Chapter 2 Caught

CHAPTER TWO — Layla’s POV

I woke up with a strange heaviness in my body, like I had been pulled through something I could not fully remember and dropped into a place I did not recognize.

The first thing I felt was silence, nor the peaceful kind, but the kind that makes you afraid to open your eyes because you already know something is wrong.

My lashes fluttered slowly as I tried to adjust to the light.For a few moments, my thoughts refused to come together. It was as if my memory had been scattered and my mind was struggling to gather it back into order.

Then it began to return in pieces. The bar. The drink. The strange feeling of wanting to disappear from everything. The door I walked through when I was no longer thinking clearly. And a man I could barely place in my memory, my  breathing changed immediately.

I shifted slightly under the blanket, and that small movement made my chest tighten even more when I realized I was not properly dressed the way I remembered before everything became unclear.

A cold fear spread through me so quickly that it almost pushed me upright, but my body felt weak, heavy, as though all my strength had been taken away during the night.Nothing about this felt right.

My hands began to shake as I slowly pushed myself up, and the room seemed to tilt slightly as I tried to hold on to my thoughts. Then the memories returned more sharply, no longer scattered but heavy and real.

Closeness I could not fully explain. A voice near me. My own voice, saying things I would never normally say. A sense of losing control that made my stomach twist painfully.

The truth settled in slowly, and when it finally did, it felt like something inside me had collapsed.

I had been with someone, Someone I could not even clearly remember choosing.

My breathing became uneven as panic rose inside me, filling my chest and making it hard to think properly. Everything I had left, my dignity, my name, whatever remained of my reputation, felt like it was slipping away at once.

I pressed my hand over my mouth as if I could stop the fear from spilling out of me.

That was when I saw him, my body froze immediately.

He was standing near the window, facing outside, completely still, as though the world beyond the glass mattered more than the fact that I had just woken up in the room with him. For a moment, he did not turn, did not react, as if my presence meant nothing at all.

“Hello.,, Hello” I tried getting his attention, but he wouldn’t turn but  the moment his face came into view, everything inside me stopped.

It was him, Jake. My sister’s fiancé.

The shock hit me so deeply that my breath caught completely. Of all the people I could have woken up in front of, it had to be him. The man my family spoke of with respect. The man who was meant to marry Aria. The same name that had already caused enough damage in my life.

His eyes landed on me immediately, cold and sharp in a way that made me feel smaller without him even speaking. For a moment, I could not find my voice. I could only sit there in silence, trapped in disbelief.

Then he spoke. “I thought they were wrong when they said you were the one behind Aria’s kidnapping.”

His words struck my chest immediately. Confusion and fear rose together as I quickly shook my head, forcing myself to sit up a little more even though my body still felt weak.

“No… I did not do anything like that,” I said, my voice unsteady but urgent. “I do not even know where she is. I swear to you, I have been trying to find her too.”

But he did not allow me to continue, his expression darkened slightly as he stepped forward, cutting through my words as though they held no value at all.

“You really wanted me that badly,” he said slowly, his voice controlled and cold, “that you had to come into my bed.”

My eyes widened immediately as panic rose in my throat.“That is not what happened,” I said quickly, shaking my head as I tried to steady my voice. “I was drunk. I did not even know where I was. I did not plan anything. I just—”

“Or what,” he interrupted again, his tone sharper now, “you drugged me?”

The question hit me like a slap. “No,” I said at once, louder this time, fear breaking through my control. “No, I did not do that. I swear I did not.”

I pushed myself up from the bed, my legs unsteady as I tried to stand properly, my hands still trembling because nothing about this situation felt real or fair. It felt like I had been thrown into another version of my life where everything was already decided against me.

“I do not even remember everything clearly,” I said honestly, my voice breaking slightly. “I was not thinking. I only wanted everything to stop. I only wanted to forget for a while.”

He watched me without speaking for a long moment, and that silence felt heavier than his accusations. It made it impossible to understand what was going through his mind, only that he was not believing me.

Then he moved.He walked toward me in a slow, controlled way that made my body react before my thoughts could catch up. Before I could step back, his hand closed around my neck, not painfully enough to harm me, but firmly enough to stop me completely.

My breath caught instantly.

My hands lifted slightly in shock as my eyes widened, locked on his face, unable to understand how quickly everything had changed.

“Where is Aria?” he asked again, his voice lower now, dangerous in its calmness.

My throat felt tight under his grip as I forced the words out carefully.

“I do not know,” I said weakly. “I really do not know where she is.”

There was a pause that felt long and suffocating, as though the entire room had stopped breathing with me.

Then he let go.Just like that, as if I had no further importance to him.

I stumbled slightly, one hand going to my throat as I tried to steady my breathing again, my heart racing so fast I could barely hold my thoughts together.

He turned away from me as though the moment no longer mattered.

“I would not want unnecessary noise,” he said calmly, his tone returning to something controlled and distant, “since tomorrow is the wedding.”

My entire body went still.

Wedding?  I blinked slowly, struggling to understand what he had just said. Then he looked at me again, fully this time, his expression unreadable.

“And you kind of look like her,” he added.

A cold feeling dropped into my stomach immediately. Before I could even ask what he meant, he stepped closer once more, and this time his voice came out clear, final, and heavy enough to silence everything inside me.

“Be my wife until she is back.”

My lips parted in shock. “What…?” I whispered, barely able to process the words.

My heartbeat rose painfully as I shook my head, stepping back slightly.

“No,” I said quickly, my voice trembling. “I cannot do that. I do not want this. I did nothing wrong. I should not be part of this.”

For a moment, there was silence again, and I almost believed he might reconsider.

But his expression changed only slightly, becoming colder in a way that erased that hope completely.

“Say no,” he said calmly, “and I will tell everyone how you ended up in my bed last night.”

My breath stopped because I understood exactly what that meant, no one would ask questions, no one would listen to me.

They would only believe what sounded easier to accept.

My hands trembled at my sides as the silence in the room pressed harder against my chest, making it difficult to breathe.

And in that moment, standing in front of him, I understood something I could not escape.

My life was no longer something I could explain.

It was already something that had been decided for me.