Chapter 3: Beneath His Grip

The air was thick with tension as Emma stood near the grand window, the distant lights of the city below reflecting the turmoil swirling inside her. The soft hum of conversations around her faded into nothingness. Her thoughts were only with him. Jake.

"Emma, wait." Jake’s voice sliced through the noise, pulling her back to reality. His presence behind her was like a sudden storm, wild and unstoppable.

She turned, startled, her heart already racing. There he was. The man who had been a constant, quiet presence in her life. His gaze locked with hers, intense, full of unsaid words.

"Are you okay?" Jake asked, his tone low, sincere. His eyes searched hers for something—anything—that might explain the pain she couldn't hide.

She took a shaky breath, looking away, but the warmth in his voice made her pulse quicken. She didn’t know how to answer. Could she tell him the truth? That she felt suffocated? Trapped?

"I see it, Emma," Jake murmured, stepping closer. "You're not happy. Not really." His words were a soft, dangerous whisper, one that set her heart on fire, then drowned it in ice.

His words hit her like a slap. Not really. Was she pretending to be happy? Did he see through the facade she put on every day? The facade that kept Damon from seeing how broken she was?

"I can help," Jake added, his voice pleading now. "Let me help you. You don’t have to keep carrying this alone."

His offer lingered in the air, like a dream she dared not hope for. Could she trust him? Could she really risk everything to escape the monster Damon had turned into? Emma swallowed hard, the weight of the choice pressing down on her.

Just as she opened her mouth to speak, a voice, cold and sharp, sliced through the fragile moment.

"Emma." Damon’s voice, smooth and commanding, caused her body to freeze. She didn't have to turn to know he was there, his presence like a shadow, closing in on her with every breath she took.

Her stomach dropped, and her heartbeat stuttered in her chest. The warmth from Jake’s closeness evaporated, leaving her cold. No, not now, Emma thought, her pulse quickening with fear.

"You think you can just walk away?" Damon’s tone was ice, but there was a crack in it—a sign of the storm that was brewing beneath the surface.

His eyes glinted with the same dangerous, calculated look that always made Emma feel like a rat caught in a trap. He took a slow step toward her, his lips curling into a smile that didn’t reach his eyes.

"Did you really think I wouldn’t find out?" Damon hissed, his gaze shifting to Jake. "Or are you just another fool, thinking you can save her?"

Jake’s jaw tightened, but he didn’t back away. He stood firm, meeting Damon’s cold gaze with a fiery one of his own. Emma felt a flicker of hope, but it was short-lived.

"She doesn’t need saving," Jake shot back, his voice unwavering, but there was an edge to it. "She’s not your property, Damon."

Emma winced at the sharpness of Jake’s words, but Damon’s response was even sharper. In a flash, he was beside her, his grip on her arm like iron. She gasped, her body instinctively pulling away, but he tightened his hold, forcing her to stay where she was.

"Don’t touch her," Jake growled, his fists clenching at his sides. He took a step forward, but Damon raised his free hand in a warning gesture.

The room seemed to fall silent, the guests around them holding their breath. Emma felt like a spectator in her own life, trapped in a nightmare. Damon’s voice cut through the tension, quiet and chilling.

"Do you think I won’t remind you, Emma?" Damon whispered, his words cold, deliberate. "Of what happens to people who forget who they belong to?"

His grip tightened, sending a shockwave of pain through her, and Emma’s legs wobbled, threatening to give out. She wanted to scream, to tell Jake to run, to leave before it got worse. But she couldn’t move. Not with Damon’s fingers digging into her skin.

"You’re pathetic," Damon spat, his eyes narrowing in disgust. "I give you everything, and you still try to run to him? You’ll regret this, Emma. I promise you that."

Her mind raced as Damon’s words pounded in her ears. Regret it? She had regretted everything since the moment she first realized she was trapped in this life with him. She felt sick, her body trembling as the familiar weight of Damon’s control settled over her once again.

"Stop," Emma whispered, her voice barely audible, but Damon’s grip didn’t loosen. If anything, it tightened, the pressure making her vision blur.

Jake’s eyes darkened, but he made no move to get closer. He could see the danger in Damon’s eyes. He could sense the kind of animal Damon was, the kind that didn’t hesitate to tear someone apart.

"Let her go," Jake demanded, his voice filled with authority, though his hand was still clenched at his side. He was ready to fight, but Emma didn’t want that. She didn’t want him to fight Damon.

Damon chuckled darkly, the sound grating against her nerves. "You want her, do you?" he asked, his voice a mocking purr. "Well, she’s not yours. Not now, not ever."

"I don’t want her," Damon continued, the words slipping from his lips with malicious ease. "I own her. I always will."

Emma’s breath caught in her throat, a sharp pang of humiliation seizing her chest. She didn’t dare look at Jake. The shame, the helplessness—it was too much. Her stomach churned, and her eyes pricked with unshed tears.

"Stop it, Damon," Jake said through gritted teeth, his voice taut with anger. "You’re suffocating her. You’re breaking her."

The words hung in the air, echoing in the space between them. Damon’s expression darkened, his lips curling into a cruel smirk as he looked down at Emma, his grip tightening even further.

"I’m not breaking her," Damon whispered, his voice dangerously low. "I’m shaping her. You wouldn’t understand, would you?"

And with that, Damon turned his back on Jake, dragging Emma away. She stumbled, her body weak, but he didn’t care. He was taking her—away from him. Away from the only hope she had.

She glanced over her shoulder, her heart breaking at the sight of Jake standing there, helpless, as Damon led her through the crowd. He was the only one who had ever made her feel like there was an escape.

But now… there was no escaping Damon’s grasp

"Don’t forget," Damon hissed as they exited the room, his voice low and threatening. "You belong to me."

And Emma’s heart sank as she realized, with a terrible certainty, that Damon was right. For now, at least. For now, she was still his.