Chapter 19 A Pretty Note, A Hidden Lie

• (POV: Isabela)
• Sleep was impossible. Hours passed after Mateo left my room silently, violating my space without touching me. I felt shaky and empty inside my fancy room. The heavy gold choker was still fastened around my neck, cold and heavy, reminding me always of his claim, his control. I didn't try taking it off again. His chilling whisper, "Don't," echoed too clearly. It stopped even my secret wish to fight back.
• I paced the room like a trapped animal. I felt jumpy, but also dead tired deep down. Moonlight made long, creepy shadows through the fancy bars on my windows. Normal things looked like threats. In the quiet, every sound felt amplified—a floorboard groaning upstairs, the dry scratch of leaves outside the window—each noise sending my heart jolting painfully right up into my throat. Was he watching? Still? Was any place in this prison truly private?