Zoe floated in the dark.Weightless and empty.Suspended between pain and the numbness that comes right after the soul splits.She felt arms around her.Strong. Tight.Holding her like she was shattering in pieces too small to name.Her cheek pressed to something warm, something aliveAnd for one fleeting second, she forgot the war inside her.For one fragile heartbeat… She felt safe.Then her brain caught up.Reality crashed into her chest so hard it stole her breath.She woke up with a scream tearing out of her throat."Shhh… Zoe. Shhh."Ethan's voice.Low. Too close.She pulled back so fast it was like his words had scalded her skin.Her vision floated.She wasn't in the warehouse anymore.She wasn't in chains.She was in his bed.The penthouse around her glowed soft and cruel, soaked in morning gold, the kind that makes blood look like sunlight.The marble floors felt icy and spotless beneath her bare feet. She glanced down, realising she was wearing his black and oversized shirt, the fabric hanging loose around her thighs like a memory she couldn't shake.It smelled like him, perfume, power, and something darker.Something that crawled up her throat.Her chest lifted.Each breath tore through her chest like broken glass.
"Hey, breathe for me, baby," Ethan whispered, his fingers gentle as they pushed her hair away from her face.
"You're okay. You're safe now."Safe.She almost laughed.Or choked.Same thing.She jerked away, crawling back until the headboard bit into her spine.The sheets clung to her legs like soft chains."What did you do?" she rasped.Her voice was raw, torn from someplace deeper than her lungs."What the fuck did you do, Ethan?!"His eyes darkened.That mask of calm slid over his face, but the flicker of pain behind it… she saw it.She felt it."I protected you," he said.Her laugh cracked open into a sob."Protected me? You murdered him! You shot Marcus like he was nothing."Ethan's voice dropped, flat and final."He was nothing."Her heart cracked."He was trying to save me.""He was trying to take you."His voice was ice and breaking.She shook her head, tears falling fast and hot."No. No, you're twisted. You"He moved like a shadow.One blink and he was there.His hand wrapped around her throat, firm, not cruel.Just enough pressure to still her.Just enough to say: I could. I won't. But I could.His forehead touched hers.Their breaths tangled.He was shaking."Don't ever say that again," he whispered.Voice shattering.Torn between anger and grief."I would die for you. I killed for you. I'll tear the world apart to keep the monsters away."Tears rolled down her cheeks.Her voice broke into a request."Let me go…""No."His thumb brushed her jaw like a lover's kiss."You're not leaving me again. Not this time."The sob ripped through her.Gut-deep.Wild."Please," she begged.He let go of her throatBut not of her.His hands held her face.He kissed her forehead.Soft. Reverent.Like she was holy and breaking and his all at once."I know you're scared," he whispered, kissing salt from her cheeks."I know you're lost. They did this to you. Mason. Marcus. Equinox. They fed you lies, baby. But I'm gonna fix it. I'm gonna fix you.""Don't," she cried, pushing weakly at his chest."Please, Ethan… don't."But he wasn't listening.He stood.Walked across the room to a sleek black cabinet.Typed in a code.Click.The door opened.Zoe froze.Inside: vials.Syringes.Sterile steel.Machines that blinked with green lights and menace.Her blood ran cold."What… what is that?" she breathed.He turned slowly.His eyes were too calm."It's what's going to make you better."He pulled out a syringe.Held it up to the light.Clear liquid, deadly promise.Zoe's heart kicked against her ribs."No," she whispered. "No, Ethan. Please. Don't."He walked toward her, voice soft as silk over broken bones."Shhh… this is for your own good."He knelt by the bed, syringe glinting in his hand, catching the dim light like a threat she couldn't outrun."You're sick, Zoe. Sick with lies. Sick with pain. I'm going to take it all away."He grabbed her wrist.She fought.Screaming.Kicking.Scratching deep enough to draw blood.But Ethan didn't stop.He pinned her down with the full weight of his body.Caged her under him.His eyes never left hers."I love you," he said.Tears slid down his face."You'll understand. You'll see."The needle plunged into her skin.Her scream split the air.Her body arched.Then dropped.Her muscles collapsed.Her limbs went soft.The world dimmed.Her last breath was full of his scent.His hands.His voice, soft, shaking, his.."I'll fix it, baby… I'll make it all okay…"Her eyes closed.The darkness kissed her deep.And just before she sank into it, she saw his face.Crying.Smiling.Loving her like a god who had already broken everything in her name.