Page 31 of Trained In Sin

Saphy

The next few days pass in a strange bubble of normalcy.

Sebastian ensures I'm never alone, either he's with me, or there's someone from his security team discretely nearby.

I should probably find the constant surveillance unsettling, but after seeing Damon's rage, it feels more like protection than imprisonment.

Work becomes a refuge. Miranda keeps asking about my "mysterious new boyfriend," but I deflect with vague answers about things being "complicated.

" The roses on my desk have been replaced by fresh white lilies, Sebastian's way of maintaining his presence in my professional life without being obvious about it.

It's Thursday evening when everything falls apart.

I'm walking home from the tube station, later than usual after staying to finish the riverside development proposals. The street is quieter than normal, most of the shops already closed, streetlights casting long shadows between the buildings. I feel safe knowing Seb will have his men nearby.

I'm fishing for my keys when I hear footsteps behind me, quickening to match my pace. The hair on the back of my neck stands up, some primal instinct recognizing danger before my conscious mind catches up.

"Saphy."

I freeze at the sound of Damon's voice; my keys clutched so tightly the metal cuts into my palm. Slowly, I turn around .

He's standing about ten feet away, but he looks different. Dishevelled. His hair is unwashed; his clothes rumpled like he's been sleeping in them. There's something wild in his eyes that makes my stomach clench with fear.

"Damon." I keep my voice steady, though my heart is hammering against my ribs. "What are you doing here?"

"I've been thinking about what you said. About choices." He takes a step closer, and I instinctively back toward my building's entrance. "About how you get to decide what happens to us."

"There is no us anymore."

"See, that's where you're wrong." His smile is all wrong, too wide, too sharp. "There's always been us, Saphy. Even when you were pretending otherwise. Even when you were letting that criminal put his hands on you."

"Sebastian isn't…."

"Isn't what? A criminal? A murderer? Do you know what he does to people who cross him, Saphy? Do you know what he's probably planning to do to me?"

The desperation in his voice makes him sound unhinged. "Damon, you need to leave. Now."

"I can't leave. Don't you understand? I can't just walk away and pretend three years meant nothing." He's moving closer now, and I realize I'm trapped between him and the building's entrance. "You're making a mistake. A huge, life destroying mistake, and I won't let you do it."

"It's not your choice to make. "

"Yes, it is!" The shout makes me flinch. "You're confused, manipulated. That man has gotten into your head; made you think you want things you don't really want. But I know the real you, Saphy. I know what you need."

"You don't know anything about what I need."

"I know you need safety. Stability. Someone who won't destroy your life for his own twisted pleasure." His voice drops to an urgent whisper. "I know you're scared to admit you made a mistake, but it's not too late. We can fix this."

"There's nothing to fix because there's nothing wrong." I edge sideways, trying to put more distance between us. "I chose to leave, Damon. I chose Sebastian. Those were my decisions."

"Choices you made under duress. Choices you made because he manipulated you, confused you, made you think you wanted something you don't."

The patronising tone, the absolute certainty that he knows my mind better than I do, sends fury coursing through me. "Stop. Just stop talking to me like I'm a child who can't make her own decisions."

"Then stop acting like one!" The mask of reasonableness slips completely. "Stop throwing away everything good in your life for some fucking fantasy that's going to destroy you!"

"The only thing destroying me is this conversation." I turn toward the building entrance, but Damon's hand shoots out, grabbing my wrist.

"Don't you dare walk away from me. "

His grip is tight enough to hurt, tight enough to leave marks. The Damon I dated for three years never raised his voice, never put his hands on me in anger. This man is a stranger wearing his face.

"Let go of me." I try to pull free, but his fingers tighten. I panic, Sebs men should be here, why aren’t they here!

"Not until you listen. Not until you understand what you're doing to yourself, to us." His free hand comes up to cup my face, the gesture that should be gentle feeling like a threat. "I love you, Saphy. I've loved you for three years. Doesn't that count for anything?"

"Not when you're hurting me." I twist in his grip, panic rising as I realize how much stronger he is, how isolated this street suddenly feels.

"I'm not hurting you. I'm trying to save you." But his grip doesn't loosen. "You just need to calm down, think clearly. Remember what we had, what we can have again."

"I don't want what we had. I want you to let go of me and leave me alone."

Something dangerous flickers in his eyes. "That's not an option anymore."

The words send ice through my veins. "What does that mean?"

"It means you've made this situation impossible. You've involved dangerous people, created problems that can't be solved with simple breakup." His thumb strokes across my cheekbone in a parody of tenderness. "You're going to have to come back to me, Saphy. For your own safety."

"Are you threatening me? "

"I'm protecting you. From him, from the mess you've created, from yourself." His grip shifts to my upper arms, shaking me slightly. "Why can't you see that?"

"Because there's nothing to see! You're the one threatening me, Damon. You're the one who won't accept that I don't want to be with you anymore."

"You do want to be with me. You're just confused." His voice takes on a soothing quality that's somehow more terrifying than his anger. "But it's okay. I forgive you. We can work through this."

The condescension, the absolute refusal to hear what I'm saying, breaks something inside me. "I hate you," I say clearly. "I hate what you've become. I hate that I wasted three years of my life with someone who thinks he owns me."

The slap comes without warning, sharp and sudden enough to make my ears ring. I stagger backward, my hand flying to my burning cheek.

"Don't you ever speak to me like that again." His voice is deadly quiet. "Three years, Saphy. Three years of being nothing but good to you, and this is how you repay me?"

The shock of the blow, the casual violence of it, strips away any lingering sympathy I might have had for him. This isn't the man I dated. This is someone else entirely.

"You hit me." My voice comes out flat, emotionless.

"You made me hit you. You pushed and pushed until…." He stops, seeming to realize what he's admitted. "Saphy, I'm sorry. I didn't mean…. "

"Yes, you did." I back away from him, my cheek throbbing. "You meant every second of it."

"No, you're wrong. I was upset, not thinking clearly. But that's what happens when you push people past their breaking point." He reaches for me again. "Come here. Let me…."

"Don't touch me."

"Saphy, please. I'm sorry. I love you. I would never hurt you on purpose."

But he's still advancing, still reaching for me with hands that just struck me. And I realize that he genuinely believes his own words, that somehow, my refusal to comply with his wishes justifies his violence.

"Stay away from me."

"I can't do that. You're not safe with him. You're not safe making these kinds of decisions on your own." His voice takes on that soothing quality again. "But I can keep you safe. I can protect you from all of this."

"From what? From my own choices?"

"From the consequences of your bad choices, yes." He says it like it's reasonable, like imprisonment disguised as protection makes perfect sense. "You'll see. Once you're away from his influence, once you have time to think clearly, you'll understand."

The words hit me like ice water. "Away from his influence? What are you talking about?"

"I've made arrangements. Somewhere safe, somewhere you can recover from whatever he's done to your mind." Damon's smile is gentle, loving, completely insane. "It'll be like the early days of our relationship. Just us, working through this together."

He's planning to take me. To kidnap me and convince himself it's rescue.

"You're completely out of your mind."

"I'm in love. Sometimes love requires difficult choices." He steps closer again. "Now come on. We can do this the easy way or the hard way, but either way, you're coming with me."

That's when I see the car parked at the end of the street, engine running, passenger door hanging open. He's not just threatening, he's actually planning to take me.

I run.

Not toward my building, where he could corner me in the lobby, but toward the main road where there might be people, witnesses, help. My heels click against the pavement as I sprint, Damon's footsteps pounding behind me.

"Saphy, stop! You're just making this harder!"

I don't look back, don't slow down, just run with the single-minded focus of prey fleeing a predator. Behind me, I can hear him gaining ground, his longer legs eating up the distance between us.

I'm almost to the corner when his hand catches the back of my coat, yanking me to a stop with enough force to send me stumbling. I fall hard, my palms scraping against the concrete, my knees hitting the pavement with an impact that brings tears to my eyes .

"I told you not to run." Damon's voice is eerily calm as he hauls me to my feet. "Why do you always have to make things difficult?"

"Help!" I scream as loud as I can. "Somebody help me!"

"There's no one coming, Saphy. And even if there were, who do you think they'd believe? Me, your boyfriend of three years who's clearly concerned about your wellbeing? Or you, acting hysterical and irrational?"