Bound by Shadows

chapter 28

### **Chapter 28: Zade’s Struggle**

Zade’s footsteps echoed through the long corridor as he left the room, tension rippling through his entire body. The dim lights cast long shadows along the walls, matching the dark thoughts clouding his mind. He pressed his palms against the cold concrete wall, breathing heavily. He had done this before—broken people. It had always been methodical, clinical. But something about Adira was different, and he hated how much it was affecting him.

He leaned his forehead against the wall, trying to push away the storm of conflicting emotions inside him. He should be pleased by her resistance—it made the game more interesting. But the more time he spent with her, the less it felt like a game.

Zade clenched his fists. **Weakness**, he thought. This wasn’t what he wanted, wasn’t how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to give in, to tell him everything he wanted to know, and yet she hadn’t cracked. No matter what he threw at her—pain, threats, manipulation—she held onto that maddening defiance.

He pushed off the wall and stormed down the hallway, his frustration growing with each step. Inside the compound, everyone feared him, obeyed him without question. But Adira… she made him feel powerless in a way he hadn’t felt in years.

Zade's mind raced with thoughts of her—of her eyes that glared at him with fire despite everything, of the quiet strength she carried even when broken down.

“Why can’t I just break her?” he muttered to himself, running a hand through his hair.

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Back in the room, Adira sat in the suffocating silence, her body trembling from the strain but her spirit unyielding. She thought about Zade—how his face had shifted from calm to frustrated as time went on, how his voice had started to waver just a little. She had seen it. The cracks in his control.

Adira wasn’t blind to the fact that Zade had changed. His cruelty was still present, but there was something deeper underneath it now—something he was desperately trying to hide.

But she couldn’t afford to care. Zade was her captor, and no matter how much he struggled with his own emotions, she couldn’t let herself see him as anything but that. If she did, if she allowed herself to think there was more to him, it would be the end of her.

She shifted in the chair, her wrists aching against the restraints. She closed her eyes, allowing herself a moment of silence, of focus. This wasn’t over yet. Zade might think he had control, but she knew better. He was losing it, slowly, and she just had to hold on long enough for him to break.

But she couldn’t ignore the fear gnawing at her. If Zade didn’t break first… what would he do to her?

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