TRUST at gunpoint

Chapter 5

I put the clothes Ava gave me into the closet, running my fingers over the soft fabric.

After that, I collapsed onto the bed. I was exhausted and needed a nap. The second my head hit the pillow, I was out.

I wasn’t sure how long I had been asleep when I woke to the sound of laughter. My heart sank—this wasn’t my house, and that was a hard reality.

I rubbed my eyes, feeling groggy, and washed my face. I wandered toward the door, thinking maybe I could peek outside, but of course, it was locked from the outside. Right—there’s no escaping this.

Frustrated, I threw myself back onto the bed, rolling over and staring at the ceiling. I had nothing to do. Absolutely nothing.

After about 20 minutes of lying there, the door opened. Liam stood in the doorway, casually leaning against the frame.

“Dinner’s ready,” Liam said, his voice neutral, like none of this was out of the ordinary.

I got up, feeling a bit out of it, and followed him to the hall to the dining room.

As soon as I got there, my stomach dropped again. Only Liam and Christian were at the table. Where was Ava? Or the others? Why does liam looks like ready to go out ?

I didn’t want to be stuck  with Christian. Liam seemed to sense my hesitation, but he just gave me a small nod before heading toward the door.

“Where’s Ava?” I asked quickly, hoping to catch Liam before he left.

“At a party. She’ll be back later.”he replied.

“Oh,” I muttered. Great, I was alone with Christian.

Liam left, and it was just the two of us. I sat down, trying to focus on my food, hoping to make it through dinner without another insult. I started eating quickly, hoping to get back to my room as fast as possible. The last thing I needed was Christian ruining my evening, too.

“What did Ava teach you today?” Christian asked, breaking the silence.

I hesitated but answered, telling him how Ava had told me about his likes, dislikes, and how I was supposed to handle things around his father. I mentioned that she said I should call him "Chris" instead of Christian in front of his father.

He let out a sharp laugh then serious face poping towards me and said in a serious tone , “Chris? Don't dare to call me that.” he said . “Stick with Christian only.”

His tone was so cold, it sent a shiver down my spine. I nodded quickly, but that wasn’t enough for him.

“Use your words,” he snapped, his eyes narrowing.

“I understand,” I stammered, feeling small under his gaze.

Satisfied with my response, he went back to his meal.

I finished mine in silence, barely tasting the food as I tried to keep my head down.

I was thinking why he outburst on me it's not like I know everything about him and also ava told me to say him chris . It was never my ideas.

When I was done, I went to the room ,brushed my teeth and went to bed, but sleep didn’t come easily. My mind was spinning from everything that had happened.

I got up and wandered to the window. There was a small balcony, but of course, the door was locked. I wasn’t surprised, but it still stung—no one here trusted me. I peered out through the small window, seeing nothing but a few distant lights. Everything felt so far away, so unreachable.

Eventually, I crawled back into bed, rolling around for what felt like hours before finally falling asleep.

The next morning, I woke up early—around six. I decided to get ready quickly, choosing a white dress with blue flowers and a pair of sneakers. I liked the simplicity of it, and the sneakers made me feel a bit more grounded. After a few minutes, Ava appeared at my door.

“Good morning!” she chirped, her energy bright and cheerful as always. “You look so cute in that dress.”

“Thanks,” I said, smiling at her. It was nice to have someone kind around here.

We headed down for breakfast, and I was relieved to see Liam there. I greeted him with a friendly “Good morning,” and he returned it with a small smile. We ate quietly for a while, and soon the others arrived. Everyone said their good mornings except for Christian, who walked in with his usual poker face.

After breakfast, Ava led me back to my room for today's practice session .She  began explaining what I needed to know—how to walk next to Christian, how to act when we were supposed to be “a couple.” It felt ridiculous, but I had to play along if I wanted to get out of this mess.

“You have to practice walking with him tomorrow,” Ava added, sounding a bit nervous for me. “Just stay calm, and remember what I told you. Don’t let him get under your skin.”

I sighed. “He insults me every chance he gets. I know he’s going to say something.”

Ava smiled sadly. “Just hang in there. It’ll be over soon.”

We practiced the walk and a few dance moves, in case his father ever asked us to dance together. I wasn’t sure how I was going to manage it, but Ava reassured me that I was doing fine. After lunch, we practiced some more, and by dinner, I was exhausted.

That night, after brushing my teeth and lying in bed, I couldn’t help but feel nervous about what was to come. I had no idea how I was going to handle walking side by side with Christian, let alone pretending to be in love with him.

The next day was coming fast, and with it, more insults, no doubt.