breath hitched.
36:21You're still bleeding from it.
36:23I whispered.
36:24He closed his eyes.
36:26Maybe.
36:27This is the part where you stop running.
36:29I said.
36:31If you want me to stay.
36:32You have to stop protecting me by destroying me.
36:35His hands came up slowly.
36:38Resting at my waist.
36:39Not gripping.
36:41Not holding.
36:42Just touching.
36:43And if I let you go.
36:45I'll walk out that door.
36:47But you'll never know what we could have been.
36:49His thumb traced a trembling line across my hip.
36:52He was shaking.
36:53The man who'd once seemed unbreakable now stood in front of me like glass about to splinter.
37:00Stay.
37:01He said.
37:01It wasn't an order.
37:03It was a plea.
37:04Then give me your truth.
37:06I said.
37:07All of it.
37:08Not the story you tell everyone else.
37:11The real one.
37:12He stared at me for a long shuddering moment.
37:15Then he nodded.
37:17Okay.
37:18And just like that, the air shifted.
37:20He guided me to the edge of the bed.
37:23A space that had always been his.
37:26Now opening like a field after fire.
37:29He sat.
37:30Head bowed.
37:31While I stood before him.
37:32This isn't a test.
37:34I told him.
37:35This is surrender.
37:37On both sides.
37:39His lips parted as if to argue.
37:41But then he stopped.
37:43Instead.
37:44He reached for my hand.
37:45And brought it to his mouth.
37:47Pressing a kiss to my knuckles.
37:49The gesture was so uncharacteristic.
37:53Gentle.
37:54Reverent.
37:55That my throat tightened.
37:57I climbed onto the bed beside him.
37:59Not as a captive.
38:01But as an equal.
38:02The energy between us shifted.
38:04The air heavy.
38:06But no longer suffocating.
38:08When his lips found mine.
38:10The kiss wasn't a claim.
38:12It was an asking.
38:13This time.
38:14I kissed him back on my own terms.
38:16I slid my fingers into his hair.
38:19Tugged him closer.
38:21And felt his body shudder beneath mine.
38:23Every touch became a rewriting of the rules.
38:27Less restraint.
38:28More trust.
38:29The desire was still there.
38:31Electric.
38:32But now it deepened into something else.
38:35Something that hummed low and dangerous beneath the skin.
38:39He whispered my name like an apology between breaths.
38:42I don't know how to stop wanting to protect you.
38:45Then protect me by seeing me.
38:48I murmured.
38:49Not hiding me.
38:51His hand slid down my back.
38:53Not to trap.
38:54But to hold.
38:55When he entered me.
38:56It wasn't the raw consuming act it had been before.
39:00It was slow.
39:02Unhurried.
39:03A confession pressed into flesh.
39:05I felt the tremor in his body.
39:08The way he clung to me as though letting go would erase him.
39:12Our breaths mingled.
39:14Ragged and uneven.
39:16In that moment the power shifted.
39:19Not because he gave it up.
39:21But because we shared it.
39:22My nails dug into his shoulders.
39:25Leaving marks of my own.
39:26His forehead dropped to mine.
39:28Eyes squeezed shut.
39:30As if we were both falling.
39:32And finally choosing not to catch ourselves.
39:35When it was over we lay tangled.
39:37The city humming faintly beyond the windows.
39:40His heart beat against my palm.
39:43Steady but softer now.
39:45I'm still afraid.
39:46He said.
39:47So am I.
39:49He turned his head.
39:50Meeting my eyes.
39:51But you're here.
39:53I'm here.
39:54I said.
39:55On my terms.
39:56We lay there in silence.
39:58The key still on the table.
40:00Untouched.
40:01For the first time.
40:03The room didn't feel like a cage.
40:05It felt like a choice.
40:06Waiting to be made.
40:08He brushed a strand of hair from my face.
40:11This doesn't fix us.
40:13No.
40:13I said.
40:14But it's a start.
40:16In the quiet after.
40:17A single phone vibrated on the nightstand.
40:21His.
40:21Screen lit with a name I'd never seen before.
40:24And the message that flashed up.
40:27Made my blood run cold.
40:28The phone screen burned between us.
40:31The name glowing like a curse.
40:34I didn't ask.
40:35He didn't explain.
40:36He only silenced it.
40:38Face turning to stone again.
40:40But the softness of what we'd just shared still clung to his skin.
40:44To mine.
40:45The truth was out there.
40:47Lurking.
40:48Waiting.
40:49But in that moment.
40:51The storm receded.
40:52I should have pressed.
40:54Demanded answers.
40:56Instead.
40:57I lay back.
40:58Staring at the ceiling.
41:00My body still humming from the collision we'd survived.
41:03His hand hesitated above my ribs.
41:06Before resting there.
41:07Warm.
41:08Grounding.
41:09You're too quiet.
41:10He said finally.
41:12His voice low.
41:13Stripped bare.
41:14I don't have the strength to fight you tonight.
41:17A faint smile tugged at his lips.
41:20Maybe that's mercy.
41:22Maybe that's defeat.
41:23Or maybe it's neither.
41:25My words came slow.
41:27Thoughtful.
41:28Maybe it's just choosing not to destroy what we still have left.
41:32For the first time he looked unsure.
41:35His mask.
41:36The one of dominance.
41:37Certainty.
41:38Control.
41:39Was gone.
41:40In its place was a man who looked terrified of losing what had just been salvaged.
41:45I've made you hate me.
41:47He murmured.
41:48Yes.
41:49I admitted.
41:50My honesty startled even me.
41:52And I've wanted you anyway.
41:54That's the part that hurts.
41:56His jaw tightened.
41:58As though my words were knives.
42:00But instead of retreating.
42:02He leaned in.
42:04Pressing his forehead against mine.
42:06I've never hated anyone more than myself.
42:09Until you walked into my life.
42:12Now I hate the part of me that can't let you go.
42:15It wasn't an apology.
42:17Not really.
42:18But it was the closest thing to one he knew how to give.
42:22I cupped his face.
42:24Feeling the rough stubble.
42:26The warmth beneath.
42:28Then stop hating it.
42:29Stop fighting it.
42:31Because I'm not leaving Adrian.
42:33Not tonight.
42:34Maybe not ever.
42:35He kissed me then.
42:37Slow and searching.
42:39Nothing of dominance.
42:40Everything of need.
42:42His lips moved against mine.
42:44Like an unspoken vow.
42:46Soft but searing.
42:48Not to own.
42:49But to beg forgiveness.
42:51And for once.
42:52I gave it freely.
42:54The kiss deepened.
42:55Turning restless.
42:57The hunger threading through us again.
43:00But this time it wasn't about power or possession.
43:03It was about closeness.
43:05The desperate need to erase the space between our bodies.
43:10When his hands slid under my shirt.
43:12They weren't claiming.
43:13They were asking.
43:15I answered by arching into him.
43:17Giving.
43:18Not surrendering.
43:19The world outside the room could have been collapsing.
43:22And I wouldn't have cared.
43:24His mouth travelled down my throat.
43:26His breath hot against my collarbone.
43:29Each touch felt like stitching something broken back together.
43:33Fragile but real.
43:35Tell me this is real.
43:36He whispered against my skin.
43:39It is.
43:40I gasped.
43:41As long as you let it be.
43:43When we came together again.
43:45It was different.
43:46Tender.
43:47Aching.
43:48Like an apology written in flesh.
43:50No harsh grips.
43:52No cages.
43:54Only the desperate rhythm of two people clinging to the last chance.
43:58To remake what had been shattered.
44:00Every sigh.
44:02Every moan felt like choosing him again.
44:05Choosing us.
44:06Even when logic screamed we shouldn't.
44:09After.
44:09We stayed tangled in the sheets.
44:12The city lights painting us in fragments of gold.
44:15His hand rested over my heart.
44:17As though he needed proof it was still beating for him.
44:21Do you forgive me?
44:22He asked.
44:23The words were quiet.
44:25Almost childlike.
44:27No.
44:28I whispered.
44:29He flinched but I didn't stop.
44:31I don't forgive.
44:33Not yet.
44:34Forgiveness isn't a gift you take.
44:36It's something you earn.
44:38His gaze held mine.
44:39Sharp.
44:40And searching.
44:41Then let me earn it.
44:43Then stop hiding.
44:44Stop lying.
44:46Stop locking your truth in a room I have to break into.
44:49He nodded once.
44:51Solemn.
44:52And pressed his lips to my knuckles.
44:54Like he'd done before.
44:56The gesture had shifted.
44:58It wasn't worship now.
44:59But respect.
45:01For the first time since it all began.
45:03I felt something that resembled safety.
45:06Not because the danger was gone.
45:08It never would be.
45:10But because we had finally chosen each other.
45:13In the ruins.
45:14Stripped bare.
45:16With nothing left to bargain.
45:17I drifted against him.
45:20Sleep tugging at the edges of me.
45:22Before I slipped under.
45:24I heard his voice again.
45:25Low and steady.
45:27You're not my possession.
45:28He said.
45:29You're my fire.
45:31And I'll burn with you.
45:32Not against you.
45:33The words settled deep.
45:36Sealing something between us.
45:37That no lock.
45:39No scar.
45:40No hidden photograph could undo.
45:42I pressed my lips to his chest.
45:44Over the scar.
45:45And whispered the truth that had terrified me since the beginning.
45:50Then we'll burn together.
45:52And for once.
45:54It didn't feel like surrender.
45:56It felt like survival.
45:58I closed my eyes against the steady thrum of his heartbeat.
46:02Knowing that whatever storms came next.
46:05We had chosen each other.
46:07And that choice was the only permanence we would ever need.
46:11So now I'm glad to see you.
46:13I'll be ready for the general marriage.
46:15Go to the tractor.
46:19Now I'm glad to choose you.
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