Page 46 of Ensnared
His words were laced with a threat that sent a chill down my spine. The implication was crystal clear—if I didn’t give him what he wanted, he would take it by force, and I would be left broken, damaged beyond repair.
Tears welled up in my eyes, blurring my vision as I stared up at him, my heart sinking into the pit of my stomach. I had known this marriage wouldn’t be easy, that it would come with its ownset of challenges, but I had never imagined it would be like this. I had never imagined that the man I was supposed to marry would be capable of such cruelty.
“Dinner is at 6 p.m., and I expect you to dress,” Colson continued, his voice cold and detached. “Then come to my room after our meal is concluded. Don’t keep me waiting, Josephine. My patience is at an end. If I have to find you, you won’t like the results.”
With that, he turned on his heel and walked out of the library, leaving me alone with the weight of his threat hanging over me like a dark cloud. As the door clicked shut behind him, the tears I had been holding back finally spilled over, rolling down my cheeks in silent streams.
What the hell had I gotten myself into? There was no one to help me out of this situation. Colson was holding everything in my life over my head—my family, my future—and if I didn’t comply, he would destroy it all. He would destroy me.
I had an hour to prepare for dinner, but it felt like a lifetime. My hands shook so badly that I could barely apply my mascara without jabbing myself in the eye. Every stroke of the brush was a reminder of what awaited me, and by the time I finished, my face was pale, my expression hollow.
I arrived in the dining room promptly at 6 p.m., just as expected. Colson was the only one there, sitting at the head of the table with an air of command that made my stomach churn. I was thankful I didn’t have to make small talk with his children. Mostof the Ashworths weren’t speaking to me, which was a small mercy considering the circumstances.
I moved to sit in my usual seat, the one where I could maintain some semblance of distance, but my silverware was set diagonal to his, a subtle reminder that he ruled everything.
“No, Josephine. Next to me.”
His voice was calm, but there was no mistaking the command in it. Reluctantly, I complied, taking the seat beside him. Dinner was served—a beautiful plate of chicken piccata, one of my favorites.
But the sight of it made my stomach turn. I had no appetite, so instead, I reached for the wine. The first glass went down too easily, followed quickly by a second. When I asked for a third, Colson waved away the server with a casual flick of his hand.
“I don’t want you drunk. Eat, Joey.”
For the first time since I sat down, I forced myself to look at him, meeting his gaze. His eyes were dark, unreadable, and I could feel the weight of his expectations bearing down on me. “How can you expect me to eat when I know what follows?” I asked, my voice trembling.
He dabbed the corners of his mouth with his napkin, a gesture so deliberate. “You act as if you’ll hate everything I do to you. You’ve been very receptive so far.”
A tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it. “I asked you for one thing…” My voice cracked, and I struggled to keep my composure.
A smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. “One thing? Sweet Josephine, you’ve asked for many things, and I’ve given you each one.”
He wasn’t wrong. I had asked for my family’s success, for their stability, and he had delivered. But each favor came with a price, with strings so tightly wound around my life that I could barely breathe. I was sacrificing everything for them, for the people I loved, and the resentment was beginning to poison me from the inside out. Why me? Why did I have to be the one to carry this burden?
“Then why can’t you wait for this?” I hissed, the frustration bubbling to the surface. “It’s just two weeks.”
He leaned back in his chair, tossing his napkin onto the table with a casual disdain. “When I buy a property or take over a company, I do my research. I check for vulnerabilities, their history, and I imagine what it would be like to own such an asset. I’ve done none of that with you. I’ve given you the benefit of the doubt that you’ll get up to speed easily, and you have. But this is different.”
I sucked in a sharp breath, trying to steady my nerves. “How?”
“No marriage will last if we’re sexually incompatible. I have a chance before we’re married to test you and see if we have chemistry.”
I ground my teeth, the anger simmering beneath the surface. “I think it’s more that you just want to get your rocks off.”
“I do,” he admitted, his tone infuriatingly matter-of-fact. “Inside you. You will grant me this one request, or I will wipe every benefit to your family away.”
“Colson,” I cried, my voice breaking. “You know what you’re asking?”
“I do. I’ve considered it many times.” He leaned in, his eyes narrowing as he spoke. “Do you realize this is the longest I’ve gone without since Poppy died? I waited months before becoming physical with someone else. It’s been almost three months now, and I can’t wait any longer. I need to sample the goods before we make it official.”
His demands were beyond belief. I stared at him in stunned silence as he rose from his chair, leaving the dining room without another word. The moment he was gone, I grabbed his unfinished wine and downed it in one gulp, the bitter taste barely registering as I tried to process what had just happened.
My hands trembled as I set the glass down, my mind racing. There was no way out, no escape from the twisted reality that was my life with Colson Ashworth. He had me trapped, and the walls were closing in.
Chapter 18
The house was eerily quiet as I made my way down the dimly lit hallway, each step bringing me closer to the door at the end—Colson's bedroom. My heart pounded in my chest, but I forced myself to keep moving. I had made a decision, one that I wasn't sure I'd ever come to terms with, but it was my fate, and there was no escaping it.
The delicate silk of my champagne-colored negligee brushed against my legs as I walked, the sheer skirt floating around me like a whisper of the innocence I was about to lose. I paused outside his door, my hand trembling as I reached for the handle. There was no turning back now.
