Chapter 22
Maya
It’s like the intoxicating haze Graham kept me trapped in fades, and I can see my reality.
His mansion is extravagant, but it’s a prison nonetheless.
No amount of luxury or million-dollar diamonds can ever erase that.
I hand the driver cash, adding a hefty tip.
Because of days like this, I remember how much a little extra money helps someone just trying to get by.
Even though I am literally dripping in jewels right now, none of them are mine. They belong to Graham.
Graham, who ruined my reputation. Graham, who slammed every single door in my face so that he would be the only thing I had left. But he is also the only man who has ever cared for me. The only one who ever looked at me and treated me like I was irreplaceable.
My mind is a mess, but I am sure of one thing: I need to think, and I can only do that when I am far away from him.
The iron gates open the moment the car approaches.
Graham has been blowing up my phone with a barrage of calls.
I don’t answer because I know if I hear his voice, I will slide right back under his control.
He is my curse. He is God’s ultimate test for me, and I failed it completely.
But devils rarely come looking ugly; they come handsome, promising you the entire world.
I never stood a chance against the trap.
Through the corner of my eye, I see one of the perimeter guards speaking urgently into his radio. He’s definitely letting Graham know I made it back to the house.
I need to leave. Right now. I have to get out of here before he storms through those doors and either kills me for running or covers my skin in worshipful kisses until I lose my mind and surrender again. I just need a moment to breathe.
A guard suddenly steps into my path, his hand catching my upper arm before he quickly yanks his fingers away as if my skin just burned him. His face looks frustrated; he must have been calling my name, and I was too stuck in my head to realize it.
“Madam,” he says, clearing his throat nervously. “One of your friends—I think her name is Stephany—dropped these off for you an hour ago.”
My brows furrow. Stephany? Stephany is William’s cousin. I wouldn’t exactly describe her as a friend, more like an acquaintance. I force my facial features to relax. William must have used her to smuggle something to me, knowing Graham isn’t fond of him.
“Ah, I see. Thank you,” I say as I hastily pull the parcel from his hands.
I know the guard has probably already informed Graham about the delivery, and I need to see exactly what is inside before he gets home… and potentially kills William for it.
The moment I reach the bedroom, I kick off my heels, tear off my dress, and scrub the makeup off my face. I pull on a pair of worn-out sweatpants and an oversized hoodie. Clothes that were already mine. If I am going to leave his world, I want to exit exactly like I came in.
Grabbing my small crossbody bag, I begin stuffing my stuff inside. Again, only the things that belonged to me before Graham entered my life. When I walk out of here, I refuse to take a single dime from him.
After I finish packing the pathetic little pile of my belongings, I sit on the edge of the mattress and tear open the parcel. Inside are three history books.
I open the first one, flipping through the pages until a small piece of paper falls into my lap. I open it, recognizing William’s handwriting instantly:
I don’t know if you’re in danger, Maya, but we have always had each other’s backs. I could never forget all the things you did for me. I happen to know a guy who knows a guy. Good luck!
Good luck with what? A cold sweat breaks out on the back of my neck. What the hell is this?
I grab the second book, shaking it until the contents slip out from between the middle pages.
A fake ID and government papers under a completely different name.
William just gave me the perfect way out. I close my eyes and pray that God protects him, that he doesn’t get in trouble because of me.
I then move quickly, shoving the fake ID and papers back into one of the books. I zip the book deep into the interior pocket of the hoodie stuffed inside my bag, burying it beneath a couple of old T-shirts.
Just as the zipper clicks shut, the bedroom doors burst open.
Graham has arrived. And he is livid.
He charges across the room like a feral animal, pinning me flat on my back against the sheets. He crawls directly over my body, burying me beneath his weight until it’s hard to breathe.
“Don’t you ever run from me again,” he hisses directly into my face.
I need to be strong. I need to be brave.
“I want a break, Graham.”
“A what?” he roars.
I gulp. “A break. It’s when two people take some time apart to—”
His teeth clamp onto the side of my neck.
“You ain’t getting breaks from me, sweetheart,” he rasps. “This ain’t a TV show. You don’t get to pause me.”
I push against his shoulders, desperately trying to stand my ground even though I can already feel myself drowning in him. My body is already betraying me, my panties growing wet.
“Tell me who spoke to you at that fucking party,” he commands. “Tell me which one of those fuckers poisoned your mind against me.”
“Turned me against you?” I echo. “Graham… look at us. I shouldn’t even be by your side in the first place.”
He slams his palms into the mattress on either side of my head, the impact shaking the entire bed, before crashing his mouth down to bite my bottom lip. Hard.
You were always meant to be by my side,” he growls. “Mine. My woman. There is no other version of reality where you don’t belong to me.”
“And what?” I sob, tears falling down my face.
“I’m just supposed to live the rest of my life as the bitch who stole her sister’s husband?
Let the whole world whisper about whether I was opening my legs for you while she was still living in this house?
While your ring was still on her fucking finger?
Or did I just wait until she got sick enough for you to dump her in an asylum? !”
Never in a million years would I have thought that this would be my reality.
“I can’t do it, Graham. I can’t live like that.”
He buries his face into my chest, his nose dragging against the cotton of my hoodie as he inhales me.
“Then you put all the blame on me, little flower,” he murmurs.
“You heap every single sin onto my shoulders, because that is the fucking truth. I am the monster. I am not giving you a choice to leave, Maya. If they ask you, you tell them the truth. You tell them I married her just to trap you. You tell them I cut your wings so you couldn’t fly away from me. ”
My fingers unconsciously tangle into his rumpled hair, pulling him closer even as I try to push him away.
“I can’t tell them that,” I whisper into the quiet room.
“Why?”
“Because… because it might have started out that way,” I confess. “But I fell for you, Graham. I love you. And they’ll judge me even more for loving the devil.”
He lifts his head, his black eyes wide as he begins to cover my face, my eyes, and my lips in kisses.
“My miracle,” he rasps against my mouth. “You are life’s greatest fucking gift to me, Maya. You are the only reason I breathe. You think I’m letting you go after hearing that?”
He pins my wrists above my head, grinding his hips into my core.
“I can’t live without you, little flower. I won’t,” he says. “If I have to cut your wings a million times over to make sure you fall straight into my arms every single time you try to fly, I will do it.”
He kisses me to shut me up. Without breaking the kiss, Graham reaches down and yanks my sweatpants past my knees. He sinks into me, and I finally feel full after being empty for hours. He makes me feel whole.
But the doubts refuse to dissipate.
“You belonged to my sister first,” I gasp out against his lips, his thrusts rocking the bed.
He pulls back only to drive himself in to the hilt. “I never belonged to her. Didn’t even touch her once.”
“But they don’t know that. The whole world… they’ll judge me…”
Graham fucks me even deeper. “They don’t need to know a goddamn thing. Only we do. I’m going to spill myself so deep inside this tight hole that you won’t even remember who you were before I claimed you.”
My thighs wrap around his waist, my back arching off the mattress to absorb his thrusts. I am accepting it. I am accepting the sin, the shame, and the cage.
“But you’re not capable of loving me,” I whisper, a final plea as a climax begins to ripple through me. “You don’t have a normal heart, Graham…”
He freezes, bottoming out inside my womb as he gives me his seed. “I’ll give you something infinitely better than love, Maya. I’ll give you obsession. Need. Love lets people walk away. My obsession means I will never, ever let you leave.”