Chapter 2

As Caleb and I stepped through the front door, I could feel the tension hanging thick in the air, like a storm ready to break.

 The car ride home from the hospital had been silent, but it was the kind of silence that screamed of unspoken words, of buried resentment waiting to explode. 

I barely had time to set my bag down before he was on me, his eyes blazing with anger.

"What the hell were you thinking, Ivy?" His voice was a low growl, the kind that sent a shiver down my spine despite my determination not to show fear.

I met his gaze, my own anger rising to meet his. "What was I thinking? I was doing my job, Caleb. What else do you expect me to do?"

"My job is to help people, to save lives," I shot back, the words coming out harsher than I intended.

 "Not to just stand by and let"

"Your job," he interrupted, his voice cold and sharp, "is to keep your head down and stay out of trouble. Not to get involved in every bleeding heart case that walks through those doors."

I felt a bitter laugh bubble up in my throat, but I swallowed it down, refusing to give him the satisfaction. 

Instead, I stepped closer to him, the anger in my chest burning hotter with each passing second. 

"Like how I got involved when I was just a scared girl, hiding from God knows what, and you showed up out of nowhere? Or was that different, Caleb?"

His eyes flickered for a moment. But then he was back, the scowl deepening on his face. 

"That was different, and you know it."

"Different?" I repeated, my voice rising as the memories of that night flooded back, vivid and sharp. "You broke into that house, Caleb. You shot him, and then you dragged me out like I was some kind of... of..."

I trailed off, the words failing me as the images of that night replayed in my mind the gunshot, the shock on Luke’s face, the cold grip of Caleb's hand around my arm as he pulled me away. My heart pounded in my chest, the fear I felt back then creeping into my veins, but I forced myself to stand tall, to not let him see how much he still terrified me.

Caleb’s jaw clenched, his eyes narrowed into slits. 

"I saved your life, Ivy. Or have you forgotten what that bastard tried to do to you?"

My breath hitched, and for a moment, I was back in that room, the sickening feeling of his hands on me, the smell of sweat and fear. I hadn’t forgotten. How could I? But I wouldn’t let Caleb use that against me. Not now.

"I haven’t forgotten," I said quietly, my voice trembling just slightly before I steadied it. "But that doesn’t mean I asked for this. I didn’t ask for any of it, Caleb."

"You didn’t have a choice," he said, dismissing me with a wave of his hand. "You were a mess. Alone. Vulnerable. And now look at you safe, with a roof over your head and a life that millions would kill for."

"A life?" The word felt bitter on my tongue, the taste of it sour and wrong. 

"Is that what you call this? Being paraded around as your obedient wife, when we both know this marriage is nothing but a lie?"

His eyes flashed with anger, and he took a step closer, his hand twitching at his side. For a moment, I thought he might actually hit me, and the thought both terrified and infuriated me.

"Watch your mouth, Ivy," he warned, his voice low and dangerous.

"No," I snapped back, the words coming out before I could think to stop them. "I won’t. I’m tired of this, Caleb. Tired of pretending, tired of being your puppet."

"Everything I’ve done has been to protect you," he snarled, his voice rising, the anger boiling over now. "If it wasn’t for me, you’d be dead, or worse"

"I’d be free!" The words erupted from me, louder and more forceful than I intended. They echoed through the room, bouncing off the walls like an accusation, leaving a heavy silence in their wake.

Caleb stared at me, his eyes wide with shock, and for a moment, I thought I’d finally broken through to him. But then his face twisted into a mask of cold fury, and he took another step toward me, his hand lifting slightly, as if he was going to strike me.

"You have no idea how good you have it,"

 he hissed, his voice trembling with barely contained rage. 

"But if you want to throw it all away, fine…suit yourself. You’re done at that hospital. No more work, no more of your so-called independence. You quit. Now."

The words hit me like a physical blow, knocking the breath from my lungs. I stared at him, my mind reeling, trying to process what he’d just said. "You can’t do that," I whispered, my voice weak, even to my own ears.

"I just did," he snapped, his voice like ice, final and unyielding.

For a moment, I was too stunned to respond. My job at the hospital was the one thing that kept me sane, that gave me a sense of purpose in this twisted life I was forced into. It was my lifeline, and now he was cutting it.

I wanted to scream, to lash out at him, to do something, anything, to fight back. 

But all I could do was stand there, my body trembling with rage and fear, my mind racing as I tried to figure out what to do.

This couldn’t be happening. He couldn’t just take away the one thing that made my life bearable. But as I looked into his eyes, I saw the truth. He could. And he would.

And the worst part was, Caleb knew it. He saw the defeat in my eyes, the way my shoulders slumped, and I could see the satisfaction in his smirk, the way his lips curled up in that cruel, condescending way that made me want to slap it right off his face.

I was about to say something, when Caleb’s phone buzzed in his pocket. The sharp sound cut through the air, drawing both of our attention. He pulled the phone out and glanced at the screen, and I watched as his expression shifted in an instant.

His entire demeanor changed; the tension in his shoulders released, he was avoiding my gaze entirely. It was like watching a mask fall into place.

Without a word, he turned his back on me and answered the call, his voice dropping into a tone that was almost unnervingly calm. 

“Yes, sir. Understood.”

I couldn’t hear what the person on the other end was saying, but I could see the way Caleb’s posture stiffened, the way his hand tightened around the phone as if he was holding on for dear life. 

He started pacing the room, his movements quick and jerky, like a man on the edge. I watched him from my spot on the bed.

This was the same way he always acted whenever this mysterious boss of his called, like a puppet with its strings pulled too tight.

Finally, Caleb ended the call with a terse, 

“I’ll handle it,” and then turned back to me, his face a blank mask once again.

 But there was something in his eyes, something cold, detached, like he’d just flipped a switch inside himself.

 It was the kind of look that made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“Ivy,” he said, his voice flat and devoid of the anger that had been there moments before. 

“Go get dressed.”

I blinked, caught off guard by the sudden command. 

“I don't understand, What? Where am I going?”

He didn’t answer right away, just stared at me with that dead-eyed look that made my skin crawl. The silence stretched on, thick with suspense, until finally, he spoke.

“To your new job.”

I stared at him, confusion swirling in my mind like a fog.

 “What job?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper. “What are you talking about?”

He took a step closer, his presence looming over me like a shadow. 

“My boss,” he said, the words heavy with an unspoken meaning that I couldn’t quite grasp.

My heart skipped a beat, the fear and curiosity twisting together in a tight knot in my chest. His boss. The man I’d never met, never seen, never even heard of outside of Caleb’s cryptic mentions. The man who had the power to make Caleb The man who was always in control nervous, even afraid.

“What does your boss want with me?” I asked, lifting my brows in bewilderment.