Chapter 5 Don't be a Fool

MAYA

I kept my eyes on the window, refusing to look at the man sitting inches away from me. My hand was cramping from how hard I was clutching my phone. I was waiting for it to buzz, for a text from Liam saying he'd called the police, a lawyer, anyone. Any sign that he hadn't just let me go.

"Give it to me."

Silas spoke, his words cutting through the quiet of the car. I didn't have to ask what he meant. I gripped the phone tighter in my lap.

"No. It's mine."

"In this car, and in my house, you don't have property," Silas said. He didn't raise his voice, which somehow made it scarier. "There is no 'mine' anymore. You were just caught trying to break a legal contract. You've proven you can't be trusted, Maya. Hand over the phone."

"I was going to marry the man I love!" I snapped, finally turning to face him. "Something you'll never understand."

He just held out his hand, palm up, waiting. "Love didn't get you to that Bureau, Maya. Desperation did. And love isn't coming to get you out of this car. The phone, Maya. Now. Before I let my men take it."

I looked at his large hand, then at the glass partition separating us from the driver. I was trapped. With a frustrated growl, I slapped the phone into his palm.

"Go ahead. Take it. I'm sure spying on girls is a Blackwood specialty," I hissed.

Silas didn't answer. He didn't even look at the screen. He just rolled down the window, the cool night air rushing into the car for a split second before he let the phone drop into the street, tossing it out like a piece of trash.

Silas didn't spare me a glance. He just stared straight ahead, sounding bored. "You won't be needing that. He isn't going to call."

I gasped, lunging toward his side of the window as if I could catch it. "How dare you!"

He shoved me back into my seat. "Enough, Maya."

The look in his eyes told me he was dead serious. He wasn't playing.

"You're right. I'll never understand it because I don't marry for love," Silas said calmly. "I marry for advantage."

I shoved his hand, pushing him away while blinking back tears. He wasn't going to see me cry. I wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing me break.

"Rule number one of the next six months," he said, tugging his tie loose as the SUV pulled into a massive, circular driveway. "You don't speak to anyone from your old life. Not your father. And especially not that pussy of a boyfriend."

Pussy? Silas was an arrogant prick, but he wasn't entirely wrong. Liam hadn't even looked me in the eye when Silas took me away.

"Liam is the only person who-"

"Liam is the person who let you walk into this car without throwing a single punch," Silas interrupted. "He's a coward, Maya. And the sooner you realize your old world is dead, the easier this will be."

The words stung because they were true. I wanted to scream that he was wrong, but the fight was draining out of me. He had mentioned a timeline. Six months.

"What's happening in six months?" I asked, straining to keep my voice steady.

The door opened. Silas stepped out, ignoring me as if I hadn't spoken at all. He reached back and offered me his hand, like he actually expected me to take it.

I slapped his hand away and climbed out. I looked up and felt my breath hitch. I was in awe, despite myself. Everything about the mansion was screaming luxury. It was too much: the height, the lights, the obscene scale of it. It was beautiful, but it made my stomach flip.

What did I expect? This was Blackwood territory. I was currently in the Blackwood estate, and this was the Blackwood mansion.

A row of people in uniforms waited by the driveway, standing like statues. I assumed they were the staff. I didn't want to move, but Silas's hand landed on the small of my back. He gave me a small, firm push, forcing me forward toward them.

An elderly man stepped forward with a slight bow. "Good evening, Mr. Blackwood."

Silas gave a curt nod.

"And good evening, Mrs. Blackwood. I'm the head butler, Lawrence."

Mrs. Blackwood? Hell no.

I opened my mouth to protest and set the record straight, but Silas squeezed my waist. It was a silent warning that made me gasp and shut my mouth. It was enough to make me stop. I glared at him, but he didn't even look at me.

"She's had a long day," Silas said, ignoring my glare as he steered me toward the door. "She needs to rest."

He didn't lead me to the grand staircase. Instead, he took me into a side study. The room was plain and small compared to the rest of the mansion. It was just a desk cluttered with papers and a wall of leather-bound books. He shut the door, finally letting go of me.

"Sit," he commanded, gesturing to a black chair across from his desk.

"I'm not sitting until you tell me what's happening in six months," I demanded, crossing my arms.

Silas walked over to a sideboard and poured himself a drink. "Our engagement."

He was still talking about a wedding? I thought it was just a scare tactic, a way to get me into the car. But looking at the way he looked while swirling his drink, I realized he was dead serious. This wasn't a threat; it was a scheduled event.

He stepped closer, the smell of bourbon trailing him. "That means no running. If I catch you trying to flee again, I'll make sure the people you love pay for your mistakes. I'll take everything they have until they're the ones begging me to take you back. Do you understand?"

"You're a monster," I spat.

"I'm a Blackwood," he corrected, taking a slow sip of his drink. "There's a difference. Now sit."

"Is there?" I shrugged and sat down, mostly because my legs were finally giving out. "Sounds like the same thing to me." I looked around the room, trying to find a way out of this conversation. "What about your parents? When do I get to meet them?"

I thought maybe there would be a reasonable adult in this house to talk some sense into him.

"You mean my father, Viktor. You won't be thrilled to meet him." He paused, his gaze drifting to the empty fireplace. "My mother is dead."

"Oh." I looked down at my hands, tucking my fingers into my palms to hide the fact that they were shaking.

"Was that the reason?" I whispered. "The apartment. Did you let me go because you understood?"

Guilt hit me. I'd used my own dead mother as a weapon to get away from him, a lie I'd crafted in desperation. But hearing the truth of his own loss made my chest feel tight.

"Don't look for sentiment where there is none," he replied. He looked back at me, his gaze completely empty of any warmth. "I let you go because I wanted to meet your pussy of a boyfriend to scare him off."

Of course. For a second, I'd actually mistaken him for a human being. I rolled my eyes, the brief sympathy I felt dying instantly. Just when I thought he might actually have a heart, he went and proved me wrong.

"You really have to stop ca-"

"Enough of the dramatics. Let's discuss your new life." He cut me off, setting his glass down with a heavy thud. The sound echoed in the small room, effectively silencing me.

Asshole.

"And if I'd rather have my old one back?"

"That ship has sailed, Maya," he countered. "I need a hell of a distraction, and you're going to provide it. Your day job will be as my assistant at the company."

"A distraction? An assistant?" I blinked, the absurdity of it finally hitting me. "Does this kidnapping and nightmare come with a salary?"

Silas paused, the corner of his mouth twitching in what might have been amusement or perhaps disbelief. He looked at me as if I were a puzzle he couldn't quite solve. "You're being held in one of the most expensive estates in the country, and you're worried about a paycheck?"

Did he really think I'd work for free?

"If I'm forced to be your assistant, I want a salary. A high one," I said, leaning back.

He nodded slowly. "You're taking this better than I expected."

Like I had a fucking choice?

"Let's discuss your new life," I mimicked, pitching my voice low and mocking to match his, just to see if I could get on his nerves. "That ship has sailed, Maya."

If he wanted a puppet, he picked the one with tangled strings and a mind of its own. I'd make him wish he'd left me in that apartment with the boyfriend he hated so much.

He sighed, looking more tired than annoyed. "Yes, Maya, you'll get a salary."

Just like that? He agreed? I felt a flicker of surprise, but I wasn't about to let it show. Part of me expected him to laugh in my face, which only made me wonder what the catch was. There was always a catch with a man like him.

"Every two weeks," I added, narrowing my eyes. I was testing the waters, pushing the boundary just to see where it would break. I sat there, braced and waiting for him to snap or tell me I was pushing my luck.

He raised an eyebrow. "Every two weeks. Direct deposit. I'll even throw in a dental plan if it'll make you shut your mouth."

I let out a scoff. "A dental plan? How generous of my kidnapper."

"Don't mistake my flexibility for weakness, Maya," he warned. "You're here to do a job, and I expect you to do it well."

He didn't blink as he laid out the timeline. "Public dates, vacations, a proposal in six months, and a marriage in a year. I need the world to believe I'm madly in love with you."

There it was. A distraction. That's all I was, and my life was reduced to a PR stunt.

"You mean madly insane," I mumbled. "But sure, let's go with love."

"I'm letting the attitude slide for tonight because you're exhausted. But don't make it a habit. You will not speak to me like that, not here, and never in public."

He leaned forward, running a hand through his hair, his gaze never leaving my face. "Don't be a fool. This house doesn't tolerate reckless voices. You aren't safe enough to be this brave. In this family, you are compliant, or you are a target."