Page 57 of Until You Break

I freeze, my stomach twisting as his words sink in. “What?”

“You heard me,” he says, his smirk widening. “You’re not being kept here, Aria. Not physically, anyway.”

My heart pounds, my breath catching in my throat as I stare at him, trying to figure out if he’s lying. “Why would you—”

“Because I don’t need to lock you in,” he says, cutting me off. “You’re not here because I’m keeping you. You’re here because you haven’t left.”

“That’s not true,” I snap, though the words feel hollow, like they’re crumbling under the weight of his gaze.

“Isn’t it?” he challenges, tilting his head slightly. “Go ahead, then. Get up, walk out that door, grab your keys, and ride off into the sunset. No one’s stopping you.”

I stare at him, my chest tight, my mind racing. He’s lying. He has to be. He’s just messing with me, trying to get into my head again. But the way he’s looking at me, so calm, so sure—I can’t tell.

“Why are you doing this?” I ask, my voice trembling slightly. “Why play this game?”

“It’s not a game,” he says, his tone sharper now, his smirk fading. “It’s the truth. You can leave whenever you want. But you won’t. Because no matter how much you fight it, no matter how much you tell yourself you hate me, you don’t want to leave.”

I shake my head, my hands trembling as I grip the edge of the blanket. “You’re so full of yourself.”

“Maybe,” he says, shrugging one shoulder. “Or maybe I just know you better than you know yourself.”

“You don’t know me,” I snap, the words coming out more like a defense than anything else.

“Oh, I know you,” he says, his voice low, dangerous. “I know the way you look at me when you think I’m not paying attention. I know the way your body reacts to my touch, no matter how much you try to fight it. And I know that deep down, you don’t want to leave this bed, this house,me.”

I swallow hard, my throat tight, and for a moment, I can’t speak. Because I can feel the truth in his words, even as I try to deny it. “You’re wrong,” I say finally, though my voice is shaky, unconvincing.

“Am I?” he asks, leaning in closer, his face inches from mine. “Then prove me wrong, Aria. Get up and walk out. I promise I won’t stop you.”

I hesitate, my heart pounding in my chest. I should call his bluff, should get up and leave just to spite him, to prove him wrong. But my body doesn’t move, my legs refusing to cooperate, and the weight of his gaze pins me in place.

“That’s what I thought,” he says softly, his smirk returning. “You can lie to yourself all you want, Little Sinner. But you can’t lie to me.”

I breathe out a sigh, having had enough of this fucking push and pull that seems to harden his fucking cock to no end.

“Goodnight, Dominic,” I mutter, my voice brittle as I turn over, pulling the blanket tight around me and shutting my eyes.

“Goodnight, Little Sinner,” he murmurs back, the nickname sending a shiver down my spine even though I wish it wouldn’t.

I feel him shift beside me, and for a moment, I let myself wonder what it would feel like to trust him, to let go of my apprehension. But that’s not who I am. That’s not who he is.

Minutes drag by, maybe hours, and I don’t move, barely even breathing as I wait for the tension in his body to melt away into sleep. It’s agonizing, every second stretching into an eternity, but eventually, his breathing slows, deep and steady.

His arm, which had been resting just inches from me, goes slack, and I risk opening my eyes, turning my head slightly to look at him.

Even asleep, he’s too much. Too intense, too sharp, too fucking Dominic. His dark hair falls across his forehead, his lips partedslightly, but his face is still hard, like he’s ready to wake up at the slightest noise.

I stare at him for a long moment, my heart twisting in ways I don’t want to understand.

You can leave whenever you want.

Chapter thirty-eight

His Sinner

You can leave wheneveryou want.

The words echo in my mind, taunting me, and the brat in me wants to prove him wrong.I need to prove him wrong.

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