All Chapters of OWNED BY THE MADDOX BROTHERS : Chapter 51 - Chapter 59

ZAYLA The brothers had let me decide at my own time when to tell them the whole story, and I chose tonight. I needed more courage than I thought I had.I was going back to my room, along the dim hallway my arm was suddenly grabbed. Before I could even process what was going on, my back was slammed against a hard wall, followed by the click of the door lock. “Angel.” Zane smiled, all tall and brooding, his hand planted against the wall above my head, effectively caging me between his body and the wall."Shit. I should've known it was you." "Of course you should." His eyes locked onto mine.And fuck.They weren’t warm anymore. Gone were the softness, replaced by a hunger so raw it made my pulse stumble. They were molten amber, like honey left too close to a flame, almost golden, darkened, and dangerously thick. His gaze moved over me with the slow, deliberate hunger of a predator that had finally cornered what it had been hunting.There was nothing gentle in those eyes.Only want.

ZAYLAI told them how I'd begged my mother for help.How I'd stood in front of her with tears streaming down my face and told her I was afraid of him. And she'd looked at me like I was being dramatic. Like I was some spoiled little girl throwing a tantrum because her relationship wasn't perfect.I told them about my father.How I'd tried to explain that Lugard wasn't who he appeared to be. How I'd tried to make him understand that I wasn't safe. And somehow, every conversation found its way back to business.His company. Their company.Money.Deals.Investors.Numbers.Never me.Never the daughter standing right in front of them. Never the fact that I was slowly becoming afraid of my own life."They saw me hurting."I looked down."And they still chose not to see me."Nobody interrupted, not even Zane.So I kept going.I told them about the time I finally thought I had enough strength to stay away from Lugard.How he'd stopped calling. Stopped showing up.How I'd started sleeping with

ZANEFor several seconds after Zayla finished speaking, none of us moved.I couldn't remember the last time a room had felt this fucking quiet.Not awkward.Not uncomfortable.Just... heavy.Zayla had told us everything. But somehow, I still felt like we'd only just scratched the surface of what she'd been through.I looked at her.She was sitting next to me, her eyes swollen from crying, her fingers curled tightly together in her lap.The same girl who had laughed with us earlier. The same girl who had teased me. The same girl who had let me take her into my room and kiss her like she had nothing in the world to fear.She had died.I still couldn't wrap my head around that. Not the part about her waking up. The part before it.She had actually believed she was going to die. And nobody had been there. Nobody had saved her. Nobody had stopped him.She'd simply... disappeared beneath his hands.My jaw clenched.I thought I knew pain.I might be wrong, because pain was not always blood.

ZAYLAI woke up before my alarm.For a few seconds, I simply stared at the ceiling, trying to remember why I felt like I'd barely slept.I exhaled slowly and turned my head toward the clock on my bedside table.6:14 a.m.Zarek's rule was strict. Training started at seven.I stared at the time for another few seconds before pushing myself out of bed.I had spent years waking up afraid of what the day might bring. Today, I was getting up because I had decided what I wanted from it. That difference mattered. For the first time, I wasn't waking up wondering what would happen to me. I was waking up knowing what I wanted to become. When I was out of the bathroom, I stood in front of the mirror while I tied my hair into a high ponytail. I was wearing black leggings and a fitted dark tank top, with a pair of sneakers beside the bed.Nothing special or fancy, just clothes I could actually move in.I looked at my reflection.For a brief moment, I saw the girl from my past. The one who had crie