Chapter 5 – No Escape

I stumbled out of the private lounge, heart hammering like I’d just escaped a prison, but freedom never came. The moment the door shut behind me, the club swallowed me whole—blaring music, flashing lights, and bodies pressed too close together like a living, breathing cage.

But the air wasn’t any easier to breathe out here. The scent of sweat, alcohol, and expensive perfume was nauseating. The bass reverberated through the floor, rattling my ribs with each heavy drop. Neon lights danced across glass walls and mirrored columns, giving everything an artificial shimmer. It felt like the world was spinning too fast—too loud and too much.

I clutched my bag tighter, its weight suddenly unbearable, as if it knew what was inside. The envelope. My secret. Lily’s secret.

Just go. Get out. Keep walking before—

“Anna.”

His voice hit me like a sniper’s bullet—low, commanding, and impossible to ignore.

I didn’t stop. I couldn’t. I ducked my head and tried to vanish into the crowd, weaving through the writhing bodies like a ghost. But Dominic wasn’t a man easily avoided.

“Stop.”

There was iron in his voice now, a threat woven beneath the syllables. Not a request. An order. I faltered, cursed my hesitation—but it was too late.

He was there.

Towering in front of me, cutting off my escape like a wall of steel in a designer suit. My pulse spiked, panic curling around my spine.

“You don’t walk away from me,” he said, voice low, sharp as a blade in the dark.

“I’m not doing this, Dominic,” I said, struggling to sound steady. “I need to go.”

“You’re not going anywhere.”

His gaze flicked to the bag slung over my shoulder, and I saw the exact moment his expression shifted—from fury to suspicion.

“What are you hiding?” he asked, each word slow and deliberate.

“Nothing,” I replied too quickly, my fingers tightening around the strap.

His eyes narrowed. “Bullshit.”

Before I could react, his hand moved. Fast. Precise. He snatched the corner of the envelope that had slipped out of the zipper, the hospital logo flashing like a curse.

“Don’t—” I reached for it, but he already had it. He held it up, unfolding it as his eyes scanned the top.

His entire posture changed. The air between us stilled. Like something sacred had just been exposed.

“Hospital bills?” he asked quietly, but the danger in his voice was louder than any scream. “What the hell is this?”

“It’s none of your business,” I said, lunging to grab it, but he easily kept it out of reach.

“Who are these for?” His voice was taut now, stretched thin like he was holding back the storm. “Are you sick?”

“No,” I said immediately.

His eyes flicked back to the page. “Then who?”

My chest tightened. Every instinct screamed at me to run, to lie, to bury the truth all over again. He couldn’t know.

“It’s not your concern, Dominic,” I said, swallowing the quake in my voice.

His expression darkened. “Not my concern? You show up in my club like a ghost from the past, lie to my face, and now this?” He waved the paper between us like a weapon. “And you expect me not to ask questions?”

“I don’t owe you answers!” I snapped, the words bursting out like shrapnel. “Not anymore.”

He let out a low, bitter laugh—humorless and dangerous. “You left me, Anna. No word. No warning. And now I’m supposed to just pretend you don’t matter? That you didn’t matter?”

“I didn’t have a choice,” I said, voice cracking.

“Then tell me why.”

“I can’t!”

The truth trembled on the edge of my tongue, so fragile it would break me if I let it free.

He stared at me like he could tear it from my soul if he looked hard enough. Then his gaze dropped again to the bill, and I saw the shift—the suspicion twisting into something uglier. Possessive. Jealous.

His voice was quiet, almost deadly. “Is it for someone else?”

“What?” I blinked, thrown.

“Is he the reason?” he demanded. “Is that why you left? You found someone else and couldn’t tell me?”

I recoiled like he’d struck me. “No! Dominic—”

“You can’t even deny it,” he growled. “Who is he, Anna?”

“There’s no one,” I said, my voice shaking as I tried to stand my ground. “There’s never been anyone but you.”

His chest rose with uneven breaths. But his eyes... they burned. “Then why won’t you tell me the truth?”

“Because you don’t need to know!” I shouted, the truth unraveling behind every word.

We were too close now—emotionally, physically. His body towered over mine, every inch of him vibrating with tension. His hand still gripped the paper, but his other hovered near my waist, like he didn’t trust himself not to touch me.

I could feel the heat of him. The pull.

“I don’t care if you think I deserve the truth,” he said, his voice quieter now, but ten times more dangerous. “I care that you’re lying.”

I looked away, tears stinging my eyes—but I refused to let them fall.

“You’re not shutting me out again,” he said. “You don’t get to do that anymore.”

I opened my mouth, but nothing came out.

“You’re not leaving, Anna,” he said, his tone final.

“Dominic—”

“No.” He stepped forward, every inch of him suffocating and magnetic. “Whatever this is—whatever you’re hiding—you’re going to tell me. Right here. Right now.”

His eyes were on fire. Mine were glass.

I backed away a step. He followed.

I couldn’t do this. Not here. Not like this.

But the walls I’d built were splintering fast. And the part of me that had wanted to keep him out was suddenly screaming don’t let go.

“Please,” I whispered, hating the sound of it. “Don’t do this.”

“You don’t have to be alone,” he said, his voice soft now, barely a breath.

His hand reached out—not to take, not to trap—but to offer. A whisper of a touch against my wrist. Warm. Gentle. It shattered me more than his rage ever could.

And for the first time, I saw it.

The desperation. The hurt. The fear that he’d lost me forever and never understood why.

I could’ve told him then. The words were right there.

Her name is Lily. She's ours.

But the silence won again.

Dominic stared at me, his jaw tight, his eyes searching my face like the truth might etch itself into my skin.

Finally, he stepped back.

He said nothing. Just handed me the envelope, jaw clenched like it physically pained him to let it go.

“I’ll find out,” he said. “With or without your help.”

And then he turned and walked away.

Leaving me in a club that spun too loud, too bright, and far too empty.

Because no matter how fast I ran… I knew he was right.

There was no escape.