Chapter 226/You Will Be Mine

Chapter 226: 226/You Will Be Mine

Chapter 226

Stephanie’s point of view

I stumbled sideways, shaking uncontrollably from a violent mix of rage and grief.

"You’re sick..." I whispered, clutching my arms around my chest as I shook my head in utter disgust. "You desperately need psychological help, Vincetti! What you’re talking about isn’t love or desire it’s pure, unadulterated madness!"

His expression didn’t waver. His smirk only widened, dripping with arrogance as he straightened his posture.

"Maybe I am crazy about you, Stephanie..." He chuckled softly, a dark sound that made my blood run cold. "...But you will fall in love with me soon. I promise you that."

"I feel nothing but complete revulsion whenever I look at you!" I spat, wiping my face aggressively with the back of my hand. "You disgust me in ways you can’t even fathom!"

He tilted his head again, completely unfazed by my words.

"Don’t judge so quickly, Stephanie..." He tucked his hands into his pockets, taking a slow step back to admire my distress. "...Because I know for a fact you’ll fall for me as time goes on."

I turned away, pulling myself toward the door with trembling hands as I tried to fix my disheveled clothes.

"I’m leaving this hell, and you will never see me again!" I snapped, my lungs burning as I reached for the handle.

Before my fingers could touch the brass knob, his voice cut through the silence with a sharp, mocking edge that froze me in my tracks:

"Do you really think that camera was there all along?"

I whipped around instantly, every nerve in my body pulled taut with shock. "What... what do you mean?" I stuttered, my voice trembling.

He moved away from the desk, taking two slow, deliberate steps toward me, his stance oozing superiority.

"I only set up that camera today..." He smiled, a cold, calculated expression settling onto his face. "...There was never any old recording of what happened between us in the past."

My eyes widened in horror. The floor seemed to sway beneath my feet as the realization hit me like a physical blow.

"Are you telling me..." I choked out, the words catching in my dry throat. "...that you tricked me into stripping in front of that camera today?!"

"Precisely." He admitted it so casually, his eyes gleaming with malicious victory. "I had zero physical evidence linking you to me before today. But I managed to get you to walk into my house yourself, and I finally got something concrete to keep you by my side forever."

The blood completely drained from my face. I felt as if the entire ceiling had collapsed onto my head all at once. I had walked right into his trap, lured like an idiot straight into the spider’s web, handing him the very rope he would use to hang me!

"You’re a demon..." I gasped, shaking my head violently as hot tears streamed down my face. "A heartless, manipulative demon! How could you do this to me?!"

He closed the distance between us with slow, agonizing strides, watching my total breakdown with ice-cold eyes. Stopping merely an inch away, he bent down, his voice raspy as he whispered straight into my ear:

"I did what had to be done, Stephanie..." He let his breath brush against my neck. "...The outcome is all that matters. Now you’re mine, and you have no choice but to obey."

I summoned every last ounce of strength left in my body and shoved his chest with all my might. He stumbled back a single step, that wicked smirk never leaving his lips.

Adjusting my bag with violently shaking hands, I yanked the door open, taking a ragged breath before turning back to glare at him with pure hatred:

"I will never bow to you because of some tape, Vincetti!" I vowed, my voice cracking with pain. "You will never make me love you, and I will never be yours!"

I bolted out the door and raced down the hallway, my steps unsteady as I stumbled under the crushing weight of panic. I ran blindly to escape that dark hell, my mind spinning in utter despair: *How am I going to look Alexander and Cedric in the eyes now? And how am I going to protect my baby and my life from this nightmare he’s trapped me in?*

I jolted into motion, turning sharply on my heel and sprinting toward my car parked in the estate’s courtyard. My fingers trembled violently, practically fumbling with the handle before I yanked the door open. Throwing my exhausted body into the driver’s seat, I slammed the door shut with a heavy thud, as if locking the gates of hell behind me.

My hands shook so badly I could barely turn the key in the ignition. The engine roared to life, and I slammed my foot on the gas pedal, tearing through the city streets at a terrifying speed. Blurred by streaming tears, my vision wavered while my mind thrashed in an unrelenting wave of terror.

I couldn’t go home. I couldn’t face Alexander or Cedric feeling this filthy, this broken... The only person I could run to right now was Keira.

With my foot pressed hard against the accelerator, I fumbled through my bag, pulling out my phone with a shaky hand to dial her number. A choked sob cut through my throat as the line rang.

It rang for a few agonizing seconds before her warm, worried voice filtered through the speaker:

"Stephanie? Where are you?" Her voice came fast, laced with rising tension. "I’ve been calling you non-stop!"

A bitter gasp broke from my chest as I gripped the steering wheel tight, my voice shattering into helpless weeping:

"Keira... open the door, I’m coming to you right now.." I wiped a stray tear with the back of my wrist, pressing the phone harder against my ear. "Please, Keira, I’m falling apart!"

"Stephanie! What’s wrong?!" Keira’s voice spiked with instant panic, the sharp rustle of her rushing footsteps echoing through the phone. "What happened? Where are you right now?!"

I couldn’t even form the words. I just pressed harder on the gas, gasping out through heavy, erratic breaths:

"Five minutes and I’ll be at your door..." I choked out, staring wide-eyed at the road ahead. "...just wait for me!"

I hung up and tossed the phone onto the passenger seat, gripping the steering wheel so tightly my knuckles turned stark white. My teeth chattered uncontrollably. Vincetti’s poisonous words, his cruel smile, and that damn tape kept spinning in my head like a fiery cyclone.

I slammed on the brakes, screeching to a halt outside Keira’s apartment building. Scrambling out of the car, I bolted up the stairs on legs that felt like weak straw. As soon as I reached the top landing, I saw Keira standing in her open doorway, her face pale with terror.

The moment her eyes landed on me my disheveled clothes, my ghostly pale skin, and the tears streaming down my face her eyes widened in utter shock:

"My God... Stephanie!" She gasped, stepping out into the hall to grab my arms. "What happened to you?!"