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“What could you possibly offer me that would make me want to give up my freedom?” I stare back at him.
He pauses for a while, taking air through his nostrils and turning his head to look out onto the lake for a few seconds before his attention comes back to me.
“Everything.” His eyes burn into mine, and there’s a desperation in his tone that indicates just how much he wants this. He’s hoping that ‘everything’ will be enough.
“Raphael, have you seen yourself? You’re beautiful. Women would line up for miles to give you what you want.”
“None of them would be you.” He pouts again and shrugs his shoulders at the same time.
“This is madness.” I stand up from the table, needing space from him so I can breathe.
“You should take some time to think,” he tells me, surprising me when he does nothing to physically stop me from leaving. “I’ll give you twenty-four hours. In that time, I’ll leave you alone. I won’t pressure you. You need to make the right decision because once you say yes to me, Riley, you’re signing your life to me. You will be mine.”
“And if I say no?” I ask, hearing the shake in my voice.
He stands up from the table, casually stepping closer to me until his arm touches mine.
“You’ll be mine, anyway,” he warns with his lips tight to my ear before he walks away.
I sit back down on the chair and stare at the table— trying to take in everything he’s just said. He made it sound like a choice when in reality, my freedom was never a part of the negotiation. Rafe will keep me here regardless, and then what am I supposed to do? Be his whore? Watch him raise a family with someone else while he uses me. The thought makes me shudder.
I will always be Raphael’s prisoner, regardless of the offer he’s just put on the table.
I have to wonder what it is that makes me so special, why it’s me that he wants to be part of this so-called family he wants to create. And then I think of Liam. He’s my family, and if I take Raphael up on his offer, I’ll be abandoning all hope of ever finding him again.
Tears start to fill my eyes, and I turn my back on the house, staring out to the lake and looking for answers that I know I’m not gonna find.
“If you’re thinking about running, Briga, you should re-evaluate.” I know without turning around that the deep voice behind me belongs to Ricardo. He’s a man of few words, but I recognize his voice because he has an even stronger Italian accent than Rafe.
“Maybe I should try my chances. I reckon I could outrun you.” I look down my nose at him when he stands beside me, despite him being a foot and a half taller than me and standing up.
“And you think Raphael would let you go so easily.” He laughs to himself, helping himself to one of the sandwiches Sylvia has cut into neat little triangles.
“What would you do if you were me?” I ask him, and my question seems to take him by surprise. I wonder if he even knows about Rafe’s offer.
“I’d let myself be his weakness. The man has very few of them.” He offers me no more words and takes full advantage of the leftover food on the table.
I spend the rest of my day in my room, tossing and turning on my bed, then sitting out on the balcony and trying to get a glimpse of him. Sylvia brings me up some dinner, but I can’t bring myself to eat it. All I can think about is what Rafe has asked of me.
Is it so crazy that I would consider saying yes to him? Is it wrong that I’m tempted by the lifestyle he wants to give me? And am I really starting to fall for a man who keeps me as a prisoner?
It can’t be right to consider bringing a family into this toxic situation.
Leaving my tray still full, I decide I’m done with Rafe’s terms and conditions. Storming out of my room, I head off to search for him.
The guard outside my room tells me Rafe will be upstairs, in a gym that I never even knew existed, and so I climb the hidden staircase that he shows me and prepare to confront him.
Rafe looks shocked to see me and immediately stops punching the kickback that’s hanging from the rafters. Ripping the velcro of the gloves off with his teeth, he slides out of them and wastes no time stepping toward me. The shorts and black vest he’s wearing, and the fact all his visible muscles are shimmering with sweat, almost make me forget that I came up here to yell at him.
Almost.
“How fucking dare you?” I call out to him, watching him study me in confusion. “How dare you make out like you're giving me a choice? My freedom isn’t what’s at stake here, Rafe— you already fucking own that, don’t you? What I really stand to lose is my fucking sanity.”
I tap my finger to my temple and notice his fists clench into balls at his sides.
“You’re right. There is no offer of freedom. Unfortunately, I can’t give you that, Riley.” When he starts stepping closer to me, I back away. If I let him too close, my body will give in to him, and I can’t let that happen.
“Why? Do you know how fucked up that is?” I shake my head, wishing he could find some kind of reason.
