What he demanded of her was too cruel. Pretend she loved him. Pretend they were a couple. Have a sham marriage. All the while she’d be a princess locked in a tower with no true love or life to call her own. She wanted to survive and stay safe, but what kind of life was this? What kind of safety?

The stupidest part of all of this was that she wouldn’t have told anyone. She would have been too scared. And calling the cops wouldn’t resurrect the guy Angelo had killed. But no matter what she said, there was no way they’d believe her and set her free. Especially now that she’d become their victim. They wouldn’t believe she’d let that go, too.

She’d let anything go if it meant safety.

“Faith, unlock this door, right now!” Leo’s voice boomed from the other side of the door, sending vibrations along her back as if his hands were on her.

She couldn’t breathe. If she opened the door, he might hurt her. If she didn’t open the door, he might break it down and hurt her. Her mind flashed to the night he’d spanked her for such a small infraction. Would he do it again? Or worse? Why did I lock the door? Why did I leave the table?

“A-are you going to h-hurt me?”

“I’ll hurt you if you don’t fucking stop stuttering!” he shouted.

She unlocked the door and rushed to shut herself in the closet, huddling in the corner. All she wanted was to get away from him. God, let her fall through some other magic dimension, away from this place. Why couldn’t he leave her alone?

She hugged herself as his footsteps approached her obvious hiding place.

“Come out. Now.” The anger was still there, but it was muted behind tenuous self-control.

“Please, Leo…”

His breath was harsh outside the closet as he got hold of himself. She prayed he could reign in his temper and that he wouldn’t take it out on her.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m sorry.” She’d gotten caught on a loop and couldn’t stop saying the words, hoping they would calm him.

His breath slowed back to normal, and then he seemed to move away. It was enough to give her the courage to step outside the closet.

Leo sat on the edge of the bed, watching her. “Come here.”

“Please…”

“Come. Here.”

She joined him, and he wrapped his arms around her and held her. An attempt at comfort? He had to know, his touch couldn’t comfort her. But somehow, it did. The more he touched her, the more she found herself desensitized to the fear of it.

“I’m sorry,” he said against her hair. “I don’t have any other choices.”

“You could let me go. I swear, I won’t say anything about what I saw, or about being kept here. I’ll go back to my life and be quiet. I’ll never speak of this. Please.” Then she said something she hoped was true but wasn’t sure. “I-I know you don’t want to do this. You can trust me. I promise I won’t talk.”