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The door clicked shut, a final, definitive sound that sealed Jane's fate. She stood in the middle of Alexander's room, a vast, cavernous space of dark woods and polished chrome. The air was heavy with the scent of his cologne, a clean, sharp fragrance that was as unsettling as his presence. The massive king-sized bed dominated the room, an island in an ocean of dread. Jane felt a wave of claustrophobia, a suffocating feeling that she was trapped, not just in the room, but in a nightmare from which there was no waking.
Alexander walked to his closet, shrugging out of his dinner jacket. He didn't look at her, but his voice, when he spoke, was a low rumble of command. "Get ready for bed. The bathroom is through there."
Jane didn't move. Her heart hammered against her ribs, a frantic drumbeat of pure terror. Get ready for bed. The words were a simple instruction, but to her, they were a fresh threat. She knew what he was capable of. The last time she was in this room, he had commanded her to strip, to humiliate her as a form of punishment. The memory was a fresh, raw wound. She couldn't, wouldn't, let herself be vulnerable to him again.
She walked to the massive couch that sat against one of the walls, a luxurious piece of furniture upholstered in a deep, plush velvet. She traced the fabric with her fingertips, a plan forming in her mind. It wasn't a good plan, but it was all she had.
"I'll sleep here," she said, her voice surprisingly steady despite the tremor in her hands.
Alexander stopped what he was doing and turned to face her. The look on his face was a mixture of irritation and disbelief. "Don't be ridiculous. You'll sleep on the bed."
"No," she insisted, her voice gaining a little more strength. "I'm sleeping here."
"Why?" he asked, his eyes narrowing. "Are you afraid I'll eat you in your sleep?" He said the words with a dark, cynical twist to his lips. "I already told you, this is a charade. Nothing more."
"I... I just can't," she stammered, the fear finally winning out. "I'll be fine here. I promise I won't make a sound."
He took a step towards her, and she flinched, taking a step back, her body instinctively bracing for a blow that never came. He stopped, a flicker of something unreadable passing through his eyes. He must have seen the raw, naked fear in her face, the way she was shivering despite the warmth of the room.
He sighed, a long, exasperated sound that was completely out of character. "Fine," he said, the word clipped and final. "Have it your way. But if my mother finds out, you're the one who will be in trouble." He walked into the massive en-suite bathroom, and the sound of the shower turning on filled the room, a loud, hissing waterfall that did nothing to soothe her nerves.
Jane went into the bathroom after he had finished, her body moving on autopilot. She looked at her reflection in the large mirror above the marble sink. She looked haunted, her eyes wide and red from crying. She washed her face, feeling the cool water against her skin, a small comfort in the overwhelming heat of her fear.
She emerged from the bathroom in a simple silk nightgown that the maids had provided. She walked over to the couch, pulling the throw blanket over herself, and laid down, her body curled into a tight ball, her eyes wide open, staring into the darkness. She couldn't sleep. Her mind was a whirlwind of memories and fears. The delicious dinner with Mrs. Collins, the motherly comfort that felt both wonderful and suffocating, the sudden, terrifying lock on her old room, the new reality of being trapped in this room with a man who had already proven his cruelty. This wasn't what she had planned for her life. This was a horror story she was living, and there was no escape. She kept thinking about her family, her mother, her brother, her little sister. Were they okay? Had Alexander sent his goons to harass them? The thought made her stomach lurch. She prayed, a silent, desperate prayer, that they were safe, that Alexander's promise of protection was real, and not just another lie.
Across the room, Alexander lay in his own bed, the sheets a pristine white, his body a rigid line beneath the expensive duvet. He, too, couldn't sleep. The room was too quiet, yet too loud with the sound of Jane's silent presence. He could feel her, a small, terrified animal, curled up on the couch, her fear a palpable energy in the room. It irritated him, this feeling she gave him, this unexpected sympathy. He was a man of logic and order, not of soft emotions.
He prayed to God, a rare and private act he usually reserved for his father's memory. He loved his mom so much and wanted her to be happy. He was her only son, the one she had poured all her hopes and dreams into after his father's death. He had to be the perfect son, the dutiful heir. But he couldn't, wouldn't, go through with the parade of potential wives she had lined up for him, the women from "good families" who were more interested in his money than in him. He despised them. He didn't want to go into any marriage she set for him, a cold, calculated transaction. That's why he chose this plan, this elaborate lie of a girlfriend. He had to show his mother that he had found his own woman, a woman he loved. Moreover, he wasn't ready for marriage now. He was 26, and he had an empire to run, a legacy to uphold. A wife and children were distractions, a weakness he couldn't afford. He just needed to buy himself some time, to get his mother to back off.
He just hoped this plan worked, and that his mother wouldn't see the cracks in his façade. He worried about his mother's sharp intuition, the way she could see through him with a single glance. He prayed she wouldn't know about him and Jane, about the cruelty he had shown, the fear in Jane's eyes. He prayed she would just believe the lie, for her sake and for his.
The clock on his nightstand ticked on, each second a slow, agonizing march toward morning.
Miles away, in a sleek, modern apartment filled with the latest gadgets and expensive art, Lisa ran her fingers through Austin's hair as he lay on the couch. The TV was on, a generic sitcom playing in the background, but they weren't watching it. They were in their own bubble of shallow, self-centered bliss.
"I never knew she was such a jerk," Lisa said, a malicious glint in her eyes. "I mean, she thought she was so special, so perfect. And now, she's with him. The Almighty Alexander." She laughed, a short, bitter sound. "Everyone knows the Almighty Alexander for what he's capable of, and I'm sure she's already facing the worst on earth."
Austin chuckled, a low, dismissive sound. "It fits her well. She had it coming. Always so high and mighty, always so concerned with her 'family debts' and her 'poor mother'." He didn't sound like he was talking about a woman he had spent years with, but about a nuisance he had finally gotten rid of.
Lisa sat up, a pout on her perfectly made-up lips. "Babe, I need to get a new dress. You know, for the party next week. It's an Alexander event, and I have to look my best." She picked up her phone, scrolling through an online store. "This one is so cute! It's only $400."
Austin didn't even flinch at the number. He simply took a sip of his beer and nodded. "That's a change for me. I'll give you the money tomorrow." The casualness of his tone showed that this was a normal transaction between them.
Lisa's pout instantly turned into a wide, triumphant smile. She leaned down and pecked him on the lips, a quick, light touch without any real emotion. "Oh, thank you so much, baby!" she said, her voice dripping with a saccharine sweetness that was utterly false.
Austin smiled back, a hollow, empty expression that didn't reach his eyes. "Anything for you," he said, his words a meaningless platitude.
Their world was a perfect, self-contained bubble of narcissism and materialism, a stark and ugly contrast to the raw, terrifying reality Jane was living. They were unaware that the "Almighty Alexander" was, at this very moment, battling his own demons, and that Jane was far from a broken puppet. She was a survivor, a girl who, even in her darkest moment, still had hope. The world they had so carelessly destroyed was about to come back to haunt them, and they wouldn't even see it coming.