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Chapter Three
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2025-02-22 02:04:43The engagement party is a nightmare in designer clothing.
Glittering chandeliers hang like jeweled traps from the ceiling, their golden light reflecting off the champagne flutes clinking in celebration. The air is thick with expensive perfume, murmured conversations, and the occasional burst of laughter. I stand at Ethan’s side, my champagne untouched, my fingers curled tightly around the delicate stem of the glass. My grip is the only thing keeping me steady. I force myself to smile, to act the part of the devoted fiancée. Because in this room—where wealth and power weave together like an unbreakable net, one misstep could ruin everything. Beside me, Ethan thrives in the attention. He shakes hands, trades smirks, and commands the room with the ease of a man born to rule. His hand rests low on my waist, possessive, like a brand. I feel his gaze flicker toward me every now and then. Testing me. Pushing me. I don’t react. Not yet. But he’s playing a game, and I have no idea what the rules are. His breath warms my skin as he leans in, his lips barely grazing my ear. “Smile.” The word is soft, but it’s a command. I stiffen. “Don’t push me.” Ethan chuckles, the sound rich and knowing. “You agreed to this, sweetheart.” I turn my head, meeting his gaze with a forced smile. “For a price.” His fingers tighten slightly on my waist. “Everything has a price. Including your obedience.” I hate the way his voice makes my skin prickle. Like it’s not just a warning but a promise. Before I can fire back, a voice cuts through the noise. “Ethan! Isabella!” A well-dressed woman strides toward us, a microphone in hand, cameras trailing her like a pack of wolves. A reporter. I swallow hard. This is what I signed up for. The spotlight. The scrutiny. The constant eyes on me. But it doesn’t mean I have to like it. She flashes a dazzling smile. “Tell us, how did you two fall in love?” Ethan doesn’t hesitate. “The moment I saw her, I knew.” I almost choke on my champagne. Liar. He turns to me, his expression unreadable. “Right, darling?” I meet his gaze, pulse hammering. He’s daring me to mess up. I force out a soft laugh, tilting my head as if the memory is sweet and not a carefully orchestrated lie. “Of course. It was… unexpected. But when it’s right, you just know.” The reporter sighs dreamily. “That’s beautiful! And that kiss from earlier, so passionate! Will we see another?” My stomach drops. Oh, hell no. Ethan’s smirk is lazy, but there’s something sharp beneath it. He already knows my answer doesn’t matter. The crowd is watching. Expecting. And Ethan Sinclair never disappoints. His fingers slide around my waist, pulling me flush against him before I can react. Then his mouth crashes onto mine. Gasps ripple through the party. Camera flashes explode like fireworks. I freeze. His lips are firm, demanding. He kisses me like he owns me, like the ring on my finger isn’t fake, like this isn’t a contract. I hate that my body hesitates. That for a fraction of a second, heat curls low in my stomach, my fingers twitching against his chest. No. I shove him away, my breath ragged. The crowd cheers. Laughter. Whispers. The clinking of glasses. None of it matters. Because when I meet Ethan’s gaze, I see something dangerous flickering beneath his cool mask. Something real. That kiss wasn’t just for show. And that terrifies me. The Warning I escape the ballroom the first chance I get. Slipping past guests. Dodging curious stares. My heels click against the marble floors as I slip down a quiet hallway, my pulse still unsteady. I need air. Space. Distance from Ethan. I press my fingers to my lips, my mind racing. Why did it feel so ? No. I won’t go there. I push the thought away and yank my phone out of my clutch. More headlines. More pictures of us. More lies. But one notification stands out. New Message: UNKNOWN NUMBER My stomach tightens. I click it open. Get out before it’s too late. What? A chill skates down my spine. Before I can process it, a voice drifts from the room ahead. Ethan’s voice. I freeze. “…She’s not a problem.” His tone is low, clipped. “She’s exactly where I want her.” A pause. A cold chuckle. “She has no idea what’s coming.” My breath catches. My fingers tighten around my phone. I don’t move. I don’t breathe. I just listen. “She’s easy to control,” Ethan continues, his voice sharp, unreadable. “She thinks she has choices. But in the end, she’ll do exactly what I want.” Ice floods my veins. He’s talking about me. The sound of clinking glass. A muffled response. Then Ethan again, quieter this time. Darker. “She signed the contract. She belongs to me now.” I stumble back, my heart pounding. No. No, no, no. I turn on my heel, moving as fast as I can without making a sound. I need to get out of here. I don’t know what Ethan is planning. But I know one thing for sure. I can’t trust him.
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Bound by deception Chapter 49 – Unseen Chains
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Bound by deception Chapter 48 – Into the Lion’s Den
The SUV sliced through the night like a silent predator, devouring the miles between us and the city. The hum of the tires against the road was the only sound filling the tense silence inside the car. Ethan sat beside me, his jaw tight, his fingers drumming against his knee in a steady calculated and controlled rhythm. His mind was somewhere else, far ahead of us, mapping out the next move, anticipating every possible threat. I stared out the window, watching as the towering skyscrapers and flickering neon lights of New York faded into darkness, replaced by vast stretches of highway and dense, looming trees. The further we drove, the more it felt like we were leaving civilization itself. A cold knot twisted in my stomach. Finally, I exhaled, breaking the silence. “Where exactly is ‘home’?” Ethan’s gaze flicked to me, but his expression remained unreadable. “Somewhere safe.” I let out a hollow laugh. “Safe? There’s no such thing anymore.” He didn’t argue. He didn’t need to
Bound by deception Chapter 47 – No Safe Haven
The room felt like it had been drained of oxygen. I stared at the phone in my hand, my fingers curled so tightly around it that my knuckles turned white. The screen flickered, casting a pale glow on my face, but all I could focus on was the image. The bold, jagged letters scrawled across my apartment door like a bloody warning. Nowhere is safe. A shiver crept down my spine. The words weren’t just a threat. They were a promise. I sucked in a shaky breath, but the air felt thick, heavy, as if the walls were closing in. Ethan moved first. His hand shot out, snatching the phone from my grasp. His grip was tight, controlled, but the muscle in his jaw ticked. A sign that the control was hanging by a thread. His gaze flicked over the image, scanning every detail, and then, with a sharp inhale, he turned to me. “Pack a bag.” I blinked, my mind still trying to catch up. “What?” “You’re not staying here. You’re not going back to your apartment.” His voice was clipped, edged with
Bound by deception Chapter 46 – The Line We Can’t Cross
“Let go of me, Ethan.” I kept my voice steady, but my body betrayed me. My hands trembled. My pulse hammered against my ribs, each beat screaming at me to run. Ethan’s grip on my wrist didn’t tighten, but it didn’t loosen either. His fingers, warm and solid, were the only thing anchoring me in place. He stood rigid, his jaw ticking, his body wound so tight it looked like he might snap. “I can’t.” A shiver rippled down my spine. Elias let out a low whistle. “Oh, this is getting good. What’s next, Sinclair? You gonna lock her up in your penthouse?” Ethan didn’t even spare him a glance. His gaze was locked on mine, intense and unyielding. “If that’s what it takes to keep her safe.” A sharp, bitter laugh escaped me. “You don’t get to decide that.” His grip flexed. Just a twitch of his fingers but I felt it everywhere. “I do when Damien Cross is hunting you.” Elias exhaled dramatically. “And there it is. The Sinclair control complex.” He smirked, shifting against the des
Bound by deception Chapter 45 – The Truth That Shatters
The room felt like it was closing in. The walls seemed narrower, the air thick with something I couldn’t name. The grainy video on the screen played in an endless loop, the scene burned into my mind. Ethan. A silencer. A body collapsing to the floor. Blood spreading like ink across white tiles. My breath came fast, uneven. It was like my brain refused to process what I’d just seen. “Tell me that wasn’t you.” My voice barely sounded like mine. It was strained and fragile on the verge of breaking. Ethan didn’t move. He didn’t speak. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes… God, his eyes. I had seen them dark before, filled with anger, with lust, with unspoken emotions I never had the courage to name. But this? This was different. His gaze was a void. Hollow. As if the man I thought I knew was locked somewhere inside, just out of reach. Something inside me cracked. I stepped back, shaking my head. “Say something.” Ethan finally exhaled, slow and control
Bound by deception Chapter 44 – Torn Between Devils
“Put the gun down, Ethan.” Elias’s voice was smooth and calculated like a snake slithering through the darkness, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He stood in the doorway with the ease of a man who owned the world, his fingers lightly brushing against the frame. His other hand was tucked in his pocket, casual, almost lazy, but I knew better. Nothing about Elias Carter was ever lazy. Every move was deliberate. Every word, a weapon. Ethan, however, was a fortress. His stance was unwavering, shoulders squared, his gun aimed with lethal precision. He wasn’t just holding a weapon. He was a weapon. “You’re trespassing.” His voice was razor-sharp. Elias smirked. Smirked. Like none of this mattered, like he hadn’t just shattered the world I’d built with his sudden presence. “And you’re holding something that belongs to me.” The words sliced through the air, thick with meaning. My breath caught. Me. Ethan’s hold on the gun tightened. “She doesn’t belong to you.”
Bound by deception Chapter 43 – Shadows of the Past
I shook my head, my chest rising and falling too fast. “No.” Ethan didn’t move. Didn’t blink. “Yes.” My pulse pounded against my ribs like a trapped animal. I took a step back, needing distance, but Ethan was relentless, closing in, his presence thick like a storm cloud about to break. “Elias is gone,” I whispered. “He has to be gone.” Ethan tilted his head slightly, studying me like he was waiting for me to figure out the truth on my own. “Do you really believe that?” I wanted to. God, I wanted to. But Ethan’s voice carried the weight of something inevitable, something unshakable. I clenched my fists at my sides. “He used me. Lied to me. Left me.” I swallowed against the tightness in my throat. “Why the hell would he want me back?” Ethan’s eyes flickered with something unreadable before he spoke. “Because you’re the only thing he ever lost.” The words slammed into me. For a moment, the room faded, replaced by the ghosts of memories I had fought to bury. Elias’s hands
Bound by deception Chapter 42 – The Only Way Out
I stumbled back, shaking my head, my breath coming too fast. My heartbeat slammed against my ribs, a wild, frantic rhythm that made my chest ache. “You’re lying.” Ethan didn’t move, didn’t blink. “Am I?” His voice was maddeningly calm, like he was talking about the weather and not completely tearing my world apart. I wanted to believe that. Needed to believe that. But the video kept replaying in my mind, every detail slicing through me like a serrated knife Elias smirking, rolling that damn cigarette between his fingers like I had been nothing more than a business deal, an asset. A job. My stomach lurched. “How long have you known?” My voice was hoarse, barely above a whisper. Ethan exhaled slowly, rubbing a hand over his jaw like he was debating how much to say. “Long enough.” I let out a sharp, bitter laugh. “And you just let me keep believing he cared?” He arched a brow. “Would you have believed me if I told you earlier?” I opened my mouth, ready to snap ba
Bound by deception Chapter 41 – The Target
The walls of Ethan’s hidden room closed in around me, suffocating, too full of secrets I wasn’t ready to face. My pulse pounded in my ears as his words echoed inside my skull. “You were a job.” It wasn’t possible. It wasn’t real. I took a step back, gripping the edge of the desk to steady myself. The folder with my name on it sat between us like a loaded gun. My life, reduced to paper. Dates. Records. A complete history. Ethan watched me with maddening patience, as if waiting for me to process the truth or waiting for me to break. I wouldn’t. I lifted my chin. “You’re lying.” He sighed, rubbing a hand along his jaw. “I don’t lie, Isabella.” Something in his voice made my stomach churn. He sounded tired, almost resigned, but there was an underlying certainty that terrified me. I turned my back to him, gripping the folder so tightly my knuckles ached. I flipped through the pages again, my eyes scanning too fast, desperate for something. Anything to prove him wrong
