Beneath the Veil of Shadows

Chapter 36

The dimly lit room hummed with the silence of their fractured bond. Sapphire, her hands and feet bound tightly with coarse ropes, sat on the cold floor, her back pressed against the stone wall. Her face, streaked with tears, glistened in the pale moonlight seeping through the small window above. She had never felt this helpless before. The ache in her chest wasn’t just physical—it was emotional, a soul-deep pain that gnawed at her insides, leaving her vulnerable, raw, and shattered.

Elias stood across from her, his gaze intense, almost predatory. His sharp eyes, once filled with cunning and the cold detachment of a man used to power, were now softened with something else. He didn’t speak. The tension between them hung thick in the air, as if every breath was a battle, a war waged in silence.

Sapphire’s mind was in turmoil, a whirlwind of thoughts crashing together. She couldn’t make sense of what had just happened, how quickly Elias had gone from a charming, convincing man to the very embodiment of everything she feared. He had lied to her—no, he had used her. He had played with her emotions, and now she was left with nothing but the bitter taste of betrayal on her tongue. Her heart ached at the thought of how she had been deceived, how she had allowed herself to believe in him.

The room felt smaller now, suffocating. Elias took a step forward, and Sapphire recoiled instinctively, her body tense. The ropes around her wrists bit into her skin, and she flinched, the pain momentarily distracting her from the storm inside her.

Elias stopped in his tracks, his hand hovering near his side as if unsure of what to do. His expression softened just a fraction, but she wasn’t sure. And it didn’t matter. His presence was like a heavy weight pressing on her chest, suffocating her. He had no right to be here, not after everything he had done.

A soft sob escaped her lips, her chest heaving as the tears she had been holding back for so long spilled over. She let them fall, unable to stop herself. Her breath hitched as her entire body shook with the force of her sobs. Her heart felt like it was shattering, piece by piece, and no one could hear her pain. No one could help her.

Suddenly, Elias was closer, his presence overwhelming. She didn’t hear his footsteps—he moved too quietly, like a shadow creeping toward her. Before she could react, he was kneeling in front of her, his eyes locked onto hers with an intensity that made her heart race.

He reached out a hand, slowly, as if testing the waters. Sapphire, too overwhelmed by the emotions running wild inside her, instinctively raised her bound hands to push him away. His fingers brushed against her skin, the touch gentle at first, almost tentative. But when she shoved his hand away, his grip tightened, his fingers wrapping around her wrist with an almost desperate strength.

"Sapphire," he murmured, his voice low and husky. "Don’t pull away from me."

His grip was firm, but not painful, as he pulled her bound hand toward him. He pressed it against his chest, just over his heart. Sapphire froze. She could feel the heat of his skin through the thin fabric of his shirt, the rhythmic thump of his heartbeat beneath her palm. It was steady, but it felt almost too fast, as if his heart was pounding in sync with her own, a shared rhythm of confusion, pain, and something else—something neither of them dared acknowledge.

Tears continued to streak down Sapphire’s face as she lowered her head, her body trembling. Her chest heaved with each breath, each sob. She couldn’t hold it in any longer. The wall she had built around her heart, the one that had kept her safe from Elias’s lies and manipulations, came crashing down. She let the pain consume her, let herself feel the weight of the betrayal, the overwhelming sense of loss.

Elias, sensing the shift in her, moved closer. His other hand came up to gently lift her chin, guiding her face toward his. Sapphire couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She kept her eyes averted, staring down at the floor as if it could offer her solace. But there was no escape from the truth. No hiding from the damage he had done to her.