The days following the encounter by her car were filled with an unsettling tension. Every time Elara tried to regain some semblance of normalcy, Rowan appeared, like a shadow that wouldn't leave her side. At first, it was subtle—casual text messages, surprise visits to her workplace, unannounced appearances at the places she frequented. But with each encounter, his presence became more oppressive, as if his very existence was a demand on her time, her thoughts, her life.
Elara tried to distance herself, hoping that by setting boundaries, she could regain control over her own world. But each time she pulled away, Rowan found a way to pull her back in. His words were sweet, his gestures thoughtful, but there was always an undercurrent of something darker, something that she couldn't quite grasp but knew was there.
One evening, after her shift at the bookstore, Elara stepped out into the dimly lit parking lot. It had been a long day, and she was eager to get home. But as she reached her car, her breath caught in her throat.
Rowan was waiting for her.
He leaned against the hood of her car, arms crossed, looking like he owned the entire world. The way his gaze shifted toward her as she approached made her heart race, but not in the excited way it once had. Now, it felt like a warning bell, a cold draft against her skin.
"Rowan," Elara said, trying to keep her voice steady. "What are you doing here?"
"I told you," he said, his voice calm, yet there was something menacing in the way he spoke. "I came to see you. I always come to see you."
She swallowed hard, stepping closer but keeping a safe distance between them. "I don't need you to come here all the time. I'm perfectly fine."
Rowan tilted his head slightly, as if considering her words. "You say that, but I know you better than you know yourself, Elara. You're not fine. You don't need anyone else but me."
Her pulse quickened. It wasn't the first time he had said something like this, but it never failed to unsettle her. His certainty—his belief that he knew her so well—felt suffocating, as if he had already mapped out her every thought and feeling.
"I—I need space," Elara said, her voice shaking just a little. "I need some time to figure things out."
Rowan pushed off the car, stepping closer to her. His hand reached out, brushing a strand of hair from her face, his touch lingering longer than it should have. "Time to figure out what, Elara?" His voice was softer now, almost coaxing, but there was an edge to it that made her skin crawl. "What is there to figure out? We're meant to be together. Don't you feel it?"
Elara wanted to step back, but her feet seemed rooted to the ground, as if his presence had anchored her in place. "I—" She tried to speak, but the words caught in her throat.
Rowan smiled, a smile that was too slow, too knowing. "Don't worry, Elara. I'll never leave you. I'll always be here. You don't have to worry about anything, not as long as I'm around."
His words should have been comforting, but they weren't. They felt like chains being wrapped around her, tightening slowly, suffocating her with each breath. She wanted to pull away, to run, but every part of her—every part of the girl who had fallen for his charm—hesitated.
For a moment, Rowan stepped back, looking at her with a mixture of affection and frustration. "I know you're scared, Elara. I can see it in your eyes. But you don't need to be. All you need to do is trust me."
Elara's heart pounded in her chest. She wanted to trust him. She wanted to believe in the connection they had, in the spark she felt when he was near her. But the more he spoke, the more she felt like she was losing herself.
"I don't know if I can," she whispered, her voice barely audible.
Rowan's face softened, and for a fleeting moment, she saw the boy she had once met—the one who had made her laugh, who had shared his dreams with her, who had held her when the world felt too big. But that softness disappeared just as quickly as it came, replaced by something darker.
"You will," he said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Because you have no choice. And deep down, you know it."
The words stung, but they also made her feel something else—a strange mix of dread and longing. She wanted to argue. She wanted to tell him that she wasn't his possession, that she didn't belong to him. But her mind couldn't find the words, and her heart—her confused, conflicted heart—didn't want to find them.
Rowan leaned in, close enough that she could feel his breath on her skin, his lips brushing against her ear as he spoke again. "You're mine, Elara. I'll never let you go. Not ever."
Before she could react, before she could protest, he kissed her—softly, gently, as if he were claiming her. The kiss wasn't violent, but it felt possessive, like a subtle mark being made on her soul, one that she couldn't erase. She froze, her body caught between the desire to respond and the instinct to pull away.
When he pulled back, his gaze was intense, dark with something she couldn't define. "You see? You feel it, don't you? You're mine."
Elara's stomach twisted. She wanted to say something—anything—but she couldn't find the words. Rowan's kiss had left her dizzy, her mind spinning, and all she could do was stand there, helpless in his presence.
"That's it, Elara," Rowan whispered, his voice low and seductive. "You belong to me now. Don't fight it. Don't try to run."
His words lingered in the air, sinking into her skin, her bones. Elara felt as though she were drowning, caught in a sea of his dark promises, unable to escape. His grip on her wasn't physical—not yet—but it was there, tightening slowly around her heart, around her mind, until she didn't know where he ended and she began.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Rowan said, turning away and walking into the night, leaving her standing there, alone in the parking lot.
Elara stood frozen for a long time, the cool night air brushing against her skin, but she didn't feel it. She didn't feel anything except the echo of his words in her mind. "You're mine."
His voice played on a loop in her head, and no matter how hard she tried to shake it off, she couldn't.
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