Faye's POV
Time stopped. My lungs forgot how to work. Every muscle in my body locked in place while my heartbeat crashed against my eardrums like thunder. My hands remained motionless at my sides as I searched his face for any hint of what came next.
No anger flickered in his dark eyes. His voice held no harshness. There was no cruelty threading through his words. Just a simple command that cut through the air like a blade.
He lifted the wine glass to his mouth and drank slowly, deliberately.
Never breaking eye contact as the atmosphere grew heavy around us.
I could sense the vast gap between our positions in this moment. His confidence radiated from every relaxed line of his body while I stood there like a frightened deer, torn between submission and flight. But escape had never been a real option.
Not since the moment I walked into this room.
My fingers shook as I reached for the first fastening on my dress. The tremor was slight, but enough to expose my fear.
