Kendrick
The night air was thick with the scent of jasmine as I watched Kimberly retreat into the house, her posture stiff. She thought she had fooled me, that I didn’t notice the way her fingers trembled slightly when she tucked them into her pockets.
But I noticed everything.
She was unraveling, torn between what she wanted and what she thought she wanted.
I had seen this play out before.
She wanted freedom.
She wanted escape.
But where would she go? Back to Aiden? To the life she thought she had before?
She had no idea what awaited her outside of these walls.
She thought she was a prisoner here, but she didn’t realize the truth—this was the safest place she could ever be.
And whether she admitted it or not…
She belonged to me.
Inside the house, I moved toward my study, nodd
