Chapter 5

Ronan’s POV

“Also, you’re not a sex pet or a slave,” Leon said, his voice flat but edged with that quiet warning I was beginning to recognize. “You need to stop saying that.”

He didn’t even look at me while he spoke, just stared straight ahead, his jaw set like stone. “You don’t understand how powerful my father is. It doesn’t matter what country my brother runs to, my father’s reach will always find him. If people find out who he really is, it’ll destroy everything my father built. And he doesn’t let anything destroy him.”

“My father is a ruthless man,” he continued. “He doesn’t believe in weakness. He doesn’t tolerate shame and has never supported people who are… different.” The word left his mouth coated in disgust, but I couldn’t tell if it was for his father or the truth itself.

Leon turned then, cold eyes meeting mine. “If he should find out about him… or you… it wouldn’t end well.”

The car went silent. My stomach twisted painfully, the air thick enough to choke on. I dragged in a slow, shaky breath, trying to make sense of what I just heard. I didn’t even know these people, yet somehow I was knee-deep in their twisted family nightmare.

I rested my head on the seat and stared out the tinted window as his words echoed in my head. His father would kill his own son, his own blood, just because he was gay.

What kind of monster did that to their child?

The world wasn’t perfect, but it was changing. People were fighting for freedom, to love and to live. But men like Leon’s father still existed, making it difficult.

“How old is your brother?” I finally asked, my voice low.

Leon’s fingers flexed once on his thigh before he answered. “He’s twenty-two.”

I exhaled slowly. Twenty-two. My age. While I’d been fighting just to survive, his brother had been fighting for the right to exist and he still lost.

“What about you?” I asked before I could stop myself.

Leon’s head snapped toward me so fast that I flinched. His eyes darkened instantly.

“I thought I told you not to ask questions.” The warning in his tone alone was enough to shut my mouth, but I was still curious . He could own my body, but I refused to let him own my thoughts.

I noticed his hand resting on his knee but there was no ring. Why the hell did that even matter? Why was I paying attention to something like that? I hated myself a little for noticing, but the thought lingered anyway. Someone like him, rich, powerful and terrifying probably had people throwing themselves at him and maybe he had a secret wife locked in a mansion somewhere

“Ronan,” I muttered to myself, shaking my head. “What the hell are you even thinking about?”

I had to focus. None of that mattered. I wasn’t here to analyze this psycho’s love life and I needed to find a way out for myself.

“Look,” I said finally, turning back to him. My voice was steadier now, but every word came from the pit of my chest. “Your brother’s situation is fucked up. I get it and I know how unfair it is. But you need to understand something too, his problems aren’t mine.”

“I didn’t ask to be here and I didn’t choose this.” My voice cracked a little, but I didn’t stop. “I didn’t wake up one day and decide, hey, being kidnapped, chained, sold like a damn animal, and bought by a man with family issues sounds like fun.”

I leaned forward slightly. “So don’t sit there and act like I should accept this, because I won’t. I can’t be his ‘solution or his damn property, not for a day or month. I don’t care what kind of deal you think this is. It’s not happening.”

Leon sat back, silent, as if weighing whether my words were worth his time. Then, with a voice colder than ice, he said,

“We’ll see.”