Page 48 of Strange Seduction (Strange #2)

Different Pages.

Yep, Still Day Seventeen.

I changed into the clothes Theo had left and went downstairs.

The house was quiet. The living room glowed dimly with the soft, orange light of the freshly lit fire pit. Theo sat on the couch, hunched forward, a half-empty decanter on the table in front of him.

He didn’t look at me when I came in.

“Teddy?” I said quietly. “Can we talk? Just… without yelling this time?”

His hand tightened around the glass. He let out a breath, not quite a sigh.

“You know,” he murmured, eyes fixed on the fire, “every project I’ve taken on these last few years has some piece of you in it.”

I walked over slowly, unsure if I should sit.

“Some have your favorite color painted into the walls,” he continued.

“Some have little details—snack drawers, light switches at the height you like, soft-close cabinets because you hate the sound. Even the hotel we stayed at had tiled roofs, just like the ones you loved from my model back at Eden. Do you remember?”

I nodded, my heart stuck in my throat. “Yeah. I remember the dollhouse.”

He smiled faintly. Not a happy smile, just a memory passing through him.

“I always add things you’d like,” he said. “I don’t know why I did it. Maybe it’s just… muscle memory. Maybe looking at blueprints all day gets easier when I can picture you in them.”

He poured another drink and downed it without flinching.

Then he stood.

“This house,” he said, voice raw, “is the closest thing to a home I’ve felt in a long, long time. I thought—fuck, I really thought bringing you here was the right thing. I was so fucking excited to show it to you.”

My chest tightened. “And I love it.”

His hand curled into a fist at his side.

“Now it feels like all of it was a mistake. Not just the house,” he added, quieter.

“But you coming to Italy as a whole. These past two weeks have put our relationship through hell. We don’t trust each other anymore.

How could we? We’re constantly pulling in opposite directions.

Everything we do has strings tied to it, and half the time it’s like we’re trying to control each other. ”

My throat burned, and I didn’t interrupt.

Doubt: You can’t, ‘cause he’s right.

“We’re destructive,” he said. “We’re petty. I barely recognize us.”

I finally sat down across from him, folding my hands in my lap. “If all that’s true, why did you propose to me?”

He looked at me then. His eyes were glassy but transparent.

“Because through all of it… I still love you. I still want you. I still believe in us, even if it feels naive now. Even if it makes me look like a childish idiot, I can’t stop thinking about you in my future.”

“I want that future, Theo.” The fire crackled. My voice came out small. “But. Is loving me enough to get us to that future?”

He exhaled, long and quietly. “I don’t know anymore.”

I swallowed hard, the words sitting bitter at the back of my tongue. “You don’t know?”

Theo didn’t answer. He just turned away, rubbing a hand over his jaw like he was trying to keep from saying something he’d regret.

“That’s… good to know,” I said, pushing up from the couch. “So all of this, everything you built, you did it on a future you weren’t even sure we’d see?”

He looked over his shoulder at me. “Don’t twist it.”

“I’m not twisting anything,” I snapped, louder than I meant to. “You said it. You don’t know .”

“I don’t know!” he barked back. “Because everything I thought I knew gets thrown back in my face every time I try to do something right with you. I built a life for us, and somehow I’m the villain for not running it past your checklist first.”

I stared at him. “A checklist ? That’s what you think this is to me? You think all I want is someone to check boxes for me?”

Theo threw his hands up. “I don’t know what you want, Carmen!”

Doubt: So much for not yelling…

“I want to make a decision for myself without feeling like I’m being trapped!”

“Why do you keep calling this a trap?”

“Because it is!” I shouted, stepping forward. “You did all of this knowing I had a job. Knowing I had a life waiting for me in New York. You made these decisions without me and expected me to just be grateful.”

“I was trying to make it easier!” he roared. “I was trying to give you something real here so you wouldn’t feel like you were giving everything up back in the States.”

“And you don’t get to decide that for me!”

“I didn’t decide anything!” he yelled back. “I talked to Marcus. I didn’t forge documents or cancel your fucking visa, Carmen. I told him I want you here with me. That’s it.”

“You didn’t ask me. Theodore,” I said coldly. “That’s the part you’re still not getting. You didn’t ask me .”

He went quiet. His chest heaved as he stared at the floor.

“I don’t wanna just exist in your future,” I whispered, trying to keep my voice from breaking. “I want to build something with you. Together . You used to understand that. You used to know me so well.”

His mouth opened—then closed.

He didn’t have an answer for that.

I blinked at him, my vision starting to blur.

“I don’t even know who you are right now,” I said. “The Theo I fell in love with would’ve never done this to me.”

He looked up at me then, but I continued.

“Now you’re just—”

“I’m still the man you love and know.”

“Then listen to me,” I said, tears spilling over. “Because if you keep doing this, if you keep making decisions behind my back, and shutting me out, you’re going to lose me. I don’t care how many houses you build or cars you give me. You’ll lose me, Theodore .”

Theo flinched like I’d slapped him.

He turned his back to me again, and I could hear his breathing—deep and heavy and pained. For a second, I thought he might come toward me, say something that fixed it all.

But he didn’t.

He just stood there, stone still. Nothing. He said nothing. There was nothing he could say. We were past the point of no return.

I wiped my face and walked away.

I was halfway down the hall when his footsteps came fast behind me.

“You’re not going anywhere.”

I didn’t stop.

“Carmen.”

His voice had that edge now.

He grabbed my wrist, pulling me to a halt, then he spun me to face him. “Did you hear me? I said you’re not going anywhere.”

I yanked my arm back, eyes blazing. “You gonna make that decision for me too?”

His jaw clenched. “What do you want me to say? That I handled this wrong? Fine. I did. I fucked it all the way up. But don’t stand here and act like you didn’t know exactly what this was or where it leads.”

“Where does it lead?”

“Right back in this house. With you in my bed because you can’t leave me. I won’t let you.”

“Theodore. This?” I gestured around the space of the house. “This is your doing. I wasn’t even in the room when you made the decision to trap me in it.”

“I didn’t trap you.” He stepped closer, crowding the air between us. “I gave you everything I had, Carmen. Everything.”

“You gave me everything but a choice.”

Theo’s nostrils flared. “You had a choice. You still do. But don’t think for a second I’m going to stand here and let you pretend I’m the villain for trying to build something for us.”

I laughed bitterly. “You built it to keep me here. Just admit it.”

He tilted his head, his voice low and dangerous. “I built it so you’d want to stay. So you’re staying.”

“That’s controlling, Theo,” I said.

“No,” he snapped. “Controlling would’ve been putting your name on the deed without telling you. Control would’ve been packing your shit up from New York and shipping it here. I didn’t. I could’ve. God knows I thought about it. But I didn’t.”

I stared at him, fury in my throat and heartbreak in my chest. “But you did talk to my boss about me staying before you talked to me. You knew exactly what would happen if I didn’t have a job in New York.”

He didn’t deny it. His silence was its own confession.

I shoved past him, but he followed.

“I’m not letting you leave, Carmen.”

I ignored him, stalking toward the stairs.

He was behind me in a flash, his voice dropping to a warning growl. “You’re not leaving me because of one stupid fight.”

That stopped me cold. I turned. “You think this is just about tonight? You think this fight is new? Every time we’re together, it’s like this. Is this who we are? Is this what we’re becoming?”

“It’s who I am,” he said unapologetically. “And it’s who you keep choosing, over and over again.”

I hesitated, and he stepped closer.

“You’re not walking away from me over one fight.”

“It’s not just this one stupid fight, Theo,” I said, staring him down. “You’re not listening to me. It’s all of them stacked up. It’s the pattern.”

“And you think I don’t see that?” he snapped. His voice cracked, just slightly.

I didn’t speak.

“But you’re still wearing my ring,” he continued.

I didn’t move.

He took a step forward. “That means you haven’t made up your mind.”

Another step.

“And until you do.”

Another step.

“You’re mine.”

I let out a slow, shaking breath. “That’s not how this works.”

“That’s exactly how this works.” His voice dropped to a growl. “You said yes. And I’m not letting that go until you look me in the eye and say you’re done. Tell me you lied when you promised me forever.”

The room went quiet.

I looked down at the ring on my hand. My fingers trembled.

“You don’t get to use this to guilt me.”

Theo’s jaw tightened. “I’m not using it to guilt you. I’m using it to remind you that you chose me. You said yes.”

“That was before I knew you went behind my back.”

“You think I don’t regret that? You think I don’t hate the way this turned out? But I did it because I thought—no, I hoped you’d choose to stay here. With me. Not looking for an exit every time things get hard.”

“I’m not looking for an exit,” I hissed. “I’m looking for a real fucking partner.”