Chapter 5

My eyes fell on the glowing screen of Sebastian’s phone, and my blood turned cold in an instant.

Mission accomplished, Mr. Sprouse. Vanessa suspects nothing about us.

For one terrible second, I forgot how to breathe. The words blurred in front of me, but not enough to hide the truth. Maureen had sent that message. Maureen. My best friend. The woman who had stood beside me, comforted me, and listened to every fear I had ever whispered in the dark.

A sick feeling twisted inside me.

The recording on the desk was fake. The hitman, the threats, the whole ugly scene that made Sebastian look like my protector had been staged. He had not saved me. He had trapped me. And Maureen had helped him do it.

I felt horror wash over me so fast that I thought I might faint. My hands went cold. My stomach turned. I wanted to shove him away from me and scream until the windows shattered. I wanted to grab that phone and throw it in his face and demand answers he did not deserve the chance to twist.

But Sebastian was right in front of me.

His arm was still around my waist. His mouth was only inches from mine. If I let even one flicker of what I felt show on my face, he would know. And if he knew, I had no idea what he would do.

So I forced myself to move.

I tore my eyes away from the screen and looked up at him instead. I made myself soften. I made myself smile, though it felt like my lips might split from the strain. Then I reached for him and pulled him closer like I could not get enough.

I kissed him first.

He seemed pleased by that. I felt the change in him at once. He leaned into me, confident and warm and cruel without even knowing I had seen through him. I deepened the kiss, pretending I was dizzy with gratitude and desire. Pretending I believed he was the only safe place left in the world.

Inside, I was breaking apart.

My fingers curled at the back of his neck. My body pressed into his because it had to. I hated how steady he felt. I hated how calm he was while my whole world cracked open. The man holding me had planned every step that brought me here. He had made me afraid on purpose. He had made me trust him on purpose. And Maureen had smiled in my face while she helped him do it.

When he kissed me harder, I let him.

That was the worst part.

I had to let him think he had won.

I had to let him believe I was fooled. Because right now, that lie was the only thing protecting me.

By the time he finally pulled back, I had my breathing under control. My heart was still slamming wildly, but I lowered my eyes and leaned against his chest like I was shy and overwhelmed. He touched my face with a tenderness that made me feel sick.

“Are you alright?” he asked softly.

I nodded and forced out the smallest smile. “I am now.”

That seemed to satisfy him.

Later, when he led me to bed, I lay beside him in silence and stared into the darkness long after his breathing turned slow and even. I did not sleep. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw that message again. I heard Maureen laughing. I heard Sebastian’s voice on that fake recording. I kept wondering how long they had been doing this. How long they had been watching me. How much of my life had really been mine.

By morning, I had only one clear thought left.

I needed proof.

The sound of running water came from the bathroom. Sebastian was in the shower. I sat up slowly, listening, my pulse already racing. Sunlight spilled through the windows, too bright for the kind of fear sitting in my chest.

I got out of bed and looked toward the dresser.

The night before, I had seen him unlock the bottom drawer with a small brass key. I had noticed where he slipped it afterward. At the time, I told myself it was nothing. Now I knew better.

I crossed the room as quietly as I could and picked up his trousers from the chair. My fingers searched the pocket until I found the key. Even that tiny sound of metal brushing fabric made my heart jump.

I moved to the dresser and slid the key into the lock.

The drawer opened.

Inside was a thick black photo album.

I stared at it for a moment before I picked it up. My hands already felt unsteady. Something inside me knew I was about to see something terrible.

I opened the cover.

The first photograph nearly made me drop the album.

It was me.

I was walking out of my old apartment building with coffee in one hand and my bag over my shoulder. I looked ordinary. Unaware. Safe.

I turned the page.

Another picture. Me at a bookstore.

Another. Me getting into a cab.

Another. Me laughing outside a restaurant.

My throat tightened. I kept turning pages, faster now, my hands trembling harder with every photograph. There were dozens of them. Then hundreds. They stretched over three years. Three years of my life, stolen and pinned into neat pages like proof of ownership.

He had been watching me all that time.

No, not just watching.

Stalking me.

I felt dizzy. My skin crawled. I looked closer at one of the pictures and nearly gasped.

Maureen stood in the background.

She was half hidden near a street corner, but it was her. In another photo, she sat two tables away from me at a café. In another, she stood outside a shop while I came out smiling at a text on my phone. I flipped page after page, and there she was again and again.

She had not just betrayed me now.

She had been helping him for years.

A broken sound almost left my throat, but I bit it back. Tears burned in my eyes. I was shaking so badly I could barely hold the album. Every memory I had of her felt ruined. Every kind word. Every hug. Every warning she gave me. It had all been poison.

Then the water stopped.

I froze.

The silence hit me harder than a scream.

In a panic, I shoved the album back into the drawer and locked it with fumbling hands. I had barely slipped the key back into his pocket when the bathroom door clicked open.

I turned just as Sebastian stepped out, water still glistening on his skin. In his hand was a stunning white dress.

He smiled at me, dark and pleased.

“Get dressed,” he said. “We are getting married today.”