Chapter 4

Ronan’s POV

I stared at him like he was insane before letting out a loud, humorless laugh. “Grateful? You’re seriously out here talking like I should thank you for buying me like a dog?”

He leaned in a little, close enough that I could see the faint scar running along his jawline and the tension in his neck. His cologne was clean but strong, a mix of smoke and something expensive. His eyes, gray or maybe blue, I couldn’t tell, locked on mine, and for a second I forgot to breathe.

“If I hadn’t bought you,” he said through clenched teeth, “someone else would have. And you wouldn’t be sitting here breathing this easily. So yes, be grateful.”

“Oh, so what now? You’re a hero?” I snapped. “You expect a fucking medal for what you’ve done? What do you want from me? You’re rich, bored, and decided to try out slavery for entertainment? Couldn’t get laid like a normal person, so you bought someone instead!?”

“Enough.” His voice dropped even lower this time and my throat went dry instantly.

“I didn’t buy you for myself,” he said.

That stopped me cold. “…Then who did you buy me for?”

He sat back, his gaze never leaving me. “My brother.”

I frowned. “Your brother?”

“Yes.” His tone stayed flat, but his jaw tightened again. “He’s… reckless. The kind of man who doesn’t think before acting. And he has a weakness for attractive men.”

It took me a few long seconds to process that. “So let me get this straight,” I said slowly. “You bought me as a sex toy for your brother?”

His stare didn’t waver. “Yes.”

I let out a disbelieving laugh, shaking my head. “You’re out of your fucking mind.”

He ignored that completely. “Our father is one of the most powerful men in this country,” he continued, voice smooth but with an edge now. “And my brother’s behavior is… inconvenient to him.”

I didn’t need further explanation to get what he meant. His father was powerful, his brother was gay and that was not accepted here. Gay men disappeared here, they were beaten, jailed and murdered. I knew that too well because I had spent my life hiding who I was to avoid the same fate.

“Just so you know,” Leon said calmly, “I didn’t tell you my real name. And you’ll never know what it is. You’re not allowed to ask me personal questions. I’ll let your behavior slide just this once, but it won’t happen again. Consider this a warning.”

I stared at him, stunned and furious, my chest rising and falling sharply. Was this guy even human? His tone was too calm for someone saying the most insane thing I’d ever heard. I wanted to laugh in his face, but the only thing I could do was clench my teeth until my jaw hurt.

A warning? Who the hell did he think he was, talking to me like I already belonged to him?

“So this is your brilliant solution?” I asked, my voice trembling with anger I could barely contain. “Buy a human being so your brother won’t sleep around?”

He nodded once, unapologetic. “It was the only option left. I can’t stop him from having sex entirely, and all my efforts so far have failed. If I give him someone of his own, someone he can have anytime he wants, then he’ll stop getting into trouble. You’ll stay with him, keep him satisfied, and in return, you’ll keep him from ruining my father’s reputation.”

I almost choked on my own breath. Keep him satisfied? Was that really what came out of his mouth?

He said it so casually, like it wasn’t completely fucked up. I stared at him like he had lost his damn mind. My blood boiled hotter beneath my skin, and I balled my fists to keep from lunging at him.

“You actually think I’d do that?” I asked slowly, every word trembling with rage. “You bought me like I’m some kind of animal and now you’re talking like I owe you something? Like I’m supposed to obey you?” I glared harder. “You must be out of your goddamn mind if you think I’ll….”

I didn’t get to finish.

Leon moved so fast I didn’t even see it coming. One moment he was sitting there, silent and cold; the next, his hand was around my throat, squeezing hard enough to make white spots explode behind my eyes. My breath was cut off immediately and I clawed at his hand, my nails digging into his skin, but he didn’t even move. His grip only tightened.

“What did I tell you about your tone?” he snarled, his face inches from mine. He wasn’t yelling, he just didn’t need to but his quiet voice was worse. It was deadly.

I gasped and choked, my lungs screaming for air but he didn’t let go of my neck. My vision blurred, and my strength drained fast.

“Because I gave you the chance to speak doesn’t mean you get to talk anyhow,” he growled. “You seem to forget your situation. Your life is in my hands now and I own you.”

The words hit me like a knife straight to the chest. Own me? For the first time, it really sank in. My life wasn’t mine anymore. My choices didn’t exist. Nobody knew where I was and nobody was coming to save me.

His fingers dug deeper, and pain shot across my neck. My body trembled, and I could feel tears sting my eyes. I didn’t want to cry. I swore I wouldn’t but my lungs betrayed me, begging for air.

“All you have to do,” he continued coldly, “is nod and tell me you understand what I want you to do. Is. That. Clear?”

Every instinct in me screamed to fight, to spit in his face, but I was seconds away from passing out. Swallowing my pride, what was left of it anyway, I nodded stiffly.

Something flickered in his eyes for half a second when a tear rolled down my cheek but it vanished quickly as he released me.

Air rushed back into my lungs all at once and I gasped like I was drowning. I coughed hard, gripping my throat. It burned like hell. My skin throbbed where his fingers had been and I could already feel the bruises forming.

I glared at him through blurry eyes, pure hatred in my chest. He just… sat back like nothing had happened, adjusted his jacket and looked at me with that same unnerving calmness.

“Kade will be leaving for college soon after this summer break,” he said. “All you have to do is keep him in line until then, and I’ll let you go.”

I froze. Let me go? Did he just say that?

“I’m being very generous,” he added firmly. “Trust me, none of the others would have given you a deal this good. They’d use you for years until you stopped being young and pretty. Then they’d kill you, dump your body somewhere, and every trace of you would disappear. You’d become a ghost, Ronan but my brother isn’t like them. He won’t treat you that way. All you need to do is keep him from being reckless and you’ll walk away alive.”

I didn’t respond because I didn’t trust my voice. Let me go? Was I supposed to thank him now? Smile? Be grateful?

Hell. No.

I turned my face toward the window. My mind was in chaos with rage, disbelief, fear, all tangled together. I’d been kidnapped, drugged, sold, and now this psycho expected me to play sex pet and babysitter to some spoiled rich kid?

I clenched my fists again and forced myself to breathe.

Then I turned back to him, my voice cold but shaking slightly. “So let me get this straight. Your brother likes men, which isn’t a big deal but it is to your family. Why not just take him somewhere he can actually live freely? Somewhere being gay isn’t a death sentence? Why not let him breathe instead of creating this twisted mess? Why not let him just… be himself?”

Leon leaned closer, his voice low and final.

“Because freedom isn’t an option for people like him,” he said. “Or you.”

My stomach dropped as true fear crawled up my spine, cold and suffocating because his tone wasn’t a threat. It was a promise.

And I realized…I wasn’t just trapped.

I might never leave this alive.