Chapter 54 Her defiant
AMELIA
I must have fallen asleep on the floor by my door, because I woke to the sound of footsteps in the hallway.
Morning light—I could feel its warmth on my face from the window. I'd been there all night.
My neck ached. My back hurt. But worse was the hollow feeling in my chest.
Jeremy was home. I could hear him. In the kitchen. Coffee maker is running. The sound of a cup clinking filled the air.
He'd come back from Crimson.
Had he been in a private room? Had Jade been there? Had he—
Stop it, I told myself. Stop torturing yourself.
I stood up, wincing as my muscles protested. Smoothed down my wrinkled clothes. I'd slept in them.
The lock on my door clicked.
I stepped back as it opened.
Luca's voice called out, "Amelia." "Boss wants to see you. In the kitchen."
My heart jumped. "Now?"
"Now."
I grabbed my cane and followed Luca down the hallway.
The kitchen smelt like coffee. Strong, dark. There was also a distinct scent of whisky. Stale whisky, like it was still on someone's breath.
"Sit." Jeremy's voice was cold and controlled.
I found the chair at the small table and sat.
Luca's footsteps retreated. The kitchen door closed.
We were alone.
I could hear Jeremy moving. Pouring coffee. I could hear the scrape of a chair as Jeremy sat across from me.
'Say something,' I wanted to scream. Yell at me. Demand explanations. Anything but this terrible silence.
"Jeremy—" I started.
"Tell me about Alex." He finally said.
His voice was flat. Empty. Somehow that was worse than anger.
"He's—he's a friend. Someone I met in Brooklyn."
"How did you meet?"
"I dropped my cane. He helped me pick it up. We talked for a few minutes. That's all."
"And yesterday? At the café?"
"He recognised me. On the estate grounds. He was there for business, I guess. He invited me for coffee. I tried to call Luca, but he didn't answer, so I—"
"So you left the estate with a stranger. Someone you'd met once. For coffee."
When he said it like that, it sounded reckless. Stupid.
"I texted Luca where I was going—"
"After you'd already left. After you'd already broken the rules I'd specifically given you." He set down his cup—I heard the sharp clink against the saucer. "Do you have any idea how dangerous that was? Do you have any idea what could have happened?"
"I was just having coffee—"
"With Alexei Volkov!" The words exploded out of him. "You were having coffee with the heir to the Volkov family. This is the same family that attempted to claim you through Miguel's debt. The same family that's been circling us like sharks, looking for weakness. The same family that would use you to destroy me without a second thought!"
Volkov.
The word hit me like a physical blow.
Alex was—
"I didn't know," I whispered. "He never told me his last name. He only mentioned that he worked in the import-export industry. Family business. He seemed—"
"Nice? Friendly? Normal?" Jeremy's laugh was bitter. "That's how they work, Amelia. They find your weakness and exploit it. They make you comfortable. Make you trust them. And then they use you."
"He wasn't—it wasn't like that—"
"Wasn't it? He 'accidentally' runs into you in Brooklyn. Then 'accidentally' runs into you on the estate grounds. Coincidentally invites you for coffee. He coincidentally makes you laugh and feel normal and trust him." I heard him stand and start pacing. "That's not coincidence. That's strategy. And you fell for it."
My chest tightened. "I didn't fall for anything. He was kind to me. That's all."
"He was using you!"
"Maybe!" I stood too, facing where I thought he was. "Or maybe he was just being kind! Maybe he treated me like a person instead of a problem! Maybe he made me feel normal for five minutes instead of like some liability you have to protect!"
There was silence
Then Jeremy's voice, quiet and dangerous: "Is that what you think you are? A liability?"
"I don't know what I am! You won't tell me!" The words burst out before I could stop them. "You trade territory for me, you bring me to your home, you forbid me from leaving, you rush back from Chicago because I had coffee with someone—but you won't tell me why! You won't tell me what I am to you!"
"You're under my protection—"
"That's not an answer! That's not—" I stopped. I inhaled deeply. "Victoria said you were getting attached. That you were compromising yourself for me. Is that true?"
I heard his sharp intake of breath.
"Victoria doesn't know what she's talking about."
"Doesn't she? Because from where I'm standing, it looks like she's right. You're obsessed with protecting me. But I don't understand why. I don't understand what I am to you. Employee? Responsibility? Charity case?" My voice dropped. "Or something else?"
"Amelia—"
"Tell me. Please. I need to know."
The silence stretched so long I thought he wouldn't answer.
Then he said: "I don't know."
The honesty in those three words hurt more than anger would have.
He didn't know.
He didn't know what I was to him. Didn't know why he cared. Didn't know why he couldn't let me go.
And that meant—what? That I was nothing? That this was all just—
"You went to Crimson last night," I said quietly. "Did you—were you in a private room?"
I shouldn't ask. I had no right to ask. But I needed to know.
"Yes."
The word hit me like a slap.
"With—with someone?"
He pauses before he replied. "Just me. Drinking alone."
"Jade—"
"Offered. I said no." His voice softened slightly. "I was just—I needed to think. To clear my head. That's all."
Relief flooded through me so intensely my knees nearly buckled.
He'd said no. To Jade. To company.
He'd been alone.
"I didn't know Alex was a Volkov," I said. "I swear. If I'd known—"
"I know."
"And I won't—I'll stay away from him. I promise. No more coffee. No more—"
"It doesn't matter. He knows where you are now. He'll find ways to contact you. To get close." Jeremy's footsteps came closer. "That's why you're staying in this wing. No walks. No leaving. Not until I figure out how to handle this."
"Jeremy, you can't just lock me up—"
"I can. And I will. Because clearly, you can't be trusted to understand when someone is dangerous." His voice was hard again. Cold. "You see kindness and you trust it. You see normalcy and you reach for it. Without thinking. Without considering the consequences."
"That's not fair—"
"Fair? You want to talk about fair?" He was now standing right in front of me. Close. "You have no idea what I've given up for you. You have no idea what I've sacrificed for you. What I've—" He stopped. "You're staying in this wing. That's final. And if you try to leave again, I'll have Luca lock your door from the outside. Permanently."
"You can't," I shouted, holding my cane.
"Watch me."
He moved away. Toward the door.
"Jeremy, wait—"
"I have work to do. Stay here. Don't make me regret bringing you into my home."
The door opened. Closed.
He was gone.
I stood there in the empty kitchen, my hands shaking, tears streaming down my face.
He'd been at Crimson. Alone. Drinking.
Because of me.
Because I'd had coffee with Alex—with Alexei Volkov—and laughed.
Because I'd made him jealous.
The thought of him being with Jade had also made me feel jealous.
But neither of us would admit it.
Neither of us would say what this really was.
We were both too stubborn. Too scared. Too broken.
So we'd just keep hurting each other.
Keep pushing and pulling.
Keep pretending this was just protection.
Just business.
Just—nothing.
When it felt like everything.