The Caged Sovereign 2

The mansion loomed above him, swallowing the sunlight as the massive black doors creaked shut behind him. It was as if the whole damn place exhaled, pressing against his chest with a weight he'd almost forgotten. Almost.

Two weeks. Fourteen days. That's all it took to feel what life could be outside this hellhole. To taste freedom—the kind where you didn't have to watch your back every second or hold your breath around your so-called family. He could still feel it, the ghost of those days haunting him now. New York. The late-night meetings, the luxury dinners. Ava's sharp wit, Claire and Alina's easy banter, Cassidy's piercing gaze.

The quiet moments with Tessa. Moments where he was someone else—someone free, someone whole who had felt the warmth of a human being after so long.

But here? Here, it was like all of that was a dream he had no right to keep. This place felt like it was tightening its grip on him again, whispering you'll never leave me.