Page 28 of Ensnared
"Ask it," I choked out, defiance burning through the fear.
"Did you fuck my son? Are you lying about being a virgin?"
The pressure on my throat intensified, and I struggled to breathe, my world narrowing to the crushing force of his grip. My voice was barely a whisper when I managed to answer. "No."
Colson’s hold loosened, and he pulled back, sitting beside me as he tried to regain composure. Tears spilled down my cheeks, and I couldn’t stop them. He reached for me again, but this time it was to pull me into his arms, his face burrowing into my hair.
"I won’t tolerate cheating," he murmured, his voice softer now, but the threat still lingered.
"Please, Colson," I moaned, the words escaping me in a desperate plea. "It was a nightmare...I heard him."
He tightened his embrace, his tone filled with regret. "I’m sorry, sweet girl. I jumped to conclusions when I saw you coming out of his room this morning."
But the damage was done. The raw fear, the violence, and the suspicion hung between us, heavier than the limo’s stifling silence.
Chapter 11
The rest of the ride to work felt like a slow descent into darkness. I sat next to Colson, my mind spinning, trying to piece myself back together after the brutal confrontation in the limo. I could still feel his fingers around my throat, the memory of his rage seared into my skin.
Every breath felt like a reminder that I had narrowly escaped something far worse. I tried to steady my hands, but they trembled violently, the adrenaline refusing to fade.
I forced myself to look out the window, focusing on the city passing by, but it was all a blur. The buildings, the people, the traffic—it all melted into a haze. I was too shaken to concentrate on anything, and the silence in the limo was suffocating. Colson was lost in his own thoughts, his eyes fixed straight ahead, and I wondered if he regretted what he'd done or if he was already planning his next move.
When we arrived at the office, I was barely holding it together. I followed Colson to his office, my legs heavy, each step an effort. As soon as we were inside, he handed me the prenup without a word, the document that would bind me to him, to this life, untildeath do us part. My hands trembled as I took the pen, my eyes scanning the pages with a sinking feeling in my gut.
I paused when I reached the section about my father’s company and Logan’s promotion. The words were stark, laid out in black and white, a noose tightening around my family. If I left the marriage before five years, Colson would call in the investment, and my father would either have to repay the money or lose his business. Logan would be fired without a reference.
That wasn’t the agreement I made with him but I should’ve expected Colson would cover all his bases.
A cold dread settled over me, freezing the air in my lungs. This was more than a marriage; it was a trap, a cage I couldn’t escape from without destroying everything I loved. The realization hit me like a punch to the stomach, and I had to swallow down the bile rising in my throat. I was tethered to Colson, at least for the next five years, and the internal pep talks I’d given myself seemed hollow now. Could I really survive this?
I forced myself to keep going, flipping to the next page, but what I saw made my blood run cold. Colson had included the clause about children—or rather, the lack of them. He didn’t want any, and he would monitor my birth control to ensure I didn’t get pregnant. It was part of the non-negotiables, and though I already knew this, to see it written on the page was almost too much.
The pen slipped from my fingers, clattering onto the desk. I stared at the words, the future I had imagined crumbling before my eyes. I wanted a child. I had always dreamed of having a family, of holding my baby in my arms, of giving them the love I had received as a child. But Colson had taken even that from me, reducing my hopes to nothing more than lines on a contract.
“Sign it, Josephine,” Colson’s voice cut through the silence, sharp and unyielding. He leaned back in his chair, watching me with an intensity that made my skin crawl.
I picked up the pen, my hand shaking as I signed my name at the bottom of the page, each stroke of the pen feeling like a nail being driven into my coffin. I barely finished before Colson took the papers from me, his expression unreadable.
“Good,” he said, his voice cold enough to make me shiver. “Now, you belong to me almost completely. Once we marry…you’re mine.”
I nodded numbly, but inside, I was screaming. Trapped in a gilded cage with no way out, tethered to a man who would stop at nothing to keep me under his control. As I walked out of his office, I knew one thing for certain—I wasn’t sure I could survive this, but I had no choice.
I shut the door behind me, leaving the lights off as I leaned against the cool wood. My stomach twisted, the breakfast I'd forced down now threatening to come back up. The pressure on my throat from Colson’s grip still lingered, a phantom ache that I couldn't rub away no matter how hard I tried. I swallowed, but it did little to ease the nausea clawing at me.
For the next four hours, I sat at my desk, my eyes locked on the laptop screen, yet nothing registered. My inbox was full—requests, questions, tasks that needed my attention—but I couldn’t bring myself to open a single email. I was unraveling, the threads of my sanity pulling apart with every passing minute. The more I tried to hold myself together, the faster I felt myself slipping away.
At noon, the phone rang, Colson’s extension flashing on the screen. My heart sank. The last person I wanted to see was him, but I had no choice. His voice was curt, almost indifferent, as he informed me, he needed me in his office.
I hung up without saying much, staring blankly at the phone as a wave of dread washed over me. The thought of facing him after what happened... I wasn’t sure I could do it. But I couldn’t avoid him, either. I knew that much.
With trembling hands, I pushed away from the desk and straightened my blouse, forcing my legs to carry me out the door and toward his office. My heart pounded with every step, each one harder than the last. All the internal pep talks I’d given myself over the last few weeks suddenly felt hollow, empty words that couldn’t protect me from what was coming.
His assistant's perfectly manicured hand waved me inside, her smile never quite reaching her eyes. I stepped into Colson's office, my heart racing as I took in the sight of my soon-to-be husband. He sat behind his imposing mahogany desk, looking every inch the powerful businessman in his crisp black suit and deep purple tie.
Colson's piercing gaze flickered up as I entered, his pen poised mid-signature. "Josephine," he said, his voice a low rumble. "I'm glad you're here. There's been a change of plans."
I raised an eyebrow, tension coiling in my stomach. "Oh?"
