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“It is real.” I grip his jaw, forcing his gaze up to mine. “I give you permission to stop pretending. Surrender control to a man strong enough to take it.”
Tears pool in his eyes. “I don’t want this.”
“Liar.” I brush my thumb over his cheek. “You want this more than anything. You hate yourself for wanting it. Soon, you will accept it.”
I release his face.
“We leave at nightfall. Make the choice to come, or I transport you in restraints. I prefer your cooperation. Prove you are learning.”
I walk out. I spend the day dismantling my digital footprint. I monitor the cameras. Liv packs her small bag. She eats the meals I provide. She accepts my authority on every level.
Ari paces his cell. He wrestles with the impossible choice. I watch him on the feed. He stands at the crisis point.
Evening falls. The SUVs idle in the hidden garage.
I collect Liv first. She waits by her door, bag in hand. She reaches out and laces her fingers through mine.
“Where is Ari?” she asks.
“I am getting him now. He struggles with the change.”
“Will he come?”
“He will.”
I hand Liv to Rourke in the corridor. I issue explicit orders to guard her with his life. I enter Ari’s cell alone.
Ari sits on his cot. Dressed in his dark clothes. He looks up. The fight is gone. Resignation replaces the Viper fire.
“Are you going to drug me?” he asks.
“Do I need to?”
A heavy silence fills the small room.
Ari drops his gaze. “No. I will come.”
The surrender tastes like victory. I cross the floor and lift his chin. “Why?”
A bitter laugh escapes his chest. “Because you are right. I refuse to go back to pretending. I refuse the empty life. And because...” A single tear tracks down his nose. “A broken part of me wants to see where this goes. I want to know what happens if I stop fighting.”
“Good.” I lean down. I kiss his forehead. “You are learning. I will take care of you, Ari. You are mine now. I protect what is mine.”
We load into the SUV. Night consumes the estate. Liv sits between us in the backseat. She rests her head on my shoulder, her hand tucked in mine. Ari sits rigid near the door, staring out the tinted window. He chose this. He chose his captor over the rescue.
We drive for hours. Liv sleeps. Ari eventually closes his eyes, exhausted by his own emotional collapse. I stay awake and watch the dark trees blur past.
Dawn breaks as we arrive at the mountain property. The house sits surrounded by dense pine forest. One road in. One road out. Absolute isolation.
I wake them. We walk into the main room. The space is smaller, furnished for security.
“This is home now,” I announce. I look at both of them. “Safe. Private. Ours. Hunter and Aurora cannot find us here. This is where we continue what we started. Where you learn to accept what you have become.”
Liv nods. She accepts the new reality. Ari remains silent, and does not protest. He stands in the center of the room, resigned and far too gone to turn back.
15
AURORA
