16. Elena
Elena
I don’t bother to knock. The door to his office is already half open, and I storm inside without a second thought.
Every step I take is fueled by the kind of rage that’s been simmering beneath the surface for weeks.
Now, it’s about to burst out, impossible to contain.
My chest feels tight, my heart pounding in my throat, the adrenaline surging through me.
Cormac doesn’t even look up at first. He’s too damn calm. Too controlled. It’s infuriating, the way he’s able to maintain that ice-cold composure while I’m barely holding myself together.
“Did you deny my transfer request?” I demand, my voice vibrating with anger, every word a blade. “Are you actually going to keep me trapped in this goddamn place?”
The moment the words leave my mouth, I know this is it. We’re at the breaking point. The tension between us is suffocating, thick and sharp in the air. He slowly raises his eyes from the paperwork in front of him, not surprised, not flustered. He might as well be looking at a piece of furniture.
“Yes,” he says simply, without hesitation. “The transfer is denied. Medical continuity is nonnegotiable. Your pregnancy is high-risk, Elena. We can’t afford to take chances with your health or the baby’s health.”
I feel the rage flicker deep inside me, burning through the layers of restraint I’ve been struggling to hold together. It’s the same frustration that’s been boiling under the surface ever since I signed that goddamn contract—only now, it has nowhere to go but out.
“You’re still hiding behind medical reasons, aren’t you?” I snap, taking a step forward, my voice sharp with accusation. “You think I can’t see what you’re really doing here? You’re doing this to control me, and I know why. I know this is your baby. Me changing care doesn’t affect that.”
The moment the words leave my mouth, I can see his entire posture stiffen.
There’s something about his eyes, something that’s too cold, too calculating.
His jaw clenches, and for a second, there’s the barest flicker of fury in the depths of his gaze.
It’s there too quickly to catch, but I know what I saw.
He’s furious. And it doesn’t scare me. It should, but it doesn’t.
“It does affect me,” he scoffs, his voice tight with suppressed anger. “It affects everything. To think that you would even consider doing this without consulting me first… it’s not just disrespectful, Elena. It’s dangerous.”
“It’s my body, in case you’ve forgotten,” I throw back, my words bitter, biting.
His eyes harden, but his control never cracks. There’s no heat in his voice when he speaks, just cold, simmering rage. “You don’t know anything,” he says, his voice low, barely above a growl. “You have no idea what you’re playing with.”
I take a deep breath, trying to steady myself. I can feel the anger curling in my gut, making my whole body tremble with its intensity. But I won’t let him see it. I won’t let him have the satisfaction of seeing me falter.
“Yes, I do,” I bite back, stepping closer, refusing to back down. “You’re not protecting me, Cormac. You’re keeping me here because you want to. You want to control me. You want me under your thumb. That’s the only reason you’re doing this. The only reason you’re standing in my way!”
His jaw tightens, the muscles in his neck pulsing as he takes a step closer to me. He doesn’t flinch, doesn’t waver. It’s that same relentless calm that drives me insane.
“Don’t pretend to understand this,” he says, voice dangerously low. “You don’t know what’s best for you, Elena. If you were in any other program, they’d throw you out the moment you tried to leave. You’d be abandoned, left to fend for yourself. Here, you’re protected. Here, you’re safe.”
“Safe?” I laugh bitterly. “You’re the one suffocating me! Every single day, I feel the walls closing in. How is that safe? How is this protection?”
I pace back and forth, my mind racing, the anger surging through me again, filling my blood with heat. I can’t hold it back anymore.
“You think you can just control every aspect of my life, and I’ll just accept it?” I continue, my voice shaking with the force of the words. “That’s not protection, Cormac. That’s manipulation.”
His eyes sharpen, the anger flaring again. He takes a step forward, his presence towering over me, and suddenly, I feel the weight of his anger like a physical thing, pressing down on me.
“Do you really think you can walk away from this?” he says, his voice like ice.
I freeze. The words catch in my throat, choking me. There’s something menacing in the way he says it. Something possessive. Something far too familiar. It’s like he’s claiming me with those words, marking me as his.
And it terrifies me, but I refuse to show it.
I open my mouth to argue, to fight him, but the words die on my tongue as I realize he’s right. There’s no easy escape. No way out. Not with what he’s created. He’s made it so I can’t leave. Not with this baby.
He watches me, his eyes like steel, waiting for me to crumble.
“Exactly,” he says, his voice softer but unmistakably cold.
“You can’t leave, Elena. You want to transfer to another program?
Try. But they won’t care for you the way I do.
You’ll be alone. Unsupported. Homeless. Uninsured. Pregnant. And completely alone.”
His words crash into me, and I feel my chest tighten. He’s right. Every step, every decision he’s made, it’s all been designed to keep me here, to keep me dependent on him. And I can’t leave without losing everything.
“I don’t care what you say,” I say, my voice breaking despite my best efforts. “You’ve made it impossible for me to leave.”
Cormac’s eyes darken again. “I haven’t made it impossible; I’ve made it irrational. There’s a difference, Elena.”
I swallow hard, the bile rising in my throat. “You’ve stripped me of every choice. Every option. You’ve calculated my every move, every decision. And now I have to stay. Because you won’t let me go.”
He steps closer, his voice low and dangerous. “I’m not letting you go because you’re safer here. You and my child are under my protection. And you’re not leaving this program. Not now. Not after everything I’ve given you. Not after everything we’ve built together.”
I stare at him, the heat in my veins cooling. He’s right. In a way, he’s absolutely right. I can’t leave. I can’t walk away from him. Not after all he’s done to bind me to him, to this program. I hate him for it. I hate the way he’s made me feel small. I hate the way he’s made me feel trapped.
“I won’t apologize for keeping you safe,” he says, his voice carrying a note of finality. “You’re mine, Elena. And you always will be. Not just for the pregnancy, but for everything.”
I swallow hard, my throat tight. He doesn’t have to say anything else. His meaning is clear. I am his. He’s already claimed me. And he won’t let me forget it.
And somehow, terrifyingly, I realize that maybe I’ve already accepted it.