Dax only comes to get me when the first rays of the sun break through the morning sky.

When the doors to the balcony slide open, I shrink into a corner, cold and afraid.

I’m afraid of being locked out but also of being let into the house. Afraid of being near him.

“I hope you finally understand what could happen if you betray me.” There’s a smile on his face as he speaks. He’s dressed in scuffed jeans and a black shirt, his hair slightly damp. The smell of soap and aftershave tells me he probably just took a shower.

I don’t respond because I’m beyond shocked about everything that has happened in the past day. My world has completely unraveled and I don’t know where I’ll go from here. He kept me out here to break me, to make me stay with him. The only thing he succeeded at is building my determination to go straight to the cops as soon as I escape this prison.

He stretches out his hand and I reach for it, afraid he might strike me if I refuse.

As soon as I’m standing, I pull away from him, covering my naked body with my hands.

This was the man I loved, the man I enjoyed making love to. And now when his gaze sweeps across my naked body, my skin crawls. Hate is a strong word, but that’s how I feel about him now. I’d sacrifice anything to get away from him, even my career.

I grew up thinking my father was the worst man ever, but it was only because I had not met Dax Pierce yet.

“Come and take a shower, you’ll feel warmer.” He ushers me through the kitchen. I follow him without a word, my tongue glued to the top of my mouth from being so dry.

He walks behind me as we climb the stairs. When we’re in the bathroom of the master bedroom, I pray he’ll leave me alone so I can continue crying in peace as I have done the whole night.

He plops himself down on a stool next to the bathtub. I glance from him to the shower, hesitating.

“What are you waiting for? Do you want to shower or not?”

I am desperate for a shower, but not in his house. But how could I refuse when he has threatened me with death?

I walk into the shower and turn on the water. The liquid makes me close my eyes for a brief second as it warms me from the outside in. When I open them again, I see him still on the stool, but his legs are wide apart. His dick is free and his hand is gliding up and down it. I swallow down the bile lingering in my throat and turn off the water.

I step out of the shower and grab a towel, wrapping it around my body.

“You didn’t wash yourself,” he says, still touching himself. “Want me to give you a hand?”

“No,” I wrap my towel tighter around me and remain standing in one place as I have no idea of the next steps.

He stops jerking off and gestures for me to approach him. “Come and finish what you started.”

“I don’t . . .” I swallow my tears.

“What’s the problem?” He tilts his head to the side. “Don’t you want to please your man?” His gaze roams the length of my body and my skin prickles with loathing. “Don’t tell me you forgot the rules already. Is it time for the next punishment?”

My limbs ache as I take several steps toward him, position myself between his legs and squeeze my eyes shut. I open them again to find a sick grin on his face. He tugs on one end of the towel. It unravels and slides down my body to the floor. He grabs me by the waist and makes me settle on his lap.

When he enters me, I feel nothing but pain. I’m frozen, unable to move as he fucks me.

“Aren’t you enjoying yourself?” He places his hands on my butt. “Not to worry. It doesn’t matter anyway. I can’t expect you to be in the mood every single time. But you’re a great actress.” He slaps my butt hard enough to make me jump. “Give me your best performance.”

When I still don’t move, he tightens his grip on my ass, his short fingernails biting into my skin. “There are two things I won’t tolerate in this house and this relationship. Being ignored and being disobeyed. I don’t think I need to remind you what happens when you disobey.”

My mind returns me to the hours I spent out on the balcony, how I’d cried and begged for him to let me into the house. I remember the cold. I remember the anger. I remember the pain. I remember the humiliation. Being locked out is something I never, ever want to experience again.

I start to move. It will be over soon, then I’ll rip off his mask and drag his name through the mud. I’ll destroy his life the way he destroyed mine. I’m not the only person who will walk away from this experience scarred.

But right now, I give the best performance of my acting career. I ride him with anger boiling in my veins. I throw my head back and hold on tight to his shoulders with the little energy I have left as he bites down on his lip to contain the pleasure.

Finally, he releases a loud roar and holds me even tighter, thrusting deep and hard, forcing my body to respond against my wishes. As soon as he comes, he reaches up to stroke my hair but I lift myself off him.

He stands up and comes to stand behind me, holding a fluffy bathrobe. I slide my arms into it and close it tightly around me.

“You must be hungry,” he whispers into my ear. “I made you breakfast. Are you grateful?”

“Yes,” I say at the same time as my stomach rumbles.

A few minutes later, I’m eating scrambled eggs on toast at the kitchen table while he watches me like a hawk. “That’s my girl.” He smiles. “As long as you do as I say, we’ll have a beautiful life together.”

There’s something seriously wrong with him. I wonder what happened to him in the past that created this monster.

I have to find a way to get out of here.

“Dax,” I say softly. “I need to contact the production company to apologize for—”

He shakes his head. “Don’t worry about that. It’s all taken care of.” He pushes his chair back and gets up.

“Your acting career is over. From now on, I’m the most important person in your life.” He reaches for his laptop which he brought with him downstairs. He flips it open. “Besides, nobody wants to work with you anymore. You’re no longer wanted in the movie.”

My heart is racing as he hits the keys and turns the screen to face me. The words on the screen jump at me and slam into my core.

“No.” My hands cover my trembling lips as I take in each word that makes up the headline.

The sudden fall of Emma Stanton

My wild gaze moves down the page. I can’t stop myself from reading the article.

Emma Stanton shocked fans when she admitted to having a secret drug addiction problem. She’s stepping out of the limelight for a while to take care of herself. Her loving fiancé, Dax Pierce, has also decided to take a break so he can care for her. He will be by her side while she checks herself into rehab. “I’m begging everyone to respect our privacy during this difficult time,” he had written on his social media accounts.

My face is hot with rage when I stop reading and glare at him. “That’s not true.” My chest rises and falls hard. “Why are you doing this?”

“It’s true to anyone reading the article.” He pauses. “Don’t look so sad. It’s not a bad thing. This way, we’ll be able to spend more time together.”

My hand slams on the table so hard we both flinch. “You are sick and disgusting.” I jump to my feet. “What are your plans, Dax? Do you plan on keeping me here forever?”

“If that’s what it takes for you to understand that you belong to me.”

“Fuck you. I don’t love you anymore. Don’t you get that? I want out of this house and this sick relationship.”

He pushes a hand through his hair and moves to my side of the table. “I didn’t want to do this, but you’re giving me no choice.” I try to step away from him but he snatches both my hands with one of his. Before I notice what’s happening, handcuffs snap around one of my wrists and then the other.

Shit. He has officially made me his prisoner.

I scream and kick like a mad person in an attempt to free myself, but he trips me. When I crash to the ground, he reaches for my handcuffed hands and drags me across the floor toward the entrance to the basement. He unlocks the door with a pair of keys he pulls out of his pocket.

“No. Let me go.” I fight harder but the scrape of the handcuffs on my wrists forces me to stop. “Dax, please,” I whisper, “you can’t do this.”

“I can do whatever I want. It’s time you understand that.”

On the other side of the door, he turns on the light and lifts me back to my feet before leading me roughly down the steps.

It’s my first time in the basement. It’s unlike any basement I’d ever stepped into before, huge with several closed doors.

“What is this?” I didn’t plan on speaking the words out loud.

“This is where you’ll stay until you learn to behave, your own personal hell until you’re ready to go back up to heaven.”

As he pulls me down the stairs with me resisting at every step, I can feel my chances of escape slipping away.

At the bottom of the stairs, he throws me down in front of one of the imposing doors.

I clench my teeth and shoot daggers at him. “Someone will come looking for me.”

“I don’t think so. I contacted everyone you know, including Curtis, and told them to stay away as you need to recover.” I scream when he lifts me up by the hair. “It’s over, Emma. You’re completely at my mercy.”

He throws the door open and pushes me hard into the darkness. I fall to my knees.

“Let the fun begin.” His laughter bounces off the walls. “Make yourself at home.” He pauses. “But be careful as you make your way around. You wouldn’t want to step on Ruby. I thought you might need some company.”

Before I can recover from the shock of his words, the door is slammed shut. In the silence that follows, I hear the sound of my world crashing to the ground and the whisper of something sliding across the floor.

The blood drains from my face as I prepare to pay the long overdue price of fame.

END OF BOOK 1

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