Chapter 26
Chapter Twenty-Six
Anthea
I was finally out of the manor. Standing outside the gates, spring air flooded my lungs, carrying the scent of new leaves. Bright sunlight stung my eyes—or maybe it wasn't the sunlight at all.
Tears streamed down my face. This was what freedom tasted like, so beautiful it felt like a hallucination. I started running. Wind roared past my ears. Each breath confirmed I was alive. I was free. I ran down the tree-lined drive until my legs gave out, then stopped, gripping an old oak, gasping.
I wiped my eyes hard and pulled out my phone. The screen lit up—missed calls and texts flooded in. Julian, my parents, Sarah. Everyone had called a dozen times, sent countless anxious messages. I ordered a ride first, then caught my breath and called my mother back.
She picked up on the first ring.
"Anthea!" Her voice broke. "Thank God you finally answered!
Where have you been? We couldn't reach you for almost a week.
Your father filed a police report. First they said they couldn't file until forty-eight hours, then when they could, they said they were short-staffed and to wait—you scared us to death. "
Hearing her familiar voice nearly broke me again, even though after all these years, I couldn't return to that old dependence and trust.
"Mom, I'm fine." I bit my lip, steadying my voice. "I'm sorry. I went traveling. Lost my phone, just found it today."
"Thank God you're okay." She exhaled. "Julian said he couldn't reach you either. Now that you've got your phone back, let him know you're safe."
"I will."
Mom started to say something else, but Dad took the phone.
"Anthea," his voice was calmer, "you're sure you're alright?"
"I'm really fine. I'm good. I'll be back at work before spring break ends. Don't worry."
"Good." He paused. "If you need anything, call us anytime."
"I know, Dad."
I hung up. The car had arrived. I got in, sat in back. Lying tasted awful. But I couldn't tell them I'd been held captive by the man who'd destroyed my life six years ago.
The car started. I watched shadows blur past the window. I knew I could never go back there. Everything about the manor was too painful—what happened six years ago and what happened six years later.
I pulled my thoughts back, about to call Julian when my phone rang. Sarah.
I answered. Before I could speak, her scream nearly burst my eardrum.
"Oh my God, Anthea, where the hell were you? I've been losing my mind! Do you know how many times I called? I even went to your apartment and knocked—nobody was there."
"I'm sorry, Sarah..." My throat closed. Sarah's worry was real.
"That's it? Just sorry? You better explain." Her voice dropped suddenly. "I thought you'd been kidnapped, or... worse."
I went quiet for a few seconds, then spoke.
"...It was Silas."
"Him?" Sarah sounded confused, then teasing. "What'd he do? He can't have kept you in bed for a week."
Knowing I was safe, her tone turned playful again. I could hear the gossip in her voice even through the phone.
"He..." I gripped the phone, hesitating.
How could I say it? That he'd imprisoned me for nearly a week? That I'd almost starved myself, nearly slit my wrists with broken porcelain to win my freedom?
"He locked me up."
"What?" Sarah's voice shot up predictably.
I instinctively pulled the phone away. The driver was watching me in the rearview mirror, expression complicated. Shit, what had I just said? I pretended not to notice his gaze and kept talking to Sarah.
"But he let me go."
Sarah didn't answer right away, processing.
Finally, she spoke.
"Wait, wait," confusion filled her voice. "So what the hell happened? I remember you two were fine at the bar that night. You said you had feelings for him again. He helped us with those assholes. How did it turn into this?"
Yeah. God, how did it turn into this? But God didn't answer.
"It's complicated." I sighed.
"Okay, where are you now? Need me to pick you up?" Sarah didn't push for now.
"No, I'm in a car. I can get home myself." I watched the car turn onto a familiar street.
Soon I'd be back at my apartment.
"I'm coming over tonight. You're telling me everything." She demanded affectionately.
"Okay."
After hanging up, I tried Julian, but the line was busy.
By the time the driver told me we'd arrived, I'd put my phone away.
The elevator quickly reached the third floor.
The moment I pushed the door open, familiar smells washed over me.
Everything was exactly as I'd left it. My unfinished coffee still sat on the table, my blanket still lay on the couch.
Like the nightmare of the past week had never happened.
"Once I deal with the potential threats, I'll give you custody of Olei."
That's what Silas had told me. Would he really do it? I'd trusted him too many times before. Each time, I'd been torn apart. His promises meant nothing to me anymore. But... I remembered how he'd looked at me this morning.
Those deep gray eyes held none of their usual darkness or possessiveness. Only exhaustion, pain, and something I couldn't name. He'd really let go.
My stomach suddenly growled. I realized I hadn't eaten properly in days. During those days at the manor, I could barely swallow anything. I shook my head, clearing away everything about Silas.
I walked to the kitchen and opened the fridge. Milk and bread inside. I checked the dates—still good. I poured a glass of milk and sipped it slowly. Tore off a small piece of bread and chewed carefully. I didn't dare swallow too fast, afraid my empty stomach couldn't handle it.
The milk and bread tasted ordinary, but right now, they were the best things in the world.
Later, Julian called back. I gave him a brief update, but he heard something off in my voice. I agreed to meet him at noon, planning to tell him everything in person. I didn't want to lie to someone who'd helped me so many times.
At noon, I met Julian at a restaurant near my apartment.
He wore a dark blue shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows, revealing lean forearms. When he saw me, he stood quickly.
As I approached, he looked me over.
"You've lost a lot of weight." He frowned with concern. "You look terrible. What happened?"
I didn't answer, just sat across from him.
"Let's order first."
He stared at me for two seconds, then called the waiter. He ordered me a light vegetable salad and pumpkin soup, just getting himself juice.
The food came quickly.
"You're not eating?" I asked.
"Not hungry." His eyes never left my face. "Anthea, tell me what happened."
I looked down, pushing vegetables around my plate with a fork.
"I... told you before about my past with Silas." I forced the words out.
"You said you dated, that Olei was your son." Julian nodded.
I spooned some pumpkin soup into my mouth. The warm liquid sliding down my throat gave me the courage to continue.
"But we weren't just dating at first." This time, the words came easier.
"What do you mean?" Julian's frown deepened.
"Six years ago, my dad's investment failed. His company went bankrupt. He owed their family a huge debt." I stared at the soup. "To save my dad's life and pay the debt, I was sold to Silas to have his child."
Julian's hand froze, glass suspended in midair.
"You mean... surrogacy?" He sounded incredulous.
"Yes." I nodded. "From the beginning, I was just... a breeding tool."
I could feel Julian's gaze burning into my face.
"The day I gave birth, his fiancée—a woman named Vanessa—took the baby as soon as she was born." I continued. "Then Silas's father kicked me out of the country."
"So for the past six years you've been..." Julian's expression turned complex.
"After his father died six years later, I finally dared come back." I looked up. "I never thought I'd become Olei's teacher, never thought I'd see him again, much less fall for him again."
Julian's face darkened like he'd been punched.
"So your disappearance this week was also because of that bastard?" He slammed the glass down.
"He... imprisoned me." My voice was quiet. "I found out he'd been watching me, following me. So he locked me up."
Julian's pupils contracted sharply.
"That bastard, how could he do that?" He clenched his fists, veins bulging on the backs of his hands. "Did he hurt you?"
"No." I shook my head. "He let me go this morning."
I finished and looked down at my soup again.
"Stalking, surveillance, unlawful imprisonment—those are crimes!
" Julian said angrily. "I can help you put him in court, make him pay for everything he's done.
And I've recently found evidence that his company's been doing plenty of illegal shit behind the scenes.
If I can get proof, he'll spend the rest of his life in prison.
Then you can rightfully get custody of Olei. "
I looked at Julian's determined, confident expression, but unease rose in my chest. Putting Silas in prison should be what I wanted most, shouldn't it? He'd hurt me so many times. He deserved punishment. If he went to prison, Olei would come back to me. We could live like a normal mother and son...
But why did my heart feel this inexplicable sadness and reluctance?
"Anthea?" Julian reached out, gently taking my hand. "Don't worry. Leave it to me. I'll help you."
"Thank you, Julian." I heard myself say.
But my heart clenched painfully.
Damn it, Anthea, what are you thinking?
Silas spied on you, violated you while you slept, and imprisoned you. He's a control freak, a psycho—but he's also the man whose hair turned white overnight because of you, the man who wore your ashes around his neck, the man who put Marcus in his place for you.
Two voices battled in my head. I understood that despite how many times he'd hurt me, despite seeing his darkest side, I still loved him.
The realization brought pain, but I couldn't deny it.
But could what he'd done really be forgiven?
I didn't know. All I knew was that I didn't want to stop Julian.
This all needed to end.
After lunch, I said goodbye to Julian, who looked fired up, and returned to my apartment. The moment I hit the bed, I was out.
When I woke, it was dark. Lights had come on in the building across the street. That's when Sarah arrived.
She brought a huge bag of snacks—chips, chocolate, popcorn, and Coke. The second she walked in, she pushed me onto the couch.
"Talk." She sat cross-legged across from me, ripping open a bag of chips. "From the beginning. Don't leave out a single word."
I leaned back against the couch, hugging a pillow, and started talking.
From the moment I found the tapes. Those surveillance feeds, him sneaking into my room while I slept...
"Fuck!" Sarah's chip fell on the carpet. She grabbed it quickly. "I didn't think he was such a freak!"
Maybe because I'd already told Julian once, this time, the words flowed easier. How he imprisoned me, wouldn't let me leave the manor. How I refused to eat, how he begged me by the bed to take one bite. How I held the gun to his heart but couldn't shoot.
"You didn't kill him?" Sarah's eyes went wide.
"I... couldn't do it," I said quietly.
Sarah stared at me for a while, then pulled a chocolate bar from the bag, unwrapped it, and stuck it in my mouth.
"Eat." She tossed a chip in her own mouth. "You're a skeleton."
The chocolate melted on my tongue, the sweetness making me want to cry.
"Then what?" Sarah didn't ask why I couldn't pull the trigger, just moved on. "How'd he suddenly let you go?"
"I almost slit my wrists with broken porcelain."
Sarah's eyes reddened.
"I'm fine." I rushed to explain. "I just wanted to force his hand. I knew he was watching the cameras, that he'd stop me. I wouldn't really have done it."
Sarah looked at me, tears pooling in her eyes.
"You asshole." She cursed me.
I didn't argue.
"So," she collected herself, sipping her Coke, "how do you feel now? Do you hate him?"
"...I should hate him." I covered my face.
Sarah's expression turned serious.
"Anthea," she began slowly, "you don't have Stockholm syndrome, do you?"
"What?" I looked at her.
"Haven't you heard of it? When abuse victims fall for their abusers." She set down the can, face full of worry. "Maybe you should see a therapist—"
"It's not that, Sarah." I cut her off, voice serious. "I know what you're worried about. But it's not because of the imprisonment... I fell for him again before he locked me up. Before, on the Ferris wheel, when he kissed me, I didn't pull away. I already..."
Sarah was quiet for a long time. Then she reached out and pulled me into her arms.
"Maybe that's just how love works," she said softly. "Even though he's a bastard, you still love him."
I pressed my face to her shoulder, tears falling silently. Yeah. Even though he was a bastard.
After Sarah left, I watched the night deepen outside, city lights glowing brighter in the distance. I wondered if Olei was asleep. I'd just left this morning without even saying goodbye. Would he think Mommy had disappeared again?
I pulled out my phone and called Olei's watch.
"Mommy!" Olei answered, voice full of delight. "Mommy, are you feeling better?"
My heart melted.
"Yes, baby," I said gently. "Mommy's fine now."
"Really?" His voice turned urgent. "You're not sick anymore? Did you eat something?"
"Not sick anymore. I ate." My nose stung. "What about you? How was your day?"
"Kind of boring today. Daddy was out all day." His voice sounded dull.
Hearing him mention Silas, my hand tightened around the phone unconsciously.
"Before, when Daddy didn't come home, I wasn't bored. Because Daddy didn't smile much before, and I didn't know how to be around him." Olei continued. "But then Mommy came back, and Daddy changed."
My heart squeezed. Olei had noticed Silas's change, too. Maybe Silas was also learning how to be better with Olei.
"Mommy," Olei's voice suddenly filled with anticipation, "can you take me to the park next time?"
That's how kids were. Even when adults didn't respond, they'd just keep chattering.
"Of course." I smiled. "Once I pick a time, I'll let you know."
"Yay!" Olei's voice was pure joy.
Listening to his happy voice made my chest ache. Normal kids wouldn't get this excited about going to the park with their mom. We talked for a long time. Olei chattered about homework, games he'd played. Before we knew it, it was ten—Olei's bedtime.
"Mommy, can you... stay on until I fall asleep?" he asked quietly.
"Of course, baby." My throat tightened.
I hummed a lullaby softly, one my mother used to sing to me when I was little. It always put me right to sleep.
"Mommy," his voice carried a hint of drowsiness, almost like he was acting spoiled, "I'm grown up now. I don't need lullabies anymore."
I couldn't help but smile.
"You'll always be my baby," I said softly.
He didn't answer again. His breathing gradually evened out. I listened to him breathe, not hanging up for a long time.