Lena's POV
I felt like a bird in a gilded cage. I was surrounded by luxury yet I felt trapped like a prisoner. Not to mention, Dominic's possessiveness was very overwhelming, his presence reminded me of my fate. I was not his wife, I just happened to be his prisoner under the guise of a wife.
Each day passed and all I woke up to was the sound of silence. The mansion was huge, many times the size of my apartment, all the luxuriousness, I was surrounded by beauty yet I had no freedom of my own.
Dominic had tight security around me. I had no one to talk to, I was banned from leaving the mansion. All I did was wake up, eat, obey Dominic's commands and sleep. I was not even allowed to see my own sister, Emma. Although Dominic would make sure that a guard allowed me to video call her every night before I fall asleep but that was it.
I was grateful that at least my suffering was not in vain. Emma looked like she was doing a lot more better. I could tell that she was getting the necessary treatments. Then I remembered Emily, I missed her so much and her bubbly personality. The last time we saw each other was at my wedding, Emily kept trying to make sure it was not a forced marriage, what could I have done except lie to her? I did not want her to worry so much about me.
Dominic also had my phone seized from me. I sighed heavily. I stood by the window, gazing outside at the breathtaking view of the city's skyline.
I felt suffocated, Dominic's eyes always bore into my soul as if searching for something. He fontrolled my entire life and that was the reality of my fate. What more could I do than accept it?
One fateful night, I was unable to sleep so I decided to stroll the hallways of the mansion. I walked past Dominic's office which was on the topmost floor. As I slowly passed his office, I heard him yell loudly causing me to halt in my steps.
I took a few steps backward and leaned on the wooden door to eavesdrop. "I know what I am saying Gavin! I am not idiot!" Dominic growled angrily. Did I forget to mention that he had such a temper? I could not help but wonder who he was yelling at by 11pm when everyone else were sleeping.
"I am telling you that I know what happened that night." He said. His voice dripping with malice. He paused to mutter a cuss under his breath. "I remember exactly what happened that night and I am going to make them pay for messing with me."
I felt my heart skip a beat at his threat. My curiosity piqued, I could not help but wonder what Dominic's past was like. Who was he talking about? Who had messed with him? Those kind of questions swirled in my head and I knew they would not disappear until I had successfully satisfied curiosity. Of course, I did not plan to ask Dominic himself because I knew that Dominic would only yell at me and make a scene out of it. The last thing I wanted to even do was let him find out that I had eavesdropped on his conversation.
I was going to find another way. Perhaps, dig deeper on my own? Suddenly, I began to hear loud footsteps approaching me. I hastily pulled away from the door and pretended to be passing by. I heard the door open wide, I turned around to gaze at Dominic, pretending to be shocked by his presence.
"Where do you think you are headed to?" I heard Dominic yell from behind. I gulped a lump down my throat and turned around to gaze at me with a racing heart. I cleared my throat and responsed in low tone. "I-I, i am just taking a walk. I can not sleep." I said.
Dominic rolled his eyes. He walked towards me and snatched me by the wrist aggressively. "I do not care about you but my baby needs rest." He said pulling me down the stairs. I held back the urge to scoff at him. I was just a mere servant to hm. All I was to do was bring his baby to life and then I would become utterly useless.
That night, I slept thinking about Dominic's past. I could not help but wonder what kind of traumatic event had shaped him to become the man he was.
The next morning, Dominic left the house early. I took it as a hint to sneak into his office and gather information. I found the key to his office in the drawer in his room. I snatched it and made my way up the stairs. I looked around the hallways to make sure the coast was clear. Afterwards, I unlocked the door and rushed into the office.
The office was dark, I raised the curtains up immediately and began a search party. Anything at all would be useful.
I searched through his files, with my heart racing in anticipation. After some minutes, I found it! A newspaper article yellowed with age. It was about a tragic accident that had killed Dominic's entire family. I felt chills run down my spine.
His entire family? Wiped off.
Throughout that day, I could not stop thinking about my new discovery about Dominic. Was that why he lived such a dark life? His entire heart was fueled with revenge and honestly, I could not blame him at all. Losing everything and everyone you ever loved was the worse kind of pain.
That night, while I was sitting in my room, pondering about Dominic's past, the door to my room suddenly flew opened wide, startling me. Dominic rushed into my room with anger oozing from him.
He snatches me by the wrist and slams me against the wall, causing my heart to race extremely fast in fear. His eyes were full of rage and anger. "What the hell did you find?”
Lena POV: Sleep eluded me.Even with the curtains tightly closed and the dim light from the hallway lamp Dominic insisted on leaving on “just in case," I couldn’t find rest. I wasn’t sure what he was preparing for, he never struck me as someone who feared nightmares.I lay on my side on the bed, my fingers gently resting on my stomach. Though there was no movement inside yet, I liked to imagine it was happening. I found comfort in the thought that even amid the stillness, something within me was pushing ahead, while the chaos outside felt like it had come to a standstill.Earlier that evening, he had handed me a folded note without a word. He simply placed it in my palm and stood there, arms crossed, as if bracing himself for something.It turned out to be a list. He had written it down by hand—neatly, with his precise, controlled script. Names like “Isla,” “Arden,” “Luca,” “Sera.”He didn’t ask me to choose. He didn’t express any preferences. He just left the list with me and walke
Dominic’s POV:The nursery was filled with the scent of fresh paint and new wood, a subtle fragrance that was soothing rather than overwhelming. That was the intention. I had requested a calm, neutral color scheme, nothing too bright or distracting. Just gentle beige walls, soft lighting, and clean lines. I wanted it to feel serene, like a space from one of those parenting magazines that promise peace to new parents.Peace. It was the one thing I still hadn’t managed to create for Lena.Not yet.I stood there with my hands in my pockets, once again surveying the room, even though it felt like I had already done so a dozen times. The crib was in the middle of the room, untouched and gleaming white. The rocking chair by the window was perfectly positioned to catch the early morning light. Above the crib, a mobile swayed gently, its little animals turning slowly as if they had all the time in the world. The silence was thick, almost sacred, yet it didn’t bring me any comfort. Instead, it
Cane POV: ---I hadn’t slept in two days.The ticking of the warehouse clocks was almost deafening. The air felt stagnant and heavy. It was as if the very walls were whispering secrets to one another. I remained glued to the same chair I’d been in for hours, replaying that old video of Lena yet again. She was just sitting there, staring into space. Her elbows rested on her knees, one hand laid across her stomach. A stillness that drove me crazy.“She’s too calm,” I murmured.“Maybe she’s just exhausted,” Luke chimed in from across the room, casually munching on a bag of peanuts as if we weren’t on the brink of chaos.“Don’t be ridiculous,” I shot back. “That’s not calmness; that’s giving up.”He raised an eyebrow, unbothered. “Or perhaps she simply wants peace, Cane.”I ignored him and turned the volume up a notch. The recording had no sound; it was just quiet. Still, I watched intently. I noticed the way her eyelids blinked slowly and how she ran her thumb over her knee, as if she w
Lena POV: ---I sat on the edge of the bed, still dressed in the same clothes from the day before. The morning had dragged on with little to do, just me staring at the walls and glancing at the open nursery door across the hall. The lullaby record had stopped playing ages ago, yet the silence felt like a lingering echo.A soft knock interrupted the stillness. I didn’t bother to respond, but Dominic entered anyway.He looked sharp in his suit, as always, but his face bore a weariness that was new. He paused by the door for a moment before speaking.“I brought someone for you,” he said.I blinked slowly, trying to process. “Who?”“A doctor. A private one, just for you and the baby.”My chest squeezed tight. “I didn’t ask for that.”“I understand,” he said, his tone steady. “But I needed to make sure.”“Sure of what?” I pressed.He didn’t reply; instead, he stepped aside to let a middle-aged woman enter. She was well-dressed, without a lab coat, just carrying a leather bag. She had an a
Lena POV: ---I found myself wandering aimlessly once more. The west wing felt too silent, a stillness that always made my heart race. My feet moved further and further away from where I had meant to go, past the study, past the hallway with the cracked mirror, past the locked room I had sworn never to enter again.Then I noticed something.A door stood ajar, a door I’d never seen before. No guards, no cameras. Just… open.I pushed it open cautiously.It was the nursery.The room was bathed in a soft, warm yellow light. The walls were a gentle cream, decorated with tiny painted stars that twinkled in the dimness. A shelf filled with children’s books rested neatly beneath a large window. These weren’t brand-new; they were worn and well-loved, as if they had been thoughtfully selected rather than hastily purchased. I stepped inside slowly. In the corner, there was a rocking chair with a neatly folded blue blanket draped over it. The crib was exquisitely hand-carved. Real wood. No mass-
Cane POV:Tone: Menacing, obsessive, possessive---I sat on the edge of the motel bed, my gaze fixed on my phone. The air in the room was thick with the smell of dust and cheap bleach, and the curtains hung askew, letting in slivers of light. I hadn’t eaten all day, but it didn’t bother me.A video popped up on my screen, sent by someone without a word of explanation. I pressed play.It was Dominic and Lena, and they were outside in a garden. She walked alongside him, moving slowly. He had his jacket slung over one arm, and he leaned in to say something. She didn’t smile, nor did she pull away.She looked worn out, while he appeared self-satisfied.There was a look in his eyes that said he felt a sense of ownership over her.I gritted my teeth and stopped the video.I replayed it.The same expressions, the same quiet exchange, the same uncomfortable space between them. She wasn't resisting; she wasn't shouting. She was merely... present.I watched it a third time.By the end, my res