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I didn’t know if it was pain or anger that carved through me.

Both felt the same.

“You won’t tell me?” My voice was harder. “Is that what you’re saying?”

“No.” He held my stare. Flickers of fear and pain were too bright for me to see anymore. “Not yet.”

Not.

Yet.

I slowly nodded, then took a step backwards.

His brows furrowed. A look of anguish carved a line between his eyes.

“Right.” I answered. “Poor, sweet, Nyssa. Too broken to handle the truth. You know, Alaric, I’ve handled more than you could possibly imagine. But I won’t beg you, and I won’t chase.”

I turned around. Took a step.

“Nyssa…” He called out.

But I was already walking, heading back to my room.

So this is a cage.

My own words haunted me from the very beginning. The house had rules. But Alaric had more and every one of them was designed to keep him hard, controlled, and cold.

The frightening part wasn’t even the lock. It was how safe I’d felt until the messages told me to look at it differently.

I slowly nodded.

Pain moved deep.

At least he’d never wavered.

His cruelty was consistent.

Tears blurred my steps and my fingers as I turned the handle on my bedroom door and stepped in. Movement made me freeze as I came face to face with a six-foot bearded mercenary.

I flinched.

Then remembered.

Ghost.

That’s right.

His gaze scanned my face, catching the tears.

“I’ll stand right outside,” he said quietly. “Brick is outside the window. All you have to do is shout.”

I glared at him for a second, then the anger softened.

One nod, then he turned and left, closing the door quietly behind him.

I stared at the empty bedroom. The place I’d felt safety and hope for the first time… until now.

“Fuck you.” The words didn’t sound like me. Trembling. Painful and innocent all in one. “Fuck all of you.”