Page 29 of Checks & Bonds

Freya

The second the old man called another girl's name, Henry was already yanking me out of the room. His grip on my wrist was iron, bruising. He dragged me through the hall, his strides long and purposeful. I stumbled a few times, but he didn't slow down. The echo of our footsteps bounced off the cold, stone walls.

We burst through a set of heavy doors, into the crisp night air. Even then, he didn't release me. His hand tightened, if anything.

"Henry," I managed to choke out, trying to pull my arm free. He didn't look at me. His jaw was clenched so tight I could see the muscle twitch.

I dug my heels into the gravel path. "Henry, stop!"

Finally, he halted but still wouldn't meet my gaze. His chest rose and fell with quick breaths. The moonlight cast sharp shadows across his face, making him look almost feral.

"What are you doing?" My voice came out harsher than intended.

He finally let go of my wrist and took a step back, running a hand through his hair. His eyes were dark pools of emotion I couldn't decipher.

"Do you have any idea what you've done?" His voice was low, barely more than a whisper, but it cut through the night like a blade.

I rubbed my sore wrist and looked away. "I didn't have a choice."

"You always have a choice," he snapped back.

The wind rustled through the trees around us, filling the silence that stretched between us like an insurmountable chasm. My heart pounded in my chest, each beat echoing in my ears louder than the last.

"I did what I had to do," I whispered, more to myself than to him.

Henry laughed bitterly and turned away from me. "You just signed both our fates."

I opened my mouth to respond but found no words that could bridge the gap between us now. Instead, I stared at his back as he walked further away into the shadows, leaving me standing alone in the moonlit courtyard.

"Now, get in the car," he snapped, yanking open the door with enough force to rattle the hinges.

"I'll just Uber?—"

"You don't get that right," he interrupted, his voice icy. "You're mine, remember? You have to listen to me. Now get in the fucking car."

I wanted to argue, to fight him right there in the moonlit courtyard. But the cold air bit through my thin dress, and my wrist still ached from his earlier grip. I didn't want to be here longer than necessary. So I climbed into the car and slammed the door shut like a petulant child.

I focused on my breathing, trying to calm down by the time Henry slid into the driver's seat. My heart pounded, but I forced my face into an impassive mask.

"You're taking me back to my dorm," I said firmly. It wasn't a request.

He cracked a smile, but it was hollow and made my stomach churn. "Absolutely not," he replied. "Now, I have to take you back to my house. Fuck, and I paid for my dorm for the goddamn year."

"What?" The word slipped out before I could stop it.

"What do you think 'claim' means?" He started the car with a jerk. "You think we just go on our merry ways and everything goes back to the way it was before?" He laughed, a harsh sound that filled the small space between us. "You're a fucking idiot."

I stared at him, anger and confusion warring inside me. The trees blurred past as he drove through the darkened streets, each turn taking us further from anything familiar. The weight of his words settled heavily on my shoulders.

"Oh, I forget." I sneered, leaning back in my seat. "You're such a rule follower. You have to do everything they say."

Henry's glare darkened. "You know," he said, his voice dropping so low it sent shivers down my spine. "If I followed their rules, I'd be dragging you back to my house to fuck you, to physically claim your body the way I've already claimed your soul."

I forced myself not to flinch, to keep my face a mask of indifference. My heart pounded in my chest, but I refused to show any sign of fear.

"Would you like that?" he asked, his eyes boring into mine. "Is that why you came? Because poor little only child is desperate for someone to love her?"

Without thinking, I reached out to slap him across the face, but he caught my wrist mid-air and squeezed hard. He yanked me closer until our faces were inches apart.

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