Layla pressed her lips together. "Chloe,lower your voice."
"I'm in my room Layla, not a stadium," Chloe snapped.
"Why are you at his house? As in, his house-house? Like billionaire, scary, dangerous suited-man house?"
"Yes."
"Why?"
Layla inhaled slowly. "After school, I didn't go home with you."
"I know that."
"Liam cornered me."
Chloe swore under her breath. "What did he do?"
"He accused me of cheating. He said I humiliated him and even grabbed me when I tried to leave."
"What?" Chloe's voice sharpened.
"Grabbed you how?"
"He held my arm and tried to drag me back."
There was a pause.
"And?"
"And then one of Elias's men showed up."
Another silence.
"A man in a suit," Layla clarified. "Told Liam to let go. Liam recognized him—apparently he's one of his uncle's security contacts."
"Of course he is," Chloe muttered. "Because your life can't just be normal."
Layla let out a shaky breath. "The man said Elias sent for me."
"And you went?" Chloe demanded.
"Yes."
"Layla!"
"I didn't really have time to think," she snapped defensively. "Liam was furious,people were watching and I—" She hesitated. "I didn't feel unsafe getting into the car."
Chloe made a disbelieving sound. "You didn't feel unsafe getting into a car sent by a man who basically controls and claims people like property?"
"It wasn't like that."Layla said as her grip tightened on the phone
"It sounds exactly like that."
Layla leaned back slightly, staring at the ceiling. "He… prepared a room for me."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Like I have my own room in his house.He had it arranged yesterday before tonight and I think everything here is to my taste, like he knows"
"Your thing as in—?"
"My type of clothes and stuff."
"Layla." Chloe's voice dropped. "That is not romantic. That is terrifying."
Layla swallowed.
"I know."
"Do you?" Chloe shot back. "Because this sounds like the start of a crime documentary."
Layla almost laughed.
"He hasn't touched me," she said quietly.
"Not like that."
"That's not the standard, Layla!"
"He's not hurting me,"Layla said.
"Control isn't always loud," Chloe replied sharply. "Sometimes it's quiet and calculated."
"I know," she whispered as she closed her eyes.
Silence stretched between them.
Then Chloe asked, softer this time, "Are you scared?"
Layla thought about it. About the way he had said you were inevitable and the room prepared before she agreed.
"Yes," she admitted.
"And?"
"And I'm not leaving. I'm crashing over"
Chloe groaned. "You're unbelievable."
"I need space from Liam," Layla said quickly. "He's unstable right now. If I go home, he'll show up. My parents will get involved. It'll explode eventually."
"So you're hiding in a billionaire's mansion instead?"
"Why do you say it like that—"
"Because that's what it is!"
Layla sat up straighter. "I'm not hiding. I'm just… staying somewhere secure."
Chloe went quiet for a few seconds.
"Is he there right now?" she asked cautiously.
"Nope, might be in his room."
"Watching the cameras, probably."
Layla didn't answer and that silence was enough.
"Oh my God," Chloe muttered.
"Chloe," Layla said firmly, shifting the conversation. "I need you to tell my parents I'm staying at your house."
"What?"
"Just say we're studying,or watching movies. You know,something normal."
"Layla, this is lying to your parents."
"I know."
"You never lie to your parents."
"I know."
"This is insane." Chloe said as she sighed heavily
"I just need tonight," Layla said quietly. "Please."
There was a long exhale on the other end.
"Fine," Chloe said finally. "But if I get grounded for this—"
"You won't."
"You don't know that."
"Please."
"Okay,okay," Chloe relented. "I'll text your mom if she asks. But Layla?"
"Yeah?"
"If he does anything that makes you uncomfortable—anything—you call me or I'm calling the police or my cousin or someone or even your parents."
Layla's lips curved faintly.
"Your cousin who cries during horror movies?"
"He's still six feet tall."
Despite everything, Layla smiled properly this time.
"I'll be fine," she said softly.
"I don't like this," Chloe murmured.
"I know, I'm safe."
"Okay then."
"Nighty Chloe."
"Night night Layla."
When the call ended, the room felt quieter than before.Layla stared at her phone for a moment.
Then opened her messages.
Mom 💕
Sis 💄
Her thumbs hovered as she typed quickly before she could overthink it.
(Hey Mom, I'm going to stay at Chloe's tonight. We have a lot to catch up on and a project to finish. I'll be home tomorrow evening.)
She copied a lighter version to her sister.
(At Chloe's. Don't snitch.)
Her sister replied almost instantly:
(As long as you're alive tomorrow 🙄)
Her mom responded a minute later:
(Okay sweetheart. Text me if you need anything. Love you.)
Guilt pricked at her chest.She hated lying but this felt easier than explaining.
She placed her phone on the nightstand and leaned back slowly against the headboard.
Somewhere in the house, a faint mechanical hum reminded her that security systems never slept.
She wondered if he was watching the hallway camera.
Layla didn't sleep.She lay in the center of the too-large bed, staring at the ceiling where faint shadows moved from passing headlights outside the gates. Every sound felt amplified. The hum of distant security systems. The subtle shift of air through vents. The qui
et, calculated silence of a house that never truly rested.
His words wouldn't leave her.
After that night… you were mine.
The worst part wasn't the possession in it,it was the certainty.
And the even worse part?
She had remembered.
Just then her phone vibrated against the nightstand.