Chapter 21
Silas
Technically it wasn’t our wedding night anymore, but I hoped she understood—fully, unequivocally—that Eris was null and void in every corner of my existence.
When Everly’s hands slipped from my body, I lifted my head to check on her, only to find her eyes closed, lashes still trembling from the high I’d dragged her through.
I was about to murmur her name when the clock caught my eye.
5:48 am.
Hm. This was a new one. I knew it was early morning—but fucking her into a coma?
Result. She’d never question me like that again.
A low chuckle escaped me as I pressed a kiss to her cheek, careful not to disturb her.
My little mama needed her sleep.
I eased myself out of bed, grabbed a handful of tissues, and tended to her as gently as I could. She didn’t stir, too exhausted and just breathing softly with one leg still kicked out to the side. It made my job easier.
When I was done, I folded everything neatly and set it aside before pulling her into my arms. God, she fit against me.
I closed my eyes and breathed her in—us in—warm skin, tangled sheets, the heat of the night still clinging faintly to her.
A few hours of rest.
Just a few.
Then I could start all over again.
?? ?? ??
I stared at my phone.
Connie: RED ALERT! Eris is here, and she’s refusing to leave.
I was on my feet immediately. Jacket in one hand. Laptop slammed shut with the other. My chair was still spinning when I strode out of my office.
“Cancel everything for the afternoon,” I said to Harriet as I passed.
“But—”
“All of it.”
“Yes, Mr Voss.”
I was already dialling Lawrence to bring the car around. Of course, Eris had seen the news. The media were bloodhounds—one headline and they’d dug up everything.
I considered calling the police
but dismissed it. The last thing I needed was flashing lights outside the house and Everly spiralling from the stress. Eleven weeks into her pregnancy. Too early for bullshit. Too early for her mother.
Lawrence pulled up just as I reached the lobby. I nodded once and climbed in. If I’d been thinking clearly, I would’ve brought my laptop home last night.
Too late now.
I dialled Everly.
“I’m not sending you any pictures, I have a meeting in… twenty minutes,” she said dryly, not bothering with a greeting.
“Hello to you too,” I muttered. “I’m on my way home.”
Silence. A single beat of realisation.
“You are?”
The shift in her tone was immediate—from dry annoyance to something tight and wary.
She knew. She always knew when something snapped the wrong way in my voice.
“Yes,” I said, keeping the words clipped, controlled. I didn’t trust what would come out if I softened. “Connie texted. Your mother is at the house.”
Silence.
The dangerous kind—the kind where Everly was thinking five things at once and none of them were good.
“…Eris is here?” she said finally, quiet but sharp.
“She’s refusing to leave.” My hand tightened around the phone so hard it creaked. “I’m handling it.”
A beat.
Another.
I could hear her breathing shift—not panicked, but bracing. Preparing.
“Should I—”
“No.” The word came out like a blade. Too sharp. Too fast. I forced a breath through my nose. “No, sweetheart. Stay put.”
She hesitated. That alone made something in my chest twist. Everly never hesitated with me unless she was afraid of something.
“Silas… is she—”
“I don’t know.” I practically spat the words. Not at her—never at her—but at the thought of that woman stepping one fucking toe into the house where Everly slept, ate, lived. “And I don’t care. She’s leaving. That’s all you need to know.”
Another breath.
Another attempt at calm.
Another failure.
“I don’t want you anywhere near her,” I said, voice lowering into something deadly. “You’re eleven weeks, Everly. Eleven. If that woman stresses you out for even a second—”
“I’m okay,” she murmured quickly.
“No.” My fingers dug into my knee. “You don’t reassure me. That’s my job. And I’m telling you right now — stay where you are. Let me take care of this.”
There was a pause, soft and trembling at the edges.
“…I’ll see you soon,” she whispered.
“Everly.”
My voice cracked low, roughened by fury I didn’t want her to hear. “I am. I’m already halfway there. Just keep your phone close.”
She promised she would, and I hung up before the edge slipped.
If she tried to face her mother alone—after I told her explicitly not to—I’d need consequences.
Not something stupid like withholding affection.
We both knew I’d fold in ten seconds.
And she was pregnant, which eliminated… other options.
She needed protection, not a whipped arse.
But control?
Restraint?
Giving her exactly what she wanted and stopping just short of where she begged me for more?
Yes.
Oh, yes.
That would get her attention.
That would remind her whose instructions mattered.
A dark satisfaction curled low in my chest when I pictured her in heat, begging for more. There was one thing my little toy couldn't resist.
My cock.
If she disobeyed me, I wouldn’t raise my voice.
I wouldn’t argue.
I wouldn’t even look angry.
I’d simply deny her.
?? ?? ??
When the car rolled closer, I saw Eris standing in the doorway.
Relief hit me in a hard wave—she’d gotten past the double doors, but not the front entrance. In my panic, I hadn’t questioned Connie’s message, but it didn’t matter. I’d already contacted a security firm to assess the house.
Cameras. Additional alarms. Electric-sealed gates.
Or perhaps a bodyguard — female, obviously.
Eris started toward the car.
“Wait here, Lawrence,” I said, stepping out.
The afternoon sun was warm, almost pleasant, and a calmness settled over me.
My girl and our child were safe.
That was all that mattered.
“To what do I owe this pleasure?” I drawled, taking a slow, deliberate look at her.
She was a mess. No false nails. Makeup barely there. Clothes dishevelled. Still wearing designer heels, though—because she would rather die than let go of the illusion.
“You married her? A child? My child?” she spat, shaking her fist in the air like a caricature.
Her face twisted into something ugly—finally matching what had always been inside her.
“I should thank you for having her,” I said with a pleasant smile. “One of the only useful things you managed in life.”
Her eyes widened. For a moment, she looked winded.
“Silas, I’ve changed,” she insisted, taking a breath that trembled at the edges. “I’m a woman now. I can give you what you need.”
I blinked.
Was she serious?
Was she actually standing on my property, in front of my home, telling me she could give me what I needed?
“I suggest you find another mark,” I snarled, letting a sliver of my fury bleed through. “I’m done with you, Eris. I love Everly—and the child she’s carrying.”
“No,” she whispered. “She’s pregnant?”
I let a slow, mocking smile curl at the corner of my mouth.
“I told you last time you stormed into my home. Everly is young, fertile, and loyal. Everything you never managed to be. She’s my future.”
Her face tightened. She laughed—sharp, brittle, almost hysterical.
“She’ll do the same, you know,” she sneered. “How long before she gets bored? How long before she looks elsewhere?”
“Do you want to keep going, Eris?” I asked, letting boredom bleed into every syllable. “Because I can have you locked up for the embezzlement you think I don’t know about. I can make you pay back every penny you stole from her trust fund.”
I took a step closer, lowering my voice.
“If you think your life is bad now… just wait. You haven’t seen what I’m capable of.”
Fear made her stumble back.
The light went out of her eyes all at once, like someone had blown out a candle. She closed them, defeated—because she understood.
There was no denial or arguing with me. She knew I had the resources and the evidence to bury her.
“If you ever attempt to approach my wife again,” I said, already turning away, “I will end you.”
Her tears started immediately, escalating into real, unfiltered sobs. Reality had finally caught up to her.
I stepped inside my home and shut the door behind me, sealing her out of my world for good. Then I took out my phone and texted.
Lawrence: Drop her at the nearest public transport stop.
Problem solved.