Chapter 6- Bound

Angela's POV

The moment I step through the door of my grandmother’s house, something cold and sharp crashes against my temple. A glass of wine shatters, the liquid soaking into my clothes as the sting of the impact throbs through my skull. 

Stunned, I raise a hand to the side of my head, feeling a trickle of warmth—blood. 

Grandma sits on the sofa, watching me with an expression that’s all too calm, her hand resting on another untouched glass of wine. 

“So, you decided to show your face,” she sneers. “After ruining everything for this family.”

I blink, barely able to believe this is happening. My grandmother, the woman who had practically raised me after my mother left, had never been kind, but this… this is a new low. “What are you talking about?”

“Lyle has suspended all business cooperation with us,” she says, her tone laced with venom. “All because you decided to end things with him.”

A bitter laugh escapes me before I can stop it. “So that’s it, then; the only thing I was ever worth to you people was a connection to Lyle?”

She narrows her eyes, her lip curling. “You’re so ungrateful. If you can’t marry him, the least you could do is keep him satisfied. Do you think you’re worth anything more?”

My stomach twists with a sickening realization. “So that’s all you wanted.” I say, the words tasting bitter on my tongue. “You wanted me to be his… his mistress?”

“You were lucky to even be that,” she snaps, her gaze icy. “If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t have had a chance with someone like him.”

I stare at her, struggling to process the words. “What do you mean, if it weren’t for you?”

My vision blurs, and I have to grip the doorframe to steady myself. 

The idea that my family would go to such lengths—would use me so ruthlessly—makes me feel sick.

Now, even that illusion is shattered.

“Nothing you need to worry about now,” she replies, brushing it off as if it’s irrelevant. “Just know that without my intervention, Lyle would have never noticed you. You’d still be some foolish girl from nowhere.”

The pieces start to fall into place, each one twisting the knife deeper. “Wait… are you saying the night he saved me was… was a setup?”

Her silence is answer enough, the look in her eyes more damning than any words she could say. That night, the night I thought was my chance encounter with Lyle—the night I’d believed he saw something in me, that he wanted to protect me—that was all a lie. 

A calculated move orchestrated by my own family to offer me up to him.

A cold chill spreads through me, a betrayal so deep it leaves me trembling. “So I was just… bait. You set me up as some kind of offering to him. That’s disgusting.”

She watches me with indifference. “You’re being dramatic. It was simply an arrangement. You get to be close to a powerful man, and we get the benefits. It was a fair trade. You should be grateful.”

My chest feels tight, the weight of every lie crushing down on me. 

I look around the room, my eyes burning with unshed tears. Every childhood memory, every holiday spent in this house, now feels tainted. The love I thought I knew feels like a cruel joke, a lie wrapped in false affection. 

My voice cracks as I speak. “You were supposed to protect me. You raised me. How could you do this?”

My life, my choices—none of them were real. I was just a pawn, used by my own family to fulfill their ambitions. I clench my fists, my voice trembling with rage. 

“I won’t go back to him. If you think I’ll let you use me like that again, you’re wrong. If you try to force me, we’re done. I’ll cut you out completely.”

A faint noise from the corner of the room draws my attention, and I see my father, standing by the doorway. His face is pale, his expression a mix of shock and sadness. 

He’s always been the only one in my family who ever showed me real kindness, the only one who read me stories or kissed me goodnight.

Now, he looks at my grandmother with a kind of horror I’ve never seen in him.

Memories of my father standing up for me as a child flood back. I remember the nights he stayed up with me when I was scared, the way he’d sneak me treats when my grandmother wasn’t looking.

He wasn’t perfect, but he was the only one who ever made me feel like I mattered.

“How could you do this to her?” he demands, his voice shaking with fury. “She’s your granddaughter, for heaven’s sake! How could you use her like this?”

“Because it was necessary,” Grandma replies coolly. “Someone had to think of this family’s future.”

He turns to me, his gaze softening. “Angela, I had no idea. I swear… I would never have allowed this if I’d known.”

The regret in his voice feels like a balm, reminding me that, thankfully, not everyone in my life is here to use me.

Tears spill over, and I wipe them away with a shaky hand. I’m exhausted, my strength hanging by a thread, but his support feels like a lifeline. 

“I believe you,” I say quietly, the anger and betrayal momentarily easing. “Thank you.”

He takes a step toward me, his voice low and steady. “Listen to me, Angela. Don’t let them manipulate you anymore. Your happiness is more important than any so-called family obligation. Whatever you decide, I’ll stand by you. Just… go to the hospital, get that wound looked at.”

I nod, but worry for him lingers. “You should take care of yourself too, Dad. I don’t want you getting sick over this.” His heart condition has always been a quiet worry in the back of my mind.

He gives me a faint smile, nodding reassuringly. “I’ll be fine. Go take care of yourself.”

The gravity of the betrayal sits heavy on me as I slip outside, the lies my own family told to trap me into a life I never asked for. 

My head throbs, the wound stinging as I make my way to the hospital, desperate to clear my mind and escape the nightmare I’ve been living.

The triage nurse takes one look at me, eyebrows raised in surprise. “Back so soon; are you here for the obstetrics department again?”

I barely register her question, my mind swirling in confusion, when I hear a familiar voice.

“Angela?”

I turn, my eyes landing on Lyle as he steps into the waiting area. His expression is unreadable, but there’s a flicker of something in his eyes—surprise, maybe even relief.

“Are you… are you pregnant?” he asks, a hint of joy creeping into his tone.