Chapter 8

• The house was too quiet. Every creak of the floorboards, every rustle of wind against the windows set my nerves on edge.
• I paced the room, my mind racing as I replayed the scene with Elijah. He had left so suddenly, his expression unreadable, his body language tense. Something had changed, and it terrified me that I didn’t know what.
• I stood by the window, staring out at the long driveway, the faint glow of the moon illuminating the path Elijah had taken when he stormed out.
• My heart was still pounding in my chest, the adrenaline from our confrontation lingering in my veins. I should have felt relief that he was gone, even if only temporarily. But I didn’t. His absence only made the weight of my situation sink in deeper.
• What was I supposed to do now?
• A part of me wanted to run, to escape while I had the chance. But where would I go? Damian’s house was no longer a home to me. And even if I went back, would it be any better than the prison I was in now? Damian’s anger was unpredictable, and after what I had done with Elijah, I knew there was no chance he would ever forgive me.
• But Elijah… Elijah wasn’t offering forgiveness. He was offering possession.
• I turned away from the window, the ache in my chest growing with every passing second. The walls felt like they were closing in on me, the darkness swallowing me whole. I couldn’t stay here. Not in this house, not with Elijah’s mark still burning on my skin.
• I needed to get out.
• I grabbed my coat, throwing it over my shoulders as I made my way to the door. My footsteps echoed in the silence, each one growing heavier as I approached the exit. But as I reached for the handle, the door swung open, and I stumbled back, gasping in shock.
• Damian stood in the doorway, his eyes wild, his expression twisted with something dark and dangerous. His chest heaved as if he had run all the way here, and his fists were clenched at his sides.
• “Damian,” I whispered, my voice trembling.
• He stepped inside, slamming the door behind him. “What the hell are you doing here, Annabel?”
• His voice was sharp, cutting through the silence like a blade. I could feel the anger radiating off him in waves, and I instinctively backed away, my heart racing in my chest.
• “I—I—” The words caught in my throat, the fear rising with every step he took toward me.
• “You’re staying with him now?” Damian’s voice dripped with venom, his eyes narrowing as he scanned the room, taking in the dark surroundings. “What, you thought I wouldn’t find out? That I wouldn’t come looking for you?”
• “I didn’t have a choice,” I stammered, my voice barely a whisper.
• “No choice?” Damian’s laugh was cold, harsh. “You always have a choice, Annabel. But you made it. You chose him.”
• I shook my head, tears welling in my eyes. “It wasn’t like that. You don’t understand.”
• “Don’t I?” Damian’s eyes darkened, his fists clenching tighter. “You’re sleeping in my uncle’s house. You let him mark you. What the hell else is there to understand?”
• The accusation hit me like a punch to the gut, and I flinched, my back pressing against the wall as Damian stepped closer. His presence was suffocating, his anger overwhelming. I could barely breathe under the weight of it.
• “I didn’t want this,” I whispered, my voice cracking with the weight of my emotions. “I didn’t ask for any of this.”
• “But you took it,” Damian spat, his face inches from mine. “You betrayed me. You let him take what was mine.”
• I swallowed hard, my pulse quickening as his words hit deeper than I expected. What was mine. It was always about possession with Damian. Never about love. Never about trust. Just control.
• “Damian, please,” I begged, my voice trembling. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
• He leaned in closer, his breath hot against my face, his voice a low, dangerous growl. “It doesn’t matter what you meant. You’ve already done it. You’ve already ruined everything.”
• The words cut deep, and for a moment, I thought I might collapse under the weight of his fury. But then something inside me snapped. The fear, the guilt—it all gave way to something else. Something darker. Anger.
• “You’re the one who ruined everything,” I shot back, my voice rising with emotion. “You were the one who gave up on us. You cheated. You brought other women into our home, into our bed, and you didn’t care about how much it hurt me.”
• Damian’s eyes widened, surprise flickering across his face for a brief second before it was replaced by a cold, calculating expression.
• “You think that justifies what you’ve done?” he snarled, his voice laced with venom. “You think that excuses you crawling into Elijah’s bed?”
• “I was desperate,” I spat back, my chest heaving with emotion. “You made me feel worthless. You made me feel like nothing.”
• The silence that followed was deafening, the tension between us crackling like electricity in the air. Damian stared at me, his jaw tight, his eyes burning with a mixture of anger and something else—something I couldn’t quite place.
• For a moment, neither of us spoke. The weight of everything hung between us, too heavy to ignore. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, my pulse racing as I waited for his response.
• But before Damian could say anything, the door swung open behind him, and Elijah stepped into the room, his expression dark and unreadable.
• The tension in the room shifted immediately, the air growing thicker, more dangerous. Damian’s body went rigid as he turned to face Elijah, his fists clenched at his sides.
• “Elijah,” Damian growled, his voice dripping with disdain. “What the hell are you doing here?”
• Elijah’s eyes flicked to me for a brief second before settling on Damian, his expression calm, but there was an undercurrent of menace in his tone when he spoke. “This is my house.”
• “Is that what you think?” Damian took a step forward, his voice low and dangerous. “That you can just take her? That you can just claim what’s mine?”
• Elijah didn’t flinch. He didn’t even blink. “She’s not yours anymore, Damian. You made sure of that.”
• My breath caught in my throat as the two men faced off, the tension between them thick and suffocating. I could feel the heat of their anger, the unspoken challenge between them. It wasn’t just about me anymore. It was about power, control.
• Damian’s eyes narrowed, his body tense as he took another step toward Elijah. “You think you can just swoop in and take her? You think I’ll just let you?”
• Elijah’s voice was cold, his eyes sharp as he spoke. “It’s not about what you’ll let me do. It’s about what she’s already chosen.”
• My heart raced, the weight of his words pressing down on me. I hadn’t chosen this. I hadn’t chosen either of them. But it didn’t matter. To them, I was a possession, something to be fought over, claimed.
• And that realization hit me harder than anything else.
• The two men stood toe-to-toe, their gazes locked in a silent battle, their bodies rigid with tension. I could feel the storm brewing between them, the fight that was about to erupt.
• But before anything could happen, Elijah’s phone buzzed again, cutting through the silence. He glanced down at it, his expression hardening as he read the message.
• “We’re not done,” he said, his voice low, his eyes never leaving Damian’s.
• And then, without another word, Elijah turned and walked out of the room, leaving Damian and me standing in the suffocating silence.