Chapter 46 SHOPPING
Eli’s POV
Morning came too quickly for my liking.
I yawned awake and stayed there for a few seconds, staring at the ceiling, listening to the house hum around me. No shouting. No slammed doors. No orders barked from down the hall… My body felt sore in a way sleep doesn’t fix; I'm not bruised, or injured, just… tired. So fucking tired.
I dragged myself out of bed, went to the bathroom, splashed water on my face, and brushed my teeth on autopilot. I didn’t look at myself for too long in the mirror. Lately, mirrors felt accusatory.
I took a shower longer than necessary, letting the heat run down my back until my thoughts softened enough to move. I put on comfortable clothes; something soft, and loose. It was almost one in the afternoon by the time I stepped out.
I was still tying my sleeves when the door opened.
It's Anton, and he didn’t knock.
He grinned like he’d caught me doing something cute instead of something vulnerable. “There you are,” he said, and before I could protest, he scooped me up like I weighed nothing.
“Anton—” I grabbed at his shoulder, startled. “Put me down.”
“Nope,” he said cheerfully. “You haven’t eaten.”
“I can walk.”
“I know,” he replied. “But this is faster.”
He carried me down the stairs while I half-laughed, half-panicked, my hands gripping his shirt. It felt… ridiculous. Almost normal. And that scared me more than anything else.
Julian was already seated at the dining table when Anton carried me in.
He looked immaculate, as always. Dark shirt, sleeves rolled just enough to suggest intention. His gaze lifted the moment he saw us, sharp and assessing.
“How are you feeling?” Julian asked.
I was placed into a chair before I could answer. Anton pulled it out for me, pushed it in gently, then moved to pour juice like this was the most ordinary thing in the world.
“I’m… alright,” I said.
Julian studied my face for a second longer than necessary, then nodded and returned to his food.
As we ate, Anton leaned his elbows on the table. “We should take him out today. For shopping.”
Julian didn’t look up. “I have work.”
“You always have work,” Anton said. “He needs air. Something a little normal.”
Julian finally lifted his gaze. “You can take him.”
Anton’s smile didn’t fade, but something sharper flickered beneath it. “And?”
“And don’t try anything stupid.”
I didn’t know what anything stupid meant, but I could tell from the way they looked at each other that they both did very well know what it means.
Anton chuckled. “A few hours away won’t collapse your company,” he said lightly. “You’re coming with us.”
“No,” Julian said.
I swallowed. “We can go another day—”
“If you don’t come,” Anton cut in, still smiling, “I’ll make him try on a series of lingerie.”
My face burned instantly and my fork froze halfway to my mouth.
Heat rushed to my face as a memory surfaced: the night Julian made me wear lingerie, cuffed me to the bed frame and spanked— jeezzz…
When I snapped back to the present, Julian and Anton were glaring at each other like two apex predator.
Julian exhaled slowly. “Fine.”
Anton clapped once. “Good. Now call the boutique and tell them to lock down. I don’t want the attention you’ve invited, with your… performances, to be on us.”
Julian gestured, and his bodyguard appeared like he’d been waiting behind a wall. One quiet instruction later, it was done.
I didn’t know whether to be disturbed or impressed that Julian could shut down an entire store just by deciding to shop.
But when we arrived and there were no crowds, no flashing cameras, no whispers following me like knives…
Yes. I loved it.
Inside the boutique, everything felt hushed and controlled by money. Anton stayed close to me, asking questions.
“Do you like this color?”
“Too tight?”
“Does that feel like you?”
Julian didn’t ask.
He pointed. “Try that.”
“This fits you.”
“You’ll wear this.”
Anton listened when I hesitated. Julian corrected me when I did.
At one point, Anton held up a soft sweater in a muted blue. “You’d look really cute in this.”
Julian countered with black. “He looks better in this.”
They bought both.
Shoes. Watches. Jackets. If they disagreed, we took everything. Bags piled up faster than I could process, and somewhere between the third fitting and the fifth quiet argument, something uncomfortable settled in my chest.
I felt adored when Anton spoke… and I hated myself for it.
Outside, an employee, the store attendant, helped load the bags into the car. Anton tipped him generously, then turned to me with a grin. “Ice cream?”
I opened my mouth to respond but a loud shot sound shut me up.
It's a gunshot.
The gunshot cracked the air, and everything slowed.
Sound distorted. The world tilted. Arms wrapped around my throat, crushing, and gagging air out of my lungs.
“Don’t move.” That's my… father's voice.
Julian’s gun was suddenly out, aimed— at who? At me? At him?
“Let me walk away with my son,” my father said. “Easy way for both of us.”
I thought I was about to die as he tightened the chokehold.
I closed my eyes.
Another shot rang…
I waited for pain or death… but I didn’t feel pain. Would I have a painless death?
I felt myself being pulled, like ripped, into different arms.
I opened my eyes to Anton holding me, his grip iron-tight. My father staggered back, clutching his shoulder, blood soaking through an employee’s uniform.
He was the attendant.
Julian’s voice was calm. Deadly. “Next time it’d go through your skull. Let's hope next time would come only after I'm done with your son.”
Henry sneered through the pain. “You’re sick.”
Julian cackled. “You made me.”
Anton shoved me into the car. Julian followed. The door slammed.
No one spoke as we drove away.
Anton’s hand never let go of mine.
I stared at the seat in front of me, replaying it over and over.
I kept thinking: If the shot had been a few inches off…
“What if the bullet hit me instead?” I muttered under my breath, mostly to myself.
No one answered.
The silence stretched.
And for the first time, I didn’t know which terrified me more—the monsters outside the car, or the ones sitting beside me.