Page 75 of Branded

“Then ask nicely. Like the civilized human being I raised.”

The silence stretches, taut and dangerous.

Finally, Sebastian looks at me. “Will you come back to the house so we can talk?”

Not a demand. Not a threat. An actual question that gives me the choice to say no.

I look at Eleanor, who gives me a slight nod. Your decision.

“Yes,” I say. “We can talk.”

Because Eleanor is right. If I want this to change, I have to make him face consequences. Have to prove I’m not going to roll over and accept whatever treatment he decides to dish out. I’m over trying to prove myself to him. It’s time to make him see just how dangerous I can be.

Sebastian waits while I say goodbye to Eleanor, then we walk out of the house in silence. His truck is parked haphazardly near the front, like he rushed back when he realized I was gone.

Good. Let him worry.

Once we get back to his house, I don’t wait for him to be chivalrous; I walk ahead of him and wait for him to follow. When he closes the door, I turn to face him and see something in his expression I didn’t expect.

Not anger. Not dominance.

Fear.

“Were you planning to leave?” he asks quietly.

“Where would I go? You made it very clear what would happen if I tried.”

“That’s not what I asked.”

I meet his eyes steadily. “Yes. I was planning to leave. To break the contract, face whatever legal consequences came, and get as far from you as possible. Because this morning you proved that nothing between us is real. That I’m just property you’ll use and threaten and control forever.”

“Lennox—”

“But then your mother told me something interesting.” I move closer, slightly happy when he’s the one to tense. “She told me that the contract isn’t as airtight as you think. That there are ways to challenge it. Ways to fight back that don’t involve me just enduring your abuse for two years.”

He flushes with anger at the revelation, like he knows exactly what I’m referring to. “She had no right.”

“She had every right. Because, unlike you, she actually gives a shit about whether I survive this marriage.” I’m in his space now, refusing to back down. “So here’s how this is going to work, Sebastian. You want me to stay? You want me to be your wife, not just property? Then you’re going to have to earn it.”

“I own you,” he says through gritted teeth.

“You own nothing.” The words come out cold, final. “You have a contract that binds me here for two years. But you don’t own me. You never will. And if you keep treating me like you do, I’ll find a way to break that contract and disappear. Legal consequences be damned.”

“You’re bluffing.”

“Try me.” I hold his gaze. “Keep threatening me. Keep reminding me I’m property. Keep being the monster you were this morning. And I promise you, Sebastian, I’ll find a way out. Even if it destroys me in the process.”

We stand there, inches apart, neither willing to back down. And I see the exact moment he realizes I mean it. That I’d willingly burn everything down instead of living like this.

“What do you want?” he finally asks.

“I want you to treat me like a human being. Like someone whose thoughts and feelings matter. Like more than just something you bought.” I step back, waiting for his answer.

25

SEBASTIAN

I stare at Lennox, her ultimatum hanging in the air between us like a swinging blade.