His head goes still, bringing it off my shoulder, his cheek grazing against mine. “Oh, Eden.” He hovers his lips right above mine, and my stomach drops.
My palms become damp, and all my nerves are starting to scream at me that something is not right. That this is not right.
“There is nothing more right than this.Us.It is our destiny—the Divine said so.” I squirm even more in his hold. “You and I, it’s going to be so beautiful. My little piece of Eden, here to cast light on my world. We are going tomake our own family. The Divine will be so pleased with us.” He crashes his lips onto mine.
I try to retreat, to get him off, but I can’t. I’m stuck with my back against the wall. There is no way out of this.
“You are gonna be an amazing mother to our future son.”
His breath is hot as he presses his body farther into mine. My blood runs cold.
My screams for him to get off are faint and drowned out by his mouth on mine. So, I do the one thing I can. I sink my teeth into his bottom lip, the same metallic taste that touched my tongue on stage.
Samuel pulls away, giving me a few inches of room. I take the opportunity to drive my leg up, my knee slamming into his groin, and he doubles over, releasing my wrists from his hold.
Slumping to the floor, I haven’t even noticed I was practically on my tippy toes before. I quickly sprint for my bedroom.
If I can get in, I can lock the door. I don’t know if he will bust the door down or walk away and give me the space I need. A breath of relief hits my chest as I grasp the doorknob.
Just as I am about to turn it, fingers lace through my hair, and a burn ignites on my scalp. I’m yanked back. My back hits Samuel’s hot chest, his heavy breathing causing it to rise and fall heavily.
“You will submit to this, Eden. You will submit tome.” He pulls my hair tighter.
After forcing me to follow his steps farther down the hallway as he spins to the other side, he lets go of me with a shove. My ass lands on the hard floor below with a thump.
Pain shoots up my spine, but I scramble backward. My eyes scan the walls, taking in my surroundings. The room is clean, and in the center is a desk stacked with books and a blazer hanging over the chair in front of it.
I am in his room. Of course he threw me in here. I look back to the doorway, where he is standing, both of his hands holding the frame so hard I can see his fingertips turning white.
“Whether I have to force you to realize it or not, you aremine. You always have been.” He grabs at the door, and I rush off the floor to stop him from closing me in here.
By the time my legs get me there, it is slammed shut, my body smacking against it. I jiggle the handle frantically, but it won’t budge. Keeping my eyes on it, I notice it’s a different handle than before. One with a lock on the opposite side.
I can’t unlock it from in here.
My chest tightens. Banging against it with my hands, I plead with him to let me out of here. But the other side of the door stays silent, my sobs echoing through the room. I don’t know how long I wait for him to reply, but my hands ache. I keep listening to the other side of the door, hoping he will change his mind, that he will listen to my cries and let me out.
I let my body slide to the floor, my cheeks wet from my ignored cries. Bringing my legs to my chest, I wrap my arms around them, hugging them close to me for any kind of comfort.
He wants me to submit to this life he and the Divine had planned out for me. One I had no clue about until about an hour ago. He was supposed to be the one person I could go to and feel safe, my sanctuary. How does one hour change everything about that?
Deep sobs rack my body as I squeeze my knees closer. I rest my head on top of them and let the tears come out as much as they need to. I want to find a way out of this, but my body and mind are laggy from these last few days.
The weight of everything is exhausting. My limbs feels like lead, and I allow my body to fall to the side, laying my cheek on the cold wood. I don’t even want to carry myself to Samuel’s bed. Because I don’t think I can handle his smell more than it already is in this room but also because my body had nothing left in it to even make it there.
Tears fall down my cheeks. The sobs have subsided, but the tears just keep coming. I shut my eyes and let the exhaustion take over, letting sleep be my escape like it was when I was younger.
37
Eden
Samuel picked me up off the floor last night and made me eat dinner in bed before going back to sleep. Sitting there, I silently ate before I crawled under the covers. With no energy left in me, I didn’t even fight him when he pulled me into his embrace, holding me from behind.
There is a faint knock on the door of Samuel’s room, and I flinch awake.
I sit up in bed and eye the door warily. The only person that ever came into this room is Samuel, so why is he knocking?
The door slowly opens, and I pull the covers over me more, my back pressing against the headboard.
