CHAPTER 45: CHAPTER FORTY FIVE

Chapter Forty-Five

Alicia’s POV

Sophie hadn’t spoken since we arrived. Not a word. Just silent tears and trembling hands that gripped mine too tightly.

My chest felt like it was caving in. The weight of everything pressing down until I could barely breathe.

What game was Travis playing? The kindness. The smiles. The welcome he’d extended to Sophie. None of it made sense. Travis didn’t do kindness. Didn’t do forgiveness.

Which meant whatever he was planning was worse than anything he’d done before.

I forced myself to focus on Sophie. To be the strong older sister she needed right now.

"Let me make you some warm tea," I said gently, guiding her to sit in the morning room. "Something to help you feel at home."

Sophie nodded but didn’t speak. Just sat on the edge of the chair, looking small and lost in this enormous house.

I moved to the tea service on the side table. Picked up the delicate porcelain teapot with hands that shook slightly. Poured hot water over the tea leaves. Watched them.

Concentrated on the simple task. On doing something normal and grounding.

Then I felt that shift in the air that told me he was near.

I looked up.

Malachi stood in the doorway. He’d just entered. His eyes found mine immediately. Locked on. Intense. Searching.

My heart slammed against my ribs. The teapot trembled in my grip.

For a moment, the world narrowed to just us. Just his dark eyes and the way they looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered. Like he was drowning and I was air.

I looked away first. Had to. Couldn’t let him see how much his presence affected me.

I focused back on the tea. On keeping my hands steady. On pretending my entire body wasn’t acutely aware of him standing fifteen feet away.

Then I heard footsteps on the stairs.

Travis.

He descended with that casual confidence. That smile that made my skin crawl. When he reached the bottom, he spotted Malachi.

"Brother." Travis’s voice was cheerful. Pleasant. "You’re back. How was Dark City?"

I didn’t hear Malachi’s response. My heart was beating too loudly in my ears.

They started talking. I couldn’t make out the words. Didn’t want to. Just knew this was my chance.

My only chance to escape before Malachi could approach me. Before he could try to talk to me. Before I had to face him and feel my carefully constructed walls crumble.

I set down the teapot quickly. "Sophie, I need to get something from the kitchen. Come with me."

She stood immediately. Followed me without question.

As we left the morning room, I felt Malachi’s eyes on my back. Burning into me. Following my every step.

But he didn’t call out. Didn’t try to stop me. Just let me go.

And I hated how much that hurt.

We walked quickly down the hallway. Away from him. Away from Travis. Away from everything.

"Ali?" Sophie’s small voice stopped me. "Are you okay?"

No. I wasn’t okay. I was falling apart and trying desperately not to let anyone see.

"I’m fine," I lied. "Just tired."

We reached the kitchen. Empty. Quiet. Safe.

I leaned against the counter and took a shaky breath. My hands were trembling. My heart still racing.

One look. That’s all it had taken. One look from Malachi and I was unraveling.

Sophie moved closer. Her hand found mine. "Was that him? The man from last night?"

She meant Malachi. The man who’d burst into that restaurant. Who’d punched Lucas. Who’d stood there while I accused him of everything.

"Yes," I whispered.

"He looks sad."

The observation gutted me. Because she was right. Beneath the controlled exterior, beneath the dark intensity, there had been sadness in his eyes.

Pain that matched my own.

"He should be," I said, more harshly than I intended. "He lied to me. Controlled things behind my back."

"But he came to save us. Didn’t he?" Sophie’s voice was so innocent. So confused. "Why would he do that if he was bad?"

I didn’t have an answer. Couldn’t explain the complexity of Malachi Blackwood. How he could be both savior and captor. How he could hurt me and protect me at the same time.

"People are complicated," I finally said. "Good people do bad things. Bad people do good things. It’s not always clear."

Sophie nodded like she understood. But how could she? She was seventeen. Still believed the world was simpler than it was.

I made fresh tea. Real tea this time. Took my time with it. Used it as an excuse to stay hidden in the kitchen a little longer.

When I finally couldn’t delay anymore, we headed back. But not to the morning room. To Sophie’s guest room instead.

"Let’s get you settled," I said. "You look exhausted."

She was. Dark circles under her eyes. Shoulders slumped. Like she’d been carrying the world and had finally been allowed to set it down.

Her room was beautiful. Large bed with soft blankets. Windows overlooking the garden. Everything a girl could want.

Everything except safety. Real safety.

Sophie sat on the edge of the bed. Looked around with wide eyes. "Is this really where I’m staying?"

"Yes. It’s yours. For as long as you need it."

"How long will that be?" Her voice dropped to a whisper. "Are we safe here, Ali? Really safe?"

The question stabbed through me. Because I didn’t know. Couldn’t promise her what I wasn’t sure of myself.

"Father won’t come here," I said carefully. "The Blackwoods are powerful. He wouldn’t dare try anything."

"But what about them?" Sophie looked at me. "What if they’re dangerous too?"

I sat beside her. Put my arm around her thin shoulders. "I won’t let anything happen to you. I promise. Anyone tries to hurt you, they’ll have to go through me first."

She leaned into me. Started crying. Quiet, exhausted tears that broke my heart.

I held her. Let her release everything she’d been holding in since father tried to sell her. All the fear and pain and confusion.

When her tears finally slowed, I started talking. About our childhood. About the good times before everything fell apart.

"Remember the park? When you fell off the swing and Mom carried you all the way home?"

Sophie nodded against my shoulder. "She sang to me."

"She did. That lullaby she always sang. Want me to sing it?"

"Please."

So I sang. Soft and low. The same melody our mother had sung to us countless times. When we were scared or hurt or couldn’t sleep.

Sophie’s breathing slowly evened out. Her body relaxed.

I kept singing even after she fell asleep. Couldn’t seem to stop. Like the song was keeping me grounded. Keeping me from completely falling apart.

When I finally stopped, Sophie was deeply asleep. I carefully extracted myself. Covered her with a blanket. Kissed her forehead.

"You’re safe now," I whispered. "I promise."

Even though I wasn’t sure I could keep that promise.

I left her room quietly. Stood in the hallway. Took a moment to gather myself.

Then headed to my own room. It was almost dinner time. Six thirty. Dinner would be served at seven.

But I couldn’t face that table. Couldn’t sit across from Travis and his disturbing new kindness. Couldn’t risk seeing Malachi and feeling everything I was trying so hard to suppress.

So I decided to skip it. Stay in my room. Hide like a coward.

I pulled out my phone. Texted Cassie.

Alicia: I’m back at the mansion. Sophie is with me. She’s safe.

Cassie: Thank God. And you? Are you okay?

Was I? No. Definitely not.

Alicia: I’m fine. Just tired.

Cassie: Did you see him? Travis?

My fingers froze over the keyboard. I hadn’t told her about that night with Malachi. About sleeping with him. About crossing every line I’d sworn not to cross.

The shame was too much. Couldn’t put it into words. Couldn’t admit what I’d done.

Alicia: Yes. But we’re not talking.

Cassie: Good. You deserve someone who respects you. Not someone who lies.

Alicia: I have to go. Talk later.

Cassie: Take care of yourself. I mean it.

I set the phone down. Looked around my room. This space that had been my prison for two years. My refuge. My cage.

I grabbed a book of poetry from my nightstand. Tried to lose myself in someone else’s words. Someone else’s pain.

But every poem reminded me of him. Of dark eyes and dangerous hands. Of whispered confessions and broken promises.

I slammed the book shut.

Why couldn’t I stop thinking about him? Why did his words keep echoing in my head?

I love you. Everything I did was because I love you.

My heart did that stupid skip. That painful flutter that made me angry at myself.

Love. He called it love. But love didn’t control. Didn’t lie. Didn’t keep secrets that affected your entire life.

Did it?

A knock on my door made me jump.

I approached cautiously. "Who is it?"

"It’s me." Travis’s voice. Cheerful. Wrong. "I brought you dinner. Thought you might be hungry."

My stomach dropped. I opened the door.

Travis stood there with a tray. Food arranged perfectly. Steam rising from the dishes. That pleasant smile on his face.

"Since when do you bring me food?" The words came out sharper than I intended.

"Since I realized how ungrateful I’ve been. You’re my wife, Alicia. I should take care of you."

Wife. The word made my skin crawl. Made me want to scream that I wasn’t his. Would never be his. Not really.

"I’m not hungry."

"You need to eat something." He tried to step forward. Into my space.

I blocked him with my body. "I said I’m not hungry. You can have it."

For a brief moment, something dark flashed in his eyes. Something angry. The real Travis trying to break through the act.

Then it was gone. Replaced by that unsettling smile.

"Of course. Whatever you prefer, love." He turned to leave. Paused at my door. "Sleep well, Alicia. We’ll talk more tomorrow."

Love. He’d called me love. Travis had never used pet names. Never called me anything but my name or worse things when he was angry.

I shut the door quickly. Locked it. All three locks.

Then leaned against it. Trying to steady my breathing.

Something was very wrong. Travis was planning something. Playing some game I didn’t understand yet.

But what? And why the sudden change in behavior?

I moved to my bed. Lay down. Stared at the ceiling.

My mind wouldn’t quiet. Kept circling through everything. Sophie sleeping down the hall. Travis and his disturbing kindness. The divorce I still needed to file. The future I was trying to build.

And Malachi. Always Malachi. No matter how hard I tried to push him out.

His face when I’d slapped him. The guilt in his eyes when Maurice announced Travis was awake. The way he’d looked at me this morning in the doorway. Like I was everything.

I love you.

The confession wouldn’t leave me alone. Kept replaying. Over and over.

Because part of me. A stupid, reckless part. Wanted to believe it. Wanted to run to him and let him explain everything. Let him hold me and make promises.

But I couldn’t. Couldn’t let him control me. Couldn’t be another thing the Blackwoods owned and manipulated.

I rolled onto my side. Pulled a pillow against my chest.

My life had changed so completely since Malachi entered it. Everything had shifted. Become more complicated and painful and confusing.

But also more alive. For the first time in two years, I’d felt something other than numbness. Other than the hollow existence of being Travis’s wife.

He’d made me feel. Made me want. Made me hope.

And then destroyed it by proving he was exactly what I’d feared.

A tear slid down my cheek. Then another.

I whispered his name. Couldn’t help it. Like saying it would somehow ease the ache in my chest.

"Malachi."

The word felt heavy. Sacred. Wrong and right at the same time.

I closed my eyes. Tried to sleep.

But all I could see was his face. All I could feel was the ghost of his touch. All I could hear was his voice saying my name like a prayer.

And I hated it. Hated how much power he still had over me. How even when I was trying to hate him, part of me was still drawn to him.

Still wanted him.

Still loved him.

Even though I’d never admit it. Not to him. Not to anyone. Barely even to myself.

But it was there. Buried deep. Refusing to die.

I whispered his name one more time before sleep finally claimed me.

"Malachi."

And in my dreams, he was there. Holding me. Promising to be better. Promising to never lie again.

Promises I knew he might not be able to keep.

But God, I wanted to believe them anyway.