I was trapped in it. Completely Trapped.
The more I looked at him, the more I realized there was no escaping the twisted cage he was building around me in the name of his not-so-obsessive love.
My hand was still resting flat against his chest when Josh moved swiftly the next second as his fingers slid down, catching mine.
I got startled, as his hand enclosed mine tightly before I could pull them from his grip, holding it against his body.
The sudden contact jolted me out of my thoughts. Follow current novels on noᴠelfire.net
I tried to jerk my hand back, but his grip only tightened, almost possessive, almost like he thought I might try to vanish into thin air. My stomach churned, making me want to scream at him.
That smile stretched across his face again.
Slow, and deliberate, filled with madness. His thumb stroked my knuckles in a way that was supposed to be tender but only made bile rise in my throat.
"Elena," he murmured, as if my name itself was a prayer. "You don’t understand how much this means. You and I, finally seeing each other for what we truly are. Two halves of one whole."
Every word sounded like a chain clamping tighter around me.
I nodded faintly, unable to speak, my throat dry as sand.
Josh leaned closer, his eyes glittering. "If we are in love... if you finally admit that we belong... then we should strengthen our bond, shouldn’t we?"
The way he said it in his low, coaxing, almost sweet voice made my gut twist violently.
Something inside me screamed that what was coming next would be worse than anything before.
My chest tightened as he paused, waiting, as though savoring my fear.
I tried to keep my face blank, but my mind spun with frantic guesses. What did he mean? Would he demand something tonight? Would he lock me away even deeper? Would he...?
And then he dropped the bomb.
"We need to get married," he said, with a certainty that left no room for argument. His smile widened, triumphant. "As soon as possible."
The air left my lungs in a harsh gasp.
For a heartbeat, I thought I misheard him. Marriage? My mouth fell open, but no words came out. I stood there, frozen, staring at him like the floor had just disappeared beneath me.
Josh, on the other hand, was glowing. His eyes lit up as though he had just announced the most wonderful thing in the world.
"Yes, marriage," he continued, his voice rich with excitement. "No more pretending, no more waiting. You are mine, Elena. And now you will be mine forever. We will have vows, rings, a ceremony..." He let out a laugh, light and almost boyish. "I will take care of everything."
My ears buzzed. The room seemed to tilt around me.
Marriage. The word echoed in my skull like a death sentence.
I could not even respond as the shock had numbed my tongue. My hands trembled in his grip. I could not guess if he just did not notice or if he deliberately ignored it.
Maybe the first one, because as I stared at him, he seemed too lost in his own fantasy.
"I will plan it all," he said, already blabbering, his mind racing faster than I could process. "Flowers, music, the dress that you will look beautiful in, Elena. I will make sure of it. And afterwards, no one will ever question us again. They all will see it. They will see what I already know, that you were made for me."
He was gone, lost in his madness, sketching out a future that made my insides claw at themselves in horror.
Flabbergasted did not even begin to cover it.
I wanted to scream. I wanted to tear my hand away, to slap him, to shout at the top of my lungs that I did not freaking love him, that I would never marry him, that I would rather die than spend another second in his presence.
But the words stuck, locked behind my teeth, because I knew the danger of speaking too soon.
Josh was pacing now, restless energy flooding through him. His hands moved as though he were already arranging the scene in his head. "I will find a place. It does not have to be too big.
Just a small, intimate... just us would be perfect. Yes, yes, that’s better. Private. No interruptions. I will prepare everything myself."
The way he spoke made me want to vomit. He was not just planning a wedding...he was planning my cage, wrapping it in vows and flowers and chains disguised as promises.
And then...just as suddenly as his excitement began, he spun on his heel, his face set with determination. He started toward the door.
Panic flared through me like fire.
If he left now, if he actually began making those arrangements, I would lose whatever little control I had left.
I definitely could not let him go away from here.
My trance shattered, and before I could think, the words ripped out of me, sharp and loud.
"Josh, wait!"
He froze, his hand hovering near the doorknob. Slowly, he turned his head back toward me. His expression was startled, though it lasted for a moment as he quickly shifted back to that unnerving calm.
I felt my pulse thundering in my ears. My lips trembled as I forced the words out, desperate, broken, but firm.
"We... we cannot get married."
The silence that followed was worse than any scream.
Josh’s smile faltered. His eyes narrowed, suspicion flickering back like a blade. The room thickened with tension, pressing down on me like a weight.
I swallowed hard, but I didn’t back down. My chest rose and fell in a frantic rhythm as I stared at him, praying he wouldn’t explode, praying my lie could stretch just a little longer.
But one thing was certain: this game was spiraling into something darker than I had ever imagined.