Bound to the Don

Chapter 40

Salma's POV

I didn't see him again that day.

A day had already passed and I hadn't caught even a glimpse of him.

Not after what happened in that room.

Not after the words he spoke when I let myself break...when I spat out everything I kept hidden deep inside me.

Not after the way he looked at me like... I was something worth taking his time with.

It was insane. Maddening.

At first, I felt relief. I thought I'd finally have space to breathe, to think. But as the hours passed, that relief turned into something else...tight, cold and restless.

Anxiety.

I couldn't stop replaying his words.

The way he told me I was strong...Brave. Like he meant it. Like he saw something in me I didn't even believe in anymore.

And the worst part was that for a moment... I believed him.

God, I actually believed him.

But then reality hit like a slap across the face.

This is Armando.

The man who kills without blinking.

The man who held my family over my head just to make me say yes to his demands.

So then what the hell was that moment in the mirror?

Another twisted trick or just a new way to get in my head?

I tried to shake it off, I did. I kept telling myself:

Don't fall for it. Don't fall for it. Don't believe anything he says.

But his voice wouldn't leave me.

"You're not weak."

"You've survived worse than most ever could."

"You're still standing, aren't you?"

I felt sick.

I wanted to scream. To rip those words out of my head and throw them away. But they stuck like glue. The more I tried to forget, the louder they echoed.

What if it wasn't mockery?

What if... he actually meant it?

What if he's not trying to hurt me this time, but control me in a different way?

I sat up in bed, hugging my pillow so tight it hurt. I buried my face into it, trying to shut everything out.

No. No, no, no.

What am I even thinking?

Is this what he wanted?

To confuse me? To break me down so much I can't tell what's real anymore?

Because if that's the plan... it's working.

I don't even know what I hate more...

The things he's done to me...

Or the part of me that wants to believe he meant every word.

I was losing my mind.

The thoughts wouldn't stop spinning, tightening around my chest until I couldn't breathe. I needed a break. A real one.

So, I slipped out of my room and headed for the only place in this mansion that ever gave me peace—the garden.

It had been so long since I'd last been there. Back when things were still... bearable. Back when Armando didn't even know I existed. When I was just a shadow in his world.