CHAPTER FORTY-SEVEN
FIRST PHASE
Scarlet’S POV
By the time the photoshoot is over, I feel like I’ve run a mental marathon. Saul insists on coffee in the hotel suite afterward. I keep my voice neutral. My body is calm. But inside, I’m counting options. Every exit route. Every way to get out without him noticing that I’m thinking.
“See?” he says, stretching back in the chair. “This wasn’t so bad, was it?”
I force a small smile. “Not at all. You were… pleasant.”
He chuckles, slow and controlled. “You’re learning. Every day, a little more obedient.”
I clench my fists beneath the table. Every word he says is a jab. Every movement is a reminder that he’s untouchable. He knows it. I feel myself bristle and realize that my anger, my fear; it’s exactly what he wants. He feeds off it. And yet,
