Ella will be mine.

Marcus Ashford POV

The moment she begged me to let her go, I realized she wasn’t like the other girls who had passed through my life. Her eyes didn’t plead out of weakness alone. They held something else… a spark of caged rebellion, a desperate need to escape, a stubborn will to remain her own.

And that alone made me want her even more.

Ella wasn’t just a passing desire. She was prey worth the long game. The cat-and-mouse chase. I wouldn’t break her now. No, I’d wait until she came to me on her own, crawling, begging for my love, convinced that there was no escape except through me.

I moved closer, softening my features deliberately, as if I were a broken man searching for forgiveness. I gave her a smile laced with false regret, dropped my voice into a whisper that slid into her ear like cold poison.

“Ella Holden… maybe you think I’m cruel. But have you ever asked yourself… why I do all of this?”

Her eyes lifted to mine, wet, trembling, struggling to decipher my riddle. Her voice cracked as she whispered,

“But… why?”

My lips curved in a dangerous smile, like a man revealing a forbidden truth.

“To save you.”

Her expression froze. She didn’t believe me. She repeated the word, as if it were foreign, alien to her life.

“Save me?”

I leaned closer, my gaze piercing into her.

“I don’t hurt you, Ella. I protect you. Everything you think is cruelty in front of your sister—it’s an act. A mask. I show her I control you, just to give you an escape from this hell. Rhea… she’s thirsty for your blood. She’d torture you to death. But me… I’m the one standing in her way.”

Her struggle was written all over her face. Her mind screamed danger, but her heart clung to my words. She hesitated for long seconds, then asked with a trembling mix of fear and suspicion,

“And what proves you’re not lying? Maybe you just want to use me?”

I laughed coldly, leaning in until I could taste her shaky breaths.

“And what do you even have for me to use?”

Her lips trembled.

“Maybe… my body. Maybe more.”

I reached out, wrapped her hand in mine, pressing gently as if I were offering her a lifeline.

“The choice is yours. I have countless women around me. But none like you. Just remember… behind this door, Rhea is waiting, hungry to tear you apart. With me… you might find freedom. Maybe even a new life.”

She swallowed hard, then whispered,

“And what will I be if I leave with you?”

I smiled, my voice heavy with meaning.

“You’ll be free. And you’ll learn that your rightful place… is at my side. Maybe I’ll open the doors of the university for you. Maybe more. But remember this—the choice is yours.”

It was a breaking point. Her body trembled, her eyes burned with wild defiance beneath her fear. And finally, with a shaky kind of strength, she said,

“I’ll go with you. Staying with Rhea is death. Leaving with you is dangerous… but I’ll take the risk.”

I smiled to myself. Her defiance was the sweetest gift. Ella would remain mine, until I found the true Luna fate had written for me. And until that moment came… she would learn to surrender on her own.

We left the room. She had changed her clothes quickly, but her trembling hands betrayed that her fear hadn’t gone. The moment we opened the door, Rhea was there, waiting like a caged wolf, with that fool Henry—her loyal shadow—by her side.

Ella’s eyes burned with anger, but behind the flames I saw something else… a dark secret that pulled me toward her no matter how hard I tried to resist. Some strange bond tied us together, invisible, unbreakable.

Henry broke the silence, his voice tight with worry.

“Are you alright, Ella?”

She looked at him, then answered softly, to my surprise.

“I’m fine, Henry. Don’t worry.”

Her words were a soothing balm but they only fueled Rhea’s rage. She stepped forward slowly, her movements calm but deadly, her voice dripping with contempt.

“And where do you think you’re going, Ella?”

Before any of us could react, madness erupted. Ella’s hand flew, slapping Rhea so hard the air itself froze. She didn’t stop there she grabbed her sister’s hair, yanking hard, before turning sharply to stand at my side as if seeking my shield.

I stared at her, stunned and secretly impressed. I never thought this fragile girl had that kind of fire in her.

Her voice shook, but it carried defiance like a blade.

“This is my farewell, Rhea. You can rest now. Your part is over… it’s my time.”

Then she turned to me, her eyes burning with tears and fury.

“Isn’t that right, Marcus?”

I smirked sideways, savoring the moment. I liked her defiance. I liked even more that she chose to stand with me. And the best part… she spoke my name with such strength. No one had ever dared before.

She grabbed my hand, pulling me out. Like a small bird finding its nest at last. Like a child stumbling into safety after being lost too long.

She whispered, tilting her head up to me.

“Where to?”

I answered in a calm, cold tone.

“To my mansion. But first… we’re buying you new clothes.”

Her eyes dropped to her torn, simple dress. She had lived a life of deprivation, stripped of beauty. And I… I decided to change that. Starting with her clothes.

We spent hours in the stores. Her eyes widened like a child’s each time she touched a new fabric. Everything she pointed at, I bought. No hesitation. At the same time, I ordered her a room in my mansion perfect, untouched, hers. A clean beginning.

The day ended in a fine restaurant. She sat across from me, staring in awe at the table covered with meats, chicken, pasta. She ate like it was her first meal in years. Sauce stained the corner of her mouth, and I leaned in, wiping it away with my thumb.

I laughed at how childlike she looked. But inside, I saw something else: a lost girl, fragile in my hands, and I alone shaping the fate ahead of her.

Her eyelids grew heavy fast. Exhaustion won. She fell asleep suddenly, her head nodding, lost to dreams.

I carried her in my arms, her body so light it felt like a fragile promise. As I climbed the stairs with her, a dark smile curled on my lips.

No matter what happens… Ella will be mine.

And deep inside, there was only one craving left in me. To strip her of those clothes and devour her body.