---- Chapter 21 Khloe Rojas POV: | woke up in a room | didn't recognize. My head was pounding, my memories fuzzy. The last thing | remembered was walking home from the hospital, the cool night air on my skin. Then... nothing. My hands and feet were tied to the posts of a large, ornate bed. Panic, cold and familiar, seized me. | tested the ropes. They were tight, unforgiving. | knew, with a sickening certainty, who had done this. The door opened, and Julian walked in, carrying a tray with a plate of food and a glass of water. He was clean-shaven, his hair was combed, and he was wearing a crisp white shirt. He looked like the man | had married, not the derelict | had seen outside the compound. The transformation was terrifying. He smiled at me, a soft, loving smile that made my blood run cold. "Good morning, my love," he said, his voice gentle. "You must be hungry." "Let me go, Julian," | said, my voice shaking with rage. | kicked the tray out of his hands. The plate shattered on the floor, the food scattering across the expensive rug. ---- He didn't get angry. He simply knelt, calmly picking up the broken pieces. "It's alright," he said, as if speaking to a frightened child. "I'll get you something else." "| don't want anything from you!" | screamed. "| want you to let me go!" He stood up, his eyes filled with a sad, pitying look. "| can't do that, Khloe," he said softly. "You're my wife. You belong with me. | made a mistake, letting you go. | see that now." He sat on the edge of the bed, his gaze intense. "I've arranged everything. A private jet. New identities for both of us. We're going to a place where no one will ever find us. We can start over. Just the two of us. The way it was always supposed to be." He was completely, certifiably insane. He leaned in, stroking my hair. | flinched from his touch. "We'll be so happy, my love," he whispered, his breath hot against my ear. His hand drifted down to my neck, his fingers tracing my collarbone. He stopped. His eyes darkened. He had seen the faint mark on my skin, a love bite from Gordon from the night before. "What is this?" he asked, his voice a low, dangerous growl. The gentle, loving facade shattered, revealing the monster beneath. His grip on my arms tightened, his fingers digging ---- into my skin like claws. "Who did this to you?" he snarled, his face contorting with a jealous rage. "Was it him? Was it that doctor?" | refused to answer, my jaw clenched. "Was it him?" he roared, shaking me. His mouth descended on mine in a brutal, punishing kiss. It was a kiss of possession, of rage, of desperation. | struggled against him, my body rigid with revulsion. "Tell me you love me, Khloe," he demanded against my lips. "Tell me you'll be mine again." "Never," | spat. His eyes went black with fury. He ripped at my clothes, his intentions terrifyingly clear. "No!" | screamed, thrashing against my restraints. "Julian, stop! Please!" A desperate plan formed in my panicked mind. A lie. A final, desperate lie to save myself. "Okay!" | cried out, my voice breaking with a sob. "Okay, you win! I'll go with you! I'll do whatever you want! Just... just don't do this. Please." He froze, his body hovering over mine. He searched my face, looking for the lie. "You mean it?" he whispered, his voice full ---- of a pathetic, desperate hope. "Yes," | choked out, tears streaming down my face. "| mean it. I'll come with you. We can start over." The rage in his eyes slowly receded, replaced by a dazed, joyous relief. He gently pulled the torn pieces of my shirt together, his touch now tender. "l knew it," he whispered, kissing my forehead. "| knew you still loved me." He spent the rest of the day tending to me with a disturbing, feverish devotion. He fed me, bathed me, and talked endlessly of our new life together. He never untied me. | played my part, forcing myself to smile, to nod, to pretend. But inside, | was screaming. And | was praying. Praying that Gordon had found the tiny GPS tracker | had sewn into the hem of my jeans weeks ago, a paranoid precaution that had just become my only hope. Praying that he would find me before Julian dragged me away into the darkness forever.