Chapter 109

The moment I stepped into the study, I heard the soft click of the door locking behind me. Before I could even turn, Garcia was on me. He moved fast, like a shadow turning into a storm, and suddenly I was pinned to the wall, his hand wrapped tightly around my throat. My breath caught. I froze, my back hitting the wall with a soft thud, my eyes wide as his face loomed close—too close. His grip wasn't crushing, not yet, but firm enough to silence me, to warn me. I couldn't breathe. I wasn't sure if it was his fingers or the fear clawing at my chest. "So this is it?" he growled dangerously. "You want to walk away now?" His breath was hot against my lips, his eyes burning into mine. I couldn't speak. My voice had gone missing somewhere between my lungs and the panic tightening in my spine. "You had a choice," he snapped. "I gave you the option. You could have walked away earlier. But you stayed. You said you wanted this, that you were mine. You called me your master, begged to be owned." T