Chapter 3 — When the Walls Closed In

My feet barely brushed the floor as Dad guided me into the room, his grip tight on my arm, keeping me close so no maid or staff could hear him as he explained everything. The door clicked shut behind him, and the walls seemed to lean in, pressing me from all sides. He hadn’t slammed it. That quiet finality hurt more than anger ever could.

My hands shook as I pressed them into the mattress, knuckles whitening. The sheets were cool beneath my fingers, neat, ordinary, everything unchanged. 

Yet nothing felt ordinary anymore. It was as if the world itself had narrowed, leaving only his words and me. I gripped the sheets so hard my fingers ached, trying to anchor myself to something real as his voice cut through my mind.

“Jenna, you need to hear me. You have to understand this. He wants to marry you. He’s already made his decision.”

I couldn’t escape it. Tears traced warm lines down my cheeks, and I kept sniffing, trying to silence them.

“If you refuse, everything I’ve built, my business, my reputation, the life I’ve worked for, could collapse.”

I had fought so hard to free myself from the memories that haunted me, yet now it felt as if I were being dragged back, pulled under by a current I couldn’t resist. I shut my eyes, sobbing harder as his words spun in endless loops in my mind.

“You don’t fight men like him, Jenna. You endure them.”

I could still see the defeat shadowing his eyes, the weight of a man watching his life unravel.

“Marry him and keep everything intact. Resist, and watch it all collapse.”

I had begged, argued, tried to convince him to seek help, to find another way. But every plea, every suggestion, had been met with another reason, another wall closing in, unyielding and cold.

His last words did more damage than any threat ever could, stripping me of every illusion of choice and leaving me utterly helpless.

“Don’t force me to the point where I have to give you only two choices, Jenna. Choose him, or walk away from everything.”

I sat there, curling forward, my face buried in my palms, shoulders trembling. My sobs came out in muffled gasps.

“You don’t know how much this hurts, Dad. You don’t know how much it hurts to even think about walking away. How much it hurts when it drags me back into a past I’ve spent so long trying to escape.”

Even as he turned and left, his words pressed down on me, relentless, settling deep in my chest. It wasn’t only what he had said. It was the finality in his tone, the certainty that this decision had been made long before I was brought here. Whatever was unfolding had already crossed a point of no return, and I was trapped in its path.

I had seen the pain Dad tried to hide, the hesitation in his eyes, the way his shoulders stiffened, as if forcing the words out had cost him more than he could bear. Now alone, each sentence replayed in my mind, sharp and unyielding, carrying the fear and desperation of a man watching his life unravel.

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make it stop. Everything I had known, the normalcy of this room, the quiet order of my life, had shifted. His words weren’t a warning. They weren’t a threat. They were a verdict.

I traced the edge of the mattress with my fingertips, trying to hold onto something ordinary, something real. But even the cool sheets couldn’t steady me. Everything revolved around his voice, pressing, refusing to let go.

I moved toward the window, staring at my reflection in the dark glass. The girl looking back didn’t look chosen. She looked cornered. Those warm honey-brown eyes were swollen, lashes like dark chains dragging the weight of grief across her face.

I didn’t let myself linger, knowing it would break me further. I turned toward the wardrobe, fingers trembling as I slid the doors open. I reached for my purse and took out the black card the man had given me, the one I hadn’t checked properly before.

I held it in my hand, turning it over. A name and a number were all it contained. Nothing else. My eyes skimmed the text: Aiden Richard.

That wasn’t him. Not Evan Grant, the man Dad had warned me about. My pulse quickened as I tried to make sense of it. I picked up my phone and matched the number from the message to the one on the card. 

They didn’t match. They were completely different.

So this wasn’t the man. Perhaps he was offering help, testing me, or maybe it was nothing at all.

A thought crept into my mind, circling back to the car window, to the men he had taken down. It was clear now he wasn’t some random man. He was the one whose gaze had followed me for months, whose decision had already changed everything. The card felt cold in my hand, insignificant against the storm I now had to face.

******

I tossed restlessly onto the bed, caught between sleep and wake. My body felt heavy, but every nerve throbbed with unease, as if my mind refused to let me rest. The world outside was muted, distant, and even the quiet of the room pressed too close.

Finally, I opened my eyes, staring at the ceiling for a long moment before my gaze drifted to the clock. At first, the numbers didn’t register. My mind was still tangled in the fog of sleep. Sunlight spilled through the curtains, dust motes drifting lazily in the glow. 

My chest tightened, a dull ache settling in my temples. For a moment, I couldn’t process anything at all. Then suddenly it hit me. Afternoon.

A rush of realization coursed through me. How had I slept this long? The haze lifted abruptly, and I jolted upright, half-buried in the blankets, sluggish and clinging to the last wisps of sleep.

My forehead creased as I scanned the room, trying to grasp at fragments my mind had locked away. Then everything snapped into place, flooding back in vivid detail.

I exhaled sharply and began tying my messy hair when a familiar voice cut through the room, pulling me from the memory.

“Jenna! Are you awake?”

Before I could answer, the door eased open and Alexa peeked inside, letting out a grateful huff. “Finally awake? You didn’t come after last night. Are you okay?”

Rubbing my eyes, I forced a faint smile. “Doesn’t matter.”

With this, I slid off the bed, folding the blanket with slow, deliberate movements, my face a neutral mask hiding the storm inside.

Alexa stepped a little further in, arms crossed. “We all were worried about you since you didn’t come out this morning. Mom, Dad, and I came one by one to check on you, but you were too lost in your deep slumber.”

My body stiffened, and I paused mid-motion, letting the weight of her words hang in the air.

Finally, I lifted my head, releasing a sharp breath before I spoke. “You… you didn’t hear a thing last night, Alexa. You were just standing there in the lounge when Dad brought me in. You don’t even know what he said to me.”

She bit her bottom lip, glancing down, guilt crossing her face. “I… I knew, Jenna. I knew everything, but there was nothing I could do.”

I raised my brow and stepped closer, adjusting my shirt with trembling hands. “Do you think this is easy? Do you think I’ll just let my life be sacrificed like that? Do you think anything about my life will be easy with him, with that damn Italian Mafia king?”

My voice cracked between words, and tears glistened in my eyes. I searched hers back and forth, desperate for a spark of understanding, a flicker of shared outrage, as her eyes stayed fixed on me. Her face was full of concern.

“Jenna, I know you’re upset. I know this is unexpected, and we’re all really sorry, but there’s no other way,” she said quietly.

My body shook as I exhaled sharply.

“You know I’ve never dated anyone,” I said, my voice catching. “I’ve always focused on my studies, planned my career, sacrificed my comfort, spent countless sleepless nights, done everything I could to reach this point. And now, just as I’m about to finish my last semester, Dad wants me to marry him?”

My eyes stung as tears ran down my cheeks. She reached out and gently brushed them away, but the puffiness stung all over again.

“Tell me, Alexa. Is this even believable? Is it really that easy to fall in love with someone just by taking a look?”

I couldn’t shake the uneasy feeling that had lingered ever since Dad mentioned the night Evan saw me in the hotel lobby during our family celebration for Alexa’s top grades.

“You’re innocent, Jenna,” she said, shaking her head slightly. “Being hard to impress doesn’t mean everyone is. People fall in love at first sight all the time. Distance and circumstances don’t matter. Some hearts don’t wait to watch closely, they just leap.”

I tried to make sense of her words, my lips parting slightly. 

“Dad doesn’t want it, Jenna. He’s helpless. He wanted to protect you, but there’s no other way. I heard everything when I got home yesterday. I know how worried he was, how helpless he felt when he called you, telling you to come back.”

She paused, then placed both hands gently on my shoulders. “You’ve been cooped up for so long. Let’s forget it for a moment. At least come grab a plate.” Her voice dropped slightly, as if noticing my hesitation, before she continued, “…Mom made your favorite, and Dad sent me to get you.”

I hesitated, the words from last night flashing through my mind. I wasn’t ready to face him, not yet, not when I had no answer to give.

“I’m not hungry,” I murmured, freeing my shoulders from her hands and stepping back. “Tell them I’ll grab something later.”

“Jen…” Alexa’s voice softened, heavy with concern. “You always say that when something’s wrong.”

“What else am I expected to do, Alexa? How can I be normal after knowing everything?” I whispered in a weak voice.

Alexa studied me quietly, then nodded, as if already knowing I wasn’t going to budge. “Okay, but try not to stay up too late.”

When she left, silence settled over the room like a heavy curtain. My stomach twisted with hunger after skipping dinner last night, but I couldn’t bring myself to go downstairs and pretend nothing had happene

d, pretend that the ultimatum I had been given wasn’t poison in a glass. I hated lying, but I saw no other choice.