Torn between two worlds

Chapter 14: Torn Between Worlds

The weight of silence hung heavily in the air as Adrian entered the spacious living room, Noah's tiny form clutched protectively against his chest. Sophia, still wrapped in the damp warmth of her bath, stared at the scene before her, her breath catching in her throat. The reality of her situation a brutal, unavoidable shift from her former life was becoming too much to handle.

Adrian's presence was overwhelming, even more so when contrasted with the innocence of Noah, the little brother she'd been separated from for so long. The warmth she'd once felt for Noah now seemed like a distant memory, replaced by a sea of confusion, pain, and helplessness. She could barely look at him without feeling the tug of her fractured heart.

"Noah," she whispered, her voice breaking. Her little brother, the only piece of family she had left, had been placed in the chaos she now lived in, and there was nothing she could do about it. She hadn't even had the chance to prepare him for the nightmares waiting in this mansion. The gilded cage he was now part of would swallow him whole, just as it had swallowed her.

Adrian glanced at her from across the room, his eyes cold and calculating. "Don't worry. He'll adjust. Just like you did." He spoke in that emotionless tone of his, as though everything was part of his meticulously controlled world. She wasn't sure if he was talking to her or trying to convince himself.

Sophia gritted her teeth. "You can't do this. He's just a kid." Her voice was trembling now, but she refused to back down. She wasn't going to let Noah fall victim to the same fate she had.

Adrian set Noah down on the couch, his gaze never leaving her. He was silent for a long moment, almost as if savoring the tension. Then, his expression hardened. "You're right," he finally said, the bite in his words unmistakable. "He's just a kid. But he's also part of this now, Sophia. You should have thought of that before you tried to run."

Sophia's heart raced, the anger swelling in her chest. She took a step forward, trying to maintain some semblance of control. "You don't get to control everything. You don't get to control my brother's life." Her voice cracked on the last word, but she wasn't going to let him see her break. Not again.

Adrian's lips curled into something resembling a smirk. "I don't control everything, Sophia. But I control you. And you're going to learn that soon enough."

Noah, still clueless to the tension, sat on the couch and began playing with a toy Adrian had set aside for him. Sophia's heart ached for the little boy she had promised to protect. He deserved better than this. He deserved a chance at a life that wasn't dictated by a man like Adrian.

"You can't just erase everything, Adrian," Sophia whispered, her eyes burning with unshed tears. "I'm not what you want me to be. I can't be the person you want me to be. I'll never love you. I'll never—" She stopped herself, knowing that the words were useless. Adrian wouldn't hear her, wouldn't care. He never had.

Adrian took a step toward her, his presence overpowering. The air thickened with his dominance, his ruthlessness radiating from him like a dangerous heat. He raised a hand to her face, the touch almost gentle, but the underlying threat was unmistakable.

"You'll learn to, eventually," he said softly, almost too calmly. "Whether you like it or not."

Sophia pulled away from his touch, her heart pounding in her chest. She had no doubt that Adrian would break her he already had, piece by piece. And now, Noah was a part of his twisted game, caught in the web of his mafia life.

As Adrian turned away to deal with the business matters that were always looming over his life, Sophia was left with her thoughts, her helplessness, and the overwhelming feeling that the family she had once known was gone, replaced by a nightmare of her own making. There was no escape anymore. Not for her. Not for Noah.

The rest of the day passed in an eerie silence. The maids moved quietly through the house, their presence a stark reminder of the lifestyle she now had to live under Adrian's control. Everything was perfect in its own terrifying way. The mansion was immaculate, the staff efficient, and the routines coldly predictable. But there was no warmth, no safety, not anymore. Only the constant reminder of Adrian's power and the cage he had built around her life.

Later that evening, as Adrian prepared for his usual business meeting, Sophia watched him with a mix of dread and anger. Every movement he made was calculated, deliberate, as though the world around him existed solely for him to control.

She couldn't even escape to her room without hearing the echoes of his presence in the house, his voice on the phone with his associates, his footsteps in the hallway. She was suffocated by his life, by the empire he had built on fear and manipulation.

"Why does it feel like I'm the one in chains?" she muttered bitterly, sinking onto the plush couch, her gaze fixed on the wall. Noah was quietly playing in the corner, unaware of the storm that was slowly consuming them both.

Adrian's voice broke the silence as he entered the room, his eyes dark with something unreadable. "Because you are," he said, his tone low and dangerous. "And you'll learn to accept that sooner or later."

Sophia's stomach twisted at his words, but she didn't let him see the fear that his presence always brought. She couldn't afford to. Not when Noah was watching, not when there was still some part of her that wanted to resist.

Adrian's gaze flickered to Noah before returning to her, his eyes narrowing. "I think it's time you had a little chat with your brother. He needs to know where he fits in all this."

Sophia clenched her fists, fighting the wave of emotion threatening to break through. She couldn't lose Noah, not to this world. Not to him.

"Don't you dare," she whispered through gritted teeth.

Adrian's smirk deepened, his dominance palpable. "You don't tell me what to do, Sophia. Remember that."

And with those words, her world grew a little darker, a little smaller, and the fragile hope she had been holding onto started to slip away.