The Waiting Game

I spent the morning in the library again. I tried to read but my mind kept wandering. The letter to my family had been sent yesterday. I wondered if they believed it. I imagined my mother crying while reading the words. My father sitting quietly with worry in his eyes. Emma asking questions no one could answer.

The not knowing hurt more than anything.

Lena brought breakfast on a tray. The maid looked around carefully before speaking in a low voice.

"Your family has been on the news Miss Scarlett. They are still searching. The police came to your apartment."

My heart jumped. "Did they say anything else?"

Lena shook her head. "Only that you disappeared after work. Be strong. Many girls in this house before you lost themselves completely."

Lena left quickly after that. I sat with the food untouched. I felt trapped between two worlds. One I knew and loved. Another that was slowly pulling me in with comfort and fear.

Marco appeared at the door. "Boss wants you in the garden."

I followed him outside. Jace stood near the fountain. He wore dark clothes and looked deep in thought. When he saw me he waved Marco away.

"Sit with me," Jace said.

We sat on the stone bench. The sun was warm but the air felt heavy. Jace didn’t touch me. He kept space between us today.

"I received news this morning," he told me. "Your family received the letter. Your mother cried. Your sister Emma wants to believe it but your father is suspicious."

I looked down at her hands. "They know me too well. I would never disappear without telling them."

Jace nodded. "That is why I chose you. You have strong bonds. Most girls I could take had no one who would fight for them."

He stayed quiet for a while. Birds sang in the trees around the high walls. Guards walked in the distance.

"I built all this from nothing," Jace said suddenly. "My father was killed when I was fifteen. Shot in the street like a dog. My mother died soon after from grief. I learned early that the world takes everything unless you take first."

I listened carefully. This was the most he had ever shared about himself.

"Is that why you took me?" she asked. "Because you lost everything?"

Jace looked at me. His eyes were hard but tired. "Partly. I saw you and something inside me wanted to protect that innocence. To keep it for myself. But I know I am damaging it too."

I felt confused. Part of me wanted to hate him. Another part saw the man behind the boss. I didn’t speak.

The day passed slowly. Jace worked in his office most of the time. I spent hours with books and thinking. Lena brought my lunch and stayed a little longer today.

"The Rossi family is causing problems," Lena whispered while cleaning the room. "They lost money in a deal with Jace. Now they are looking for weaknesses. People say the new girl might be that weakness."

I felt cold. I was now a target because of him.

In the late afternoon Marco took me to a different part of the house. It was a small cinema room with comfortable seats. Jace joined me later. We watched a calm movie together. No touching. No words about desire. Just quiet company.

I noticed Jace checking his phone many times. His face looked worried. Something was happening outside these walls.

After the movie he spoke. "There will be a meeting tomorrow. Important people. You will stay in your room. Do not try to leave."

His voice was firm. The gentle moment from earlier was gone. He was the boss again.

That night I lay in bed alone. The door was locked as usual. I thought about my sister Emma. The way we used to share a room and talk until late. I remembered my mother's cooking and my father's laugh before he got sick.

Tears came quietly. I missed my simple life. The freedom to walk to the store. The choice to go where I wanted.

I also thought about Jace. The small pieces he showed me. The way he controlled everything but sometimes looked at me like I was the only soft thing in his hard world.

Lena had left a new night dress for me. I changed and tried to sleep. But sleep did not come easily.

Outside the mansion the city continued its dangerous games.

The Rossi family was planning. My family was still searching. And inside these walls I waited for the next move in a game I didn’t choose.

I touched the place on my wrist where Jace had held me yesterday. No kisses. No touches today.

But the memory of his presence still filled the room.

The waiting felt heavier than the chains.