I couldn't stay here forever.
That thought kept repeating in my head like a warning I couldn't ignore.
Rico Zander's world wasn't just cold… it was calculated. Everything had meaning. Every silence, every look, every rule that wasn't spoken out loud.
And the worst part?
I was starting to understand him.
That alone scared me more than anything else.
⸻
That night, I waited until the house grew quiet.
No footsteps.
No voices.
No movement.
Just silence.
Perfect.
I slipped out of my room slowly, careful not to let the door creak. My heart was pounding so loudly I was sure someone would hear it.
But no one did.
⸻
I moved through the hallway like a shadow.
Every step felt heavier than the last.
I wasn't just leaving a room.
I was trying to escape a man who controlled everything around me.
And I didn't even know how deep that control went.
⸻
Downstairs was darker.
The security lights outside flickered faintly through the windows.
I froze for a moment.
Two guards stood near the main entrance.
Of course.
Nothing was ever simple.
⸻
"Think, Bella," I whispered to myself.
I needed another way out.
I turned slowly, scanning the house again.
That's when I noticed it.
A side corridor I hadn't paid attention to before.
It was dimmer. Less guarded.
Less… obvious.
⸻
My heart raced.
This could be it.
I moved toward it carefully, pressing my body close to the wall.
Every second felt like I was walking closer to either freedom…
Or punishment.
⸻
But just as I reached the corner—
A voice stopped me.
"Going somewhere?"
I froze completely.
That voice.
Cold.
Calm.
Dangerous.
Rico.
⸻
Slowly, I turned around.
He was standing at the end of the hallway.
Not angry.
Not surprised.
Just watching me.
Like he already knew.
Like he had been waiting.
⸻
"I couldn't sleep," I said quickly, trying to sound normal.
A lie.
He knew it.
I knew it.
But I said it anyway.
⸻
He walked toward me slowly.
Each step measured.
Controlled.
Unhurried.
"You picked the worst house to practice lying in," he said calmly.
My throat tightened. "I wasn't lying."
He stopped right in front of me.
Close enough that I could feel his presence press against the air.
"You were leaving," he said simply.
Not a question.
A fact.
⸻
I didn't answer.
Because there was no point.
⸻
Rico studied me for a moment.
Then he said something I didn't expect.
"You're predictable in one way."
My brows furrowed. "And what's that supposed to mean?"
"You always look for exits," he said quietly.
A pause.
"But you never ask if you're already inside one."
⸻
My chest tightened.
"What is that supposed to mean?"
He didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he glanced toward the corridor I was heading toward.
Then back at me.
"You were never locked in, Amara."
Silence.
That hit harder than any restriction.
⸻
"If I'm not locked in," I said slowly, "then why does it feel like I am?"
Rico's eyes darkened slightly.
"Because you're finally starting to understand where you are."
A beat.
Then he stepped aside.
"Go back to your room."
Not a command this time.
A warning.
⸻
I stood there for a moment, unsure whether I was relieved… or more afraid than before.
Because one thing was becoming clear.
I hadn't escaped anything yet.
And worse…
I wasn't sure if I ever could.