Page 133 of Venomous Desires

I had to get out, even if it was only for a few hours.

I took a deep breath.

“I want to go back to dorm,” And said. “I have classes and you can’t just keep me locked forever.”

Judas didn’t even look up from his plate, as if my words were nothing more than background noise. “Classes?” He mused. “How quaint. You think I care about your little college life?”

I clenched my fists. “People will notice if I don’t show up. My professors, my friends—”

“Friends?” He interrupted with a chuckle, finally lifting his gaze to meet mine. “You’re naiver than I thought.” He paused, his expression darkening. “But fine. Go. Attend your precious classes.”

I blinked, surprised by the sudden concession. It was too easy. Too simple. “I can go?”

Judas leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest as he studied me, that familiar smirk curling his lips. “On one condition.”

Of course. There was always a catch. “What condition?”

“You’ll stay here,” he said, gesturing around the penthouse with a wave of his hand. “This will be your home now. Kyle will fetch your things from the dorm. You don’t need to set foot in that place again.”

I stiffened, the thought of being under his roof, under his constant watch, filling me with dread. “No. I can’t do that. I need my space and independence.”

“There’s no independence,” He echoed.

I swallowed hard, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “That’s not what I meant. But I can’t live like this, Judas. Trapped. Controlled. I need—”

“What you need,” he cut me off, “is me.”

I opened my mouth to argue, but the words died in my throat. He was winning, as he always did, and I was powerless to stop him. I glanced at Kyle, who had been silent this entire time, his expression unreadable. There was no help there.

“You agree to my terms,” Judas continued, leaning forward slightly, “or you stay here. Forever. Locked away from the world. Your choice.”

The air seemed to grow colder, the weight of his ultimatum settling over me like a suffocating blanket. I could feel my heart racing, my pulse pounding in my ears. But I couldn’t stay here, not indefinitely. I needed to get out, to have some semblance of freedom, even if it was just an illusion.

“Fine,” I said, the word barely more than a whisper. “I’ll stay here. But only because I need to attend my classes.”

Judas’s smirk returned, a cruel glint in his eyes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night.” He leaned back in his chair, satisfied. “You’ll be escorted to and from your classes. No more dorms. That’s not safe. But you’ll get to play your little student role during the day. Happy?”

It was a mockery, a twisted version of what I wanted, but I had no choice. “Yes,” I said, forcing the word out, though it tasted bitter on my tongue.

Judas chuckled softly, the sound sending a shiver down my spine. “Good girl.”

I glanced at Kyle again, hoping for some sign of sympathy, but his expression remained impassive, his eyes focused on Judas. He was as much a part of this game as I was, and there was no escape from it.

With a resigned sigh, I picked up my fork, pushing the foodaround my plate. There was no use in arguing further. I had already lost, and Judas knew it.

Chapter 52

The Prey

The room was strangely silent except for the soft rustling of the doctor’s movements. I sat there on the edge of the couch, my injured foot propped up as he carefully examined it. The pain was there like a dull throb that I could barely register over the storm of confusion and suspicion swirling in my mind. Judas had ordered a doctor. For me.

The thought was baffling. Too much to the point that I couldn’t help but steal glances at his face.

Judas was standing a few feet away, though I could still feel his piercing gaze eating me alive despite the distance.

He wore his shades this time, the same pair that made him look impenetrable, unreadable. The cane was in his hand, gripped tightly, and my entire body tensed at the memory of where that cane had been just yesterday. The cruel way he’d wielded it, the way he’d relished in my pain.

But now, he was pretending—no, not pretending. Acting. Playing the part of a concerned man, the master of this twisted little world we both inhabited. And as much as I wanted to seethrough it, to call it out for the farce it was, I couldn’t. Because Judas, even in this charade, was still in control. Dominating.