Chapter 5 Prized

Avery The days blurred together like smoke trailing from a slow-burning fire-quiet, bitter, and suffocating. Zamian didn't come back after that night. At first, I thought maybe I'd angered him, crossed some invisible line that made him lose interest. But then I heard the rumors from behind closed doors. Men in black suits coming in at odd hours. Tense meetings with other syndicates. Voices raised in foreign languages I couldn't understand. Zamian was busy. Too busy to look at me. Too busy to speak to the girl he'd so proudly claimed as his. And in his absence, he left Sam.

Tall, lean, eyes always half-shadowed, Sam wasn't talkative-but he wasn't cruel, either. He brought me food. Answered questions with short, tight nods. And most importantly, he didn't touch me. "Where's your boss?" I asked once while we were eating breakfast on the small balcony connected to my room. He didn't look up from the espresso he'd made. "Business." "Dangerous business?" A flicker of amusement passed through his eyes. "All his business is dangerous." I didn't ask again. I didn't need to. I could see the storm brewing outside the windows each night. I could hear the unease in the guards' movements. The phone calls behind closed doors. Zamian was dealing with something big. And in the middle of it all, I was still here. Kept. Unseen. Forgotten. I hated that I noticed his absence. Even more, I hated the relief I felt when he finally returned. It was exactly one week later. The morning sun slanted through the curtains when the door creaked open. I looked up from the book Sam had given me to see him. Zamian. Sharp suit. Clean shave. Same cold eyes. Same unreadable expression. He didn't say anything at first. Just watched me for a few seconds like he was assessing what had changed. Then, "Come. You've been locked in here too long." I stared. "Excuse me?" "A stroll," he clarified. "The estate grounds. You need fresh air." I blinked. "Why now?" A shrug. "Because I said so." I could've refused. I wanted to. But the walls were closing in on me. And fresh air-real fresh air-was a luxury I hadn't touched since the day I was taken. So I nodded. He waited while I slipped into a pair of flats, silently holding the door open as I passed. No cuffs. No guards following too close. It felt strange-almost normal. We walked through the corridors, and for the first time, I really noticed how beautiful the estate was. The halls were lined with priceless art. Velvet runners softened each step. Chandeliers glittered like captive stars above us. Zamian walked beside me like this was nothing. Like we were just two people out for a quiet stroll. We stepped outside onto a stone path surrounded by manicured hedges and fountains carved from white marble. The sun warmed my skin. The wind danced through my curls. It almost felt... peaceful. Almost. He was still there-looming. Watching. "You've been quiet," he said finally, his voice cutting through the breeze. "I thought that was your preference." "You've surprised me, Avery. You haven't tried to run. Haven't tried to stab me in my sleep. Haven't even cried." "I told you," I said, not looking at him, "I'm not most girls." "No, you're not." There was a beat of silence. Then I asked, "Are you going to keep me forever?" He stopped walking. I turned to face him, heart pounding. His expression didn't change. "I haven't decided." "That's not how this works." He stepped closer. "It is now." I was about to answer when a sharp, unfamiliar voice rang out from ahead. "Well, well. So this is where you've been hiding." My stomach twisted. A woman stood at the entrance to the eastern garden, flanked by two men dressed in black. Her heels clicked against the stone as she walked, each step graceful and full of poison. She was stunning. High cheekbones. Crimson lipstick. Long legs wrapped in a silk dress that looked like it cost more than my entire existence. Her hair was pinned flawlessly, and her eyes-icy blue and gleaming with malice-were locked on me. "Zamian," she purred, turning her gaze on him. "You didn't mention you'd found a pet." I stiffened beside him. He didn't say anything at first. Just looked at her. "Rina," he said, his voice unreadable. She smiled, stepping close. Too close. One of her perfectly manicured hands slid up his arm. "Miss me?" He didn't answer. She turned to me with slow, deliberate cruelty in her smile. "And who's this? A housemaid? Or a... what's the word? Hostage?" I opened my mouth, but Zamian spoke first. "She's not your concern." Rina laughed-a cold, tinkling sound. "Everything involving you is my concern. Or have you forgotten our arrangement?" My heart thudded hard in my chest. Arrangement? Zamian's jaw tightened. "Not here. Not now." "You've been avoiding me," she said, her voice dipping into something darker. "And now I see why." She turned back to me, stepping close enough that I could smell her perfume-jasmine and ice. "Do you know who I am?" she asked sweetly. "No," I said. She raised a brow. "I'm Rina. His fiancée." The words hit like a slap. Fiancée? I turned to Zamian, but his expression was stone. "She's not my wife," he said. "Not yet," Rina added, smiling wide. "But we've been promised to each other for years. Business, you understand. Family. Loyalty." Zamian's silence confirmed it. Rina's gaze flicked to me again, this time filled with victorious malice. "You don't belong here, sweetheart. You're a distraction. A game. And when he's done playing, you'll be discarded like all the others." I didn't respond. I couldn't. Zamian took a sharp step forward. "Rina. Enough." She looked at him, eyes narrowing. "Careful, darling. You don't want to forget who holds the other end of your leash." She turned with a flourish and walked away, her heels echoing like gunshots in the silence. I stood there frozen, fists clenched at my sides. Zamian finally looked at me, his face unreadable. "You didn't deny it," I whispered. "Because it's not a lie," he said quietly. "But it doesn't matter." "It does to me." He stepped closer, but I backed away. "You said I belonged to you," I said, voice shaking. "But I'm not a thing to be owned. And I'm not some toy you can play with while your future wife waits in the wings." "Avery-" "Don't," I snapped. I turned and walked away from him. I didn't care if I wasn't allowed to go far. Let him punish me. Let him chase. Because for the first time, I realized the truth wasn't just cruel-it was complicated. And I was right in the center of a game I never agreed to play.