Chapter 26: A New Kind of Cage
I thought the pregnancy would change everything.
That it would make them stop. That they would see me differently.
I was wrong.
It didn't free me.
It only made them worse.
Leo's Absolute Control
Leo was the first to act.
I wasn't allowed to move without his permission, speak without his approval, or even sit anywhere unless he decided it was safe.
"From now on," Leo said, his icy-blue eyes locking onto mine, "you do exactly what I say. No exceptions."
I was too weak to argue.
"You're carrying something that belongs to us." His voice was calm but firm. "That means you belong to us more than ever."
He dictated my meals, my sleep schedule, even what clothes I wore.
One morning, I tried to get up without permission.
Leo grabbed my wrist instantly, pushing me back down onto the bed.
"Did I say you could move?" His voice was dangerously quiet.
I swallowed hard, shaking my head.
Leo exhaled slowly, his fingers brushing over my stomach.
"Good girl," he murmured.
Adrian's Twisted Fascination
Adrian wasn't as strict.
But he was obsessed.
He would run his fingers lightly over my stomach, his storm-gray eyes filled with amusement.
"You really thought you could escape us?" he murmured one night. "Now, you're tied to us forever."
I said nothing.
Adrian smirked, leaning in, his lips brushing my jaw. "No running. No fighting. Just ours."
He didn't hurt me anymore—not physically.
Instead, he liked watching me realize how trapped I was.
"I wonder," he mused one night, sitting beside me on the couch, "how does it feel knowing that even your body betrays you? That even now, you're still ours?"
I turned my head away, my breath shaking.
Adrian only chuckled. "That's what I thought."
Nico's Silent Manipulation
Nico was the worst.
He didn't yell. Didn't push.
He just watched.
Whenever I tried to ignore them, whenever I stayed quiet for too long, he would appear.
Sitting beside me. Watching me. Waiting.
One night, he finally spoke.
"You can stop pretending you hate this."
I flinched slightly, my body tense.
Nico leaned in, his breath warm against my ear. "You know this is where you belong. You know you're safer with us than anywhere else."
I swallowed hard.
His fingers brushed my stomach, light but possessive.
"You're ours now," Nico whispered.
And the worst part?
He was right.
The Realization
Days passed. Weeks.
And the truth settled into my bones like a sickness.
I wasn't free.
I would never be free.
I curled up in bed that night, my hands resting against my stomach, feeling the weight of the life growing inside me.
This wasn't protection.
This was a new kind of cage.
And they had locked the door forever.