The words settled over Layla like a brand.
Mine.
Her pulse roared in her ears.
"You don't get to decide that," she whispered, though her voice lacked strength.
"I already did." Elias said as his head tilted slightly.
Layla's chest rose and fell quickly.
"This isn't how people work," she said. "You can't just claim someone."
"I didn't claim you," he corrected calmly.
"You stepped toward me,you stayed and you responded."
"That doesn't mean—"
"It means," he cut in quietly, "that you felt it too."
He lifted his hand slowly.Layla's breath caught as his fingers brushed a strand of hair away from her face.The touch was almost gentle which made it worse.
"You're afraid," he murmured.
"Yes."
"Of me?"
She hesitated and that hesitation was answer enough.
A faint, knowing look crossed his face.
"You should be," he said. "But not in the way you think."
Layla's back pressed harder against the wall, as if she could disappear into it.
"You don't own me," she said again, forcing the words out.
His hand lowered, but he didn't step away.
"No," he agreed quietly. "Ownership implies permission."
"Then what is this?" she demanded.
His gaze traced her face slowly, intentionally.
"This," he said, voice dropping, "is inevitability."
The word sent a chill through her.
"You're confusing protection with possession," she said.
"And you're confusing freedom with safety," he replied.
She swallowed hard.
"You think you can keep me here?"
"If I wanted to keep you," he said evenly, "you wouldn't be standing."
Layla's breath faltered. She knew he wasn't threatening her,he was stating a fact and that was worse.
"I won't force you," he continued. "I don't need to."
Her chest tightened.
"Because you think I'll choose to stay with you?"
His eyes held hers steadily.
"I know you will."
The certainty in his voice made something inside her tremble.She hated that her body felt aware instead of repelled and beneath the fear was that same dangerous pull.
"You don't scare me," she lied softly.
A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched his mouth.
"I don't need to," he said and she then stepped back,just enough to give her air and make her feel the loss of his proximity.
"You can keep pretending you don't remember," he added calmly. "But you do."
He moved toward the door as his hand rested briefly on the handle.
"And Layla?"
She didn't answer.
"I don't repeat warnings."
The door opened,then closed behind him with a quiet click.She stayed there, back against the wall, heart racing, trying to steady her breathing,trying to convince herself she wasn't shaken and not to replay his words.
"After that night… you were mine."
And the worst part?
Somewhere deep inside her—She remembered exactly how willingly she had stepped into that room.
Layla stood there for a full minute after the door closed or maybe longer.
Her pulse still hadn't settled. Her skin still felt too tight, like it remembered his proximity even though he was gone. The silence pressed in again, thick and watchful.
He didn't repeat warnings.
She pushed away from the wall abruptly, anger flaring—at him, at herself, at the way her body had betrayed her with that hesitation.
"I won't run?."
He had said it like a fact and she hated that he might be right.
Before she could overthink it, she crossed the room and pulled the door open.
The hallway was dimly lit, shadows stretching long across the floor. She hesitated only half a second before walking toward the room he entered.
Her hand hovered in the air.Then she knocked once but there was no answer.
She swallowed and knocked again—firmer this time.
A few seconds later, the door opened.
Elias stood there, sleeves rolled higher now and his collar unbuttoned once at the throat. He didn't look surprised to see her.
He simply looked at her.
"Yes?" he asked evenly.
Her confidence evaporated under that gaze.
"I—" She cleared her throat. "I wanted to say something."
He stepped back slightly but didn't invite her in.
"Go on," he said.
She folded her arms, not defensively—just to stop her hands from shaking.
"I'll stay," she said.
His expression didn't change.
"Tonight," she added quickly. "Just until things calm down because Liam's being irrational and it would cause drama if I went home right now and my parents saw him outside and then it becomes this whole thing and—"
She heard herself rambling and she hated it.
"And," she continued, searching for something that sounded less like surrender, "it's practical. You have security and cameras. It would be stupid not to use that."
He watched her carefully, like he was peeling apart every excuse and laying the truth bare underneath.
"I'm not staying because of what you said," she added quickly. "And not because I think I belong to you. I just— it's strategic."
"Strategic," he repeated.
"Yes."
"You're making a logical decision."
"Yes."
"Out of self-preservation."
"Yes."
A beat passed,then, slowly— Elias gave out a small smile that transformed his face in a way that unsettled her more than his coldness had.
"I prefer honesty," he said quietly.
"I am being honest." Layla said immediately as her stomach tightened.
Elias stepped a fraction closer—not invading, just enough to tilt the balance again.
"You're afraid of him," he said."And you're curious about me."
Layla's breath hitched.
"That's not—"
"It is."
"You can now stay if you want," he said calmly. "You don't need to justify it."
"I'm not justifying—"
"You are."
"I'm not yours," she said again, softer now.
"We'll see."Elias said as his eyes darkened slightly.
The words should have made her walk away,instead, she still stood there.
"You'll have breakfast in the morning," he added, as if this conversation hadn't shifted something fundamental between them. "And no one enters this property without my permission."
"I can leave if I want," she said.
"Yes,but you won't," He said as that small smile returned.
She hated that it made her pulse jump.
Without another word, he stepped out fully out of the room.
"Come on,I'll show you your room," he said.
"My room?" she asked.
Elias nodded as he gestured slightly down the hall anyway, and after a moment's hesitation, Layla followed.
The hallway lights dimmed automatically as they passed, responding to motion. The house was built to anticipate,to react and to watch.
Elias stopped at a room door and opened it for her.She stepped inside slowly.
The room looked spacious and beautiful, just to her taste.
Layla's breath caught.She turned slowly to him as she looked up at him.
"How is this my room?" she asked.
Elias met her gaze calmly.
"It was prepared."
"When?"
"Yesterday."
"Yesterday?" she repeated.
"Yes,I arrange contingencies in advance."
"You arranged a room for me before I agreed to stay."
"Yes."
The simplicity of the answer made her chest tighten.
"You were that sure?" she asked quietly.
His gaze didn't waver.
"I don't rely on certainty," he said. "I rely on probability."
"And I was… probable?"
"Nope,you were inevitable."
Layla's stomach flipped as she walked further into the room slowly, fingertips grazing the edge of the wall as if confirming it was real.
"This is your room,if you need anything, call the maid," he said calmly.
She nodded as Elias left the room and closed the door softly behind him.
Layla stood in the middle of the room for a long moment, staring at the bed, the folded sweater, the soft lamplight that cast everything in warm gold.
Yesterday.He had prepared this yesterday.
Her pulse refused to slow down.She exhaled sharply and forced herself to move.
"This is insane," she muttered under her breath as she dropped her bag and entered the bathroom.
She grabbed toiletries from the bathroom counter and splashed cold water over her face. The chill helped slightly. She brushed her teeth, washed off her slight makeup, and stared at herself in the mirror.
Her reflection looked flushed and wired,not scared enough and that unsettled her.
After a moment, she changed into her nightwear—a simple satin camisole and loose shorts she picked from the wardrobe. The fabric felt too delicate against her skin in this house.
When she stepped back into the bedroom, the bed seemed larger than before.
She sat on the edge slowly,then grabbed her phone.
There was only one person she could call without losing her mind.
Chloe.
She called her and it rang twice before she picked it up.
"Layla?" Chloe answered immediately. "Oh my God, I was about to call you. Liam is losi
ng it. He—"
"I'm at Elias's house."
"Oh, that's better,you shou…. What?!"
"I'm at Elias's house," Layla repeated, quieter this time.
"You mean Elias Thorne?"
"Yeah."
"The one who you followed at the club?."
"Yeah."
"The one who's dangerous and ruthless."
"Yeah."
"The one Nadia told you to stay away from?"
"Yeah. Chloe, you're asking….."
"What the fuck! Layla."