Subjugation

Hello!!

I'm so sorry for this update being a little delayed.

I've had a rather awful cold the past week that has led to me spending a lot of time resting.

It didn't help that this chapter was one of the hardest ones to write yet.

I hope it still came out alright- writers block and piles of tissues aside.

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They were waiting for her in the entrance hall.

Dante stepped in behind her, helping her out of her coat.

Alexander leant against one of the pillars, his blond curls in disarray.

A tormented expression on his face as he watches her walk toward him.

She stops a few feet away.

"Hi, angel." His voice cracks.

The usual musical quality of it choked with emotion.

Enid's insides ache as she sees the devastation in his eyes.

"Hi, Alex." She says softly.

Theodore clears his throat and leads them into the main sitting room.

The three men settle on the couch by the fireplace and for a moment, Alexander holds his arms out for her.

She takes a seat in the armchair across from them.

Tries to ignore the disappointment in his honey eyes.

"We need to discuss last night- or very early this morning, rather." Theodore leans forward, bracing his arms on his thighs.

He has discarded his jacket, his white shirtsleeves rolled to his elbows.

Enid tries not to think about how just his arms alone kindle a small fire inside her.

"How did you know to look in the filing cabinet?" Dante's question draws her from distraction.

She shifts in the seat, wondering if she should tell them.

And if so, how much- she doesn't want to get Graham in trouble.

"I think I'm the one who should be asking questions." She crosses her arms.

"Why don't we take turns? You ask and we'll answer honestly. But only if you do the same." Alexander offers.

Enid looks at them and slowly nods.

"Almalfi told me. Why did you have all those documents about me? Where did you get them?" The file had been haunting her since she opened it.

Dante inhales sharply, shock lighting each of their faces.

"Where did you see Almalfi?" He demands, his brows furrowed angrily.

Enid snorts, shaking her head.

"Nope, it's your turn to answer." She gestures toward them.

Theodore sighs, running a hand through his hair, "We had those compiled the first month we met you. I know it may seem like a breach of privacy, but we just wanted to make sure you were safe and in good health. When we realized you had moved to America by yourself for university, we got a little concerned and just wanted to make sure you weren't... running from anything."

"We did it with your wellbeing in mind, Enid. We're overprotective brutes who knew you were it for us. Getting that stuff was just part of us ensuring that you'd be ours." Dante chimes in.

She huffs, catching the way Theodore's jaw tenses.

If they weren't in the midst of such an important discussion, she knows she'd probably be receiving a spanking for her petulant attitude.

They seem to be giving her a break, though.

With how worked up she currently is, she'd like to see them try.

"So, Almalfi? When did you speak to him?" Theodore's shoulders are tense.

Enid worries her lip, if she tells them all of it, they might hurt Graham.

"He texted me to meet him in town and I went. It was fine, he didn't hurt me. Just was vaguely weird and told me to look in Theo's office. He's been in the estate, too. The night of the party with Flynt." She hopes the latter half will distract them from questioning their meeting further.

Alexander curses, his hands tightening into fists.

"Almalfi was here that night too? God, Dante, you better have fixed the security." He glares at the man to his right.

Dante lets out a chilling chuckle. "Oh, trust me, the security has been fixed. I'd like to see either of those stronzi try to get in."

Enid watches as the three exchange a look.

She clears her throat, anger settling over her as she starts in on them again.

It burns under her skin.

"Just like how the opposite is true for me. Locking my bedroom door to keep me in." Her tone frigid.

Theodore sighs, adjusts his glasses.

"We were worried you might try to do something rash in the heat of the moment. If you had needed us for anything, we would have been right there. Everything we do is for your protection, darling. Everything." He emphasizes.

She prickles like a hedgehog.

"It was like I'm your prisoner!" Her volume rises.

Alexander's mouth parts in consternation.

"Oh, love. We never meant for you to feel that way. You're not a prisoner here at all." He reaches across the space between them to rest his hand on her knee.

His eyes pleading.

Goosebumps erupt along the pale skin of her thigh beneath the heat of his hand.

Nerve endings dancing in response to the contact.

"So, you'd let me leave? If I wanted to?" Her question is quiet, almost a whisper.

Because she already knows the answer.

"Angel-" Alexander starts, his face ashen.

"Enid, you know that it is not as simple as that. There are people out there who want to hurt you. Because of us. It's our job to protect you. And we cannot do that if you are on your own." Theodore cuts him off.

Enid hums, shifting so that Alexander's hand falls away.

He winces.

"Right. Protect me by killing them, right? Just like you did with Patrick." She tilts her head to the side.

A cross of outrage and curiosity on her face.

Dante laughs, short and abrupt.

"Little bird, I don't think you quite understand this. We dangerous men. Bad men. Dangerous to the entire world except for you. You are the only thing we care about. So, yes, we will do whatever is necessary to protect you." A twisted smile curves his full lips.

"But he didn't deserve to die!" Her outburst brings a long pause.

A long exhale comes from Alexander as he pushes his curls out of his eyes.

"But he did, Enid. He deserved far worse than what he got." His words are frank, as though she were missing something obvious.

So blatant.

As though it was nothing.

As though his life had been theirs to take away.

There is a scream in her throat, angry words on her tongue.

Enid swallows them.

"Why? Why me? Why did you do this? Why did you make- make me love you?" The questions tumble out in a tangle of syllables and hysteria.

Theodore moves, shifting down until he is kneeling before her.

She is enraptured as he wipes the tears from her cheeks, replacing them with reverent kisses.

"You have always been ours, Enid. We were destined to find you. To love you. We haven't made you love us- you did that all on your own. As surely as stars align." His whisper low and burning.

She bites her lip, her mind swimming.

Drowning.

"How many people have you killed?" Her whisper even softer than his.

A sharp gust of wind rattles the windows.

Theodore sucks in a breath, glancing back to Dante and Alexander.

Dante leans forward, laces his fingers through her own.

"I don't think you want the answer to that, baby." There's something reminiscent of pity on his face.

But not a single trace of guilt.

Her heartbeat is deafening in her ears.

There is little surprise though, she already she wouldn't like the answer.

"W-would you stop? If I asked you to?" She asks, feeling a small seed of hope blossom in her heart.

If they agreed not to hurt anyone else-

If they never killed again-

Maybe it could be okay.

Enid could forgive them.

If she knew they wouldn't do it again, they could be okay.

The room goes still.

She watches as the three have a silent conversation.

Alexander's eyes flash, his jaw tense.

A decision has been made.

He stands from the couch, walking toward the fireplace.

Theodore presses a finger beneath her chin, drawing her attention back to him.

There is determination in his eyes.

Enid isn't sure what the determination is for, though.

"We won't do it again." His voice is steady, his eyes connected to her own.

Her eyes peruse his face, looking for it.

And there, almost infinitesimal, she spots it.

The tightness around his eyes, the slight rise of his shoulders.

He does not fidget, does not look away.

There is no change in tone, no nervous tick.

He is much better than that.

But she can see it, finally.

Can see the cracks in his mask, can see into the crevices where truth shines through.

He is lying.

They are lying.

"Say it. Tell me you won't hurt anyone else." She drags her eyes up to Dante.

His eyebrows furrow.

"We won't hurt anyone else." His hand jerks up to brush away his hair.

A clumsiness to his action that is foreign.

A lie.

She swivels around, her eyes finding Alex's back.

He is gripping the mantle, his head bent downward.

There is a soft murmur coming from him, almost like a prayer.

"Alex." Enid whispers.

Expression is absent from his face as he turns.

The warmth of his eyes blocked out by walls, guards.

He hesitates for a moment, his eyes darting from her to Theodore.

To Dante and then back again.

She almost misses it, the small burst of regret that pulls down the edges of his lips.

"I promise." He says.

And her heart shatters.

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And my heart shatters too.

Next chapter is one that has been alive in my mind since before I started writing this book.

It's so hard to wrap my mind around the fact that we're already here.

Updates may be a little sporadic as I recover from this illness, so I don't have a set update day scheduled.

It won't be more than a week, though.

See you soon!

Comments fill my heart with joy.

All my love, Sappho ✤