Chapter 28
Chapter 28:
He pulled her toward the kitchen.
Dallas pulled her to the massive marble island at the center of the kitchen. He let go of her wrist and grabbed a glass from the drying rack, filling it from the tap with movements that were jerky and barely controlled. He set the glass down hard on the marble. Water sloshed over the rim and spread across the counter. He ripped open the crushed box, popped the single pill from its blister pack, and placed it on the cold grey stone between them.
“Take it,” he said, his voice like ice.
Eliza stared at the small white pill. It seemed to represent every fear she had ever carried. “Dallas, please,” she whispered, tears pricking her eyes. “Don’t be like this p>
“You want to be safe? You want this to be a contract?” He leaned over the counter, his face close to hers. “Then take it. Prove to me that I mean nothing to you. Prove to me that having a family with me is so repulsive to you that you need medication to prevent it p>
𝗥e𝘢𝘥 𝖿𝘳𝘦e n𝘰𝗏e𝗅ѕ o𝗻
Eliza looked at the pill. Then at him. She saw the raw pain living behind his anger. He wanted this to be real. He wanted her. But she was still so broken, still so convinced she was nothing more than a charity case, that refusing the pill felt like admitting she wanted him — and that was terrifying. Taking it felt like preserving her independence. Her dignity.
Her hand, trembling uncontrollably, reached for the pill. She picked it up.
Dallas watched her fingers close around it. The light in his eyes didn’t just fade. It shattered. He physically recoiled, as though she had struck him.
Eliza brought the pill to her lips, closed her eyes, tilted her head back, and swallowed it with a mouthful of water. The action was final. A line drawn in the sand.
Dallas watched her throat move as she swallowed. He didn’t move. He didn’t speak. He simply watched, his face a mask of stone.
“Happy?” Eliza asked. A single tear escaped and rolled down her cheek.
He walked around the island and backed her against the counter, trapping her between his body and the cold marble. “Ecstatic,” he said, his voice hollow.
He reached out and brushed the tear away with his thumb. The touch was confusingly tender.
“Remember this moment, Eliza,” he whispered. “You hesitated p>
He leaned in, his lips grazing her ear. “Because next time, there will be no pills. And no contracts p>
Eliza shivered.
“We have a lifetime to play this game,” he said.
Then he captured her lips. It wasn’t a gentle kiss. It was punishing and possessive — a kiss that staked a claim on her soul. He bit her lower lip, just hard enough to sting, then pulled away.
“Dinner is at seven,” he said, straightening his tie, switching back to CEO mode in the space of a breath. “Don’t be late p>