<b>Chapter </b><b>136 </b>


    -CELINE’S POV


    0


    The elevator doors opened quietly, showing an interior that looked more like art than a ce for transportation.


    We stepped inside, and Hunter moved Caesar a bit to reach the panel, confidently pressing the button for the thirteenth floor.


    “I can carry him,” I offered quietly, reaching toward my son.


    Hunter’s response was to turn slightly away from me, his bodynguage making it clear that Caesar was staying exactly where he was.


    The rejection stung more than it should have, especially considering everything that had happened between us.


    frowned, hating the way he was ignoring me even though I knew he had every right to his anger.


    The silence stretched between us, heavy with unspoken recriminations and the weight of all the words we weren’t saying.


    “How long are you nning to ignore me?” I asked finally, unable to stand the stifling quiet anymore.


    Hunter did not respond, didn’t even acknowledge that I had spoken.


    His attention remained fixed on the ascending floor numbers, his profile carved from marble in the elevator’s soft lighting.


    I looked down at my hands, feeling the familiarbination of sadness, hurt, and anger that had be my steadypanions.


    When I lifted my eyes again, I caught sight of our reflection in the elevator’s mirrored wall–and found Hunter staring back at me through the


    ss.


    For just a moment, his expression softened.


    The harsh lines of anger smoothed slightly, and I caught a peek of something that might have been regret or longing flickering in his blue


    eyes.


    But even in that softened moment, the cold fury remained, burning beneath the surface like piled–up coals ready to set on fire.


    The elevator chimed softly as we reached the thirteenth floor, and the doors slid open to reveal a hallway that held only one door.


    Not an apartment–a penthouse.


    The entire floor belonged <i>to </i>whatever waited behind that imposing entrance.


    I hesitated at the elevator threshold, my feet suddenly reluctant to carry me forward.


    Something about this moment felt final, like once I stepped into that hallway, there would be no going back to whatever remained of the life I


    had known.


    Hunter waited, his patience limited, until I finally forced myself to follow him.


    We stood together in front of the door–close enough that I could smell his cologne, that familiar scent that had once meant safety and love


    and home.


    He adjusted Caesar to one arm and easily entered a code into the electronic lock. The soft beep confirmed eptance, followed by a quiet click as the locks disengaged.


    Hunter stepped aside, waiting for me to enter before following me into the space beyond.


    The penthouse was breathtaking in a way that made my chest tight with shing emotions.


    The living room spread out before us like something from an architectural magazine, all clean lines and expensive materials.


    A massive television dominated one wall, while floor–to–ceiling windows offered a stunning view of the New York skyline, the city lights twinkling like fallen stars against the dark canvas of night.


    The kitchen was a masterpiece of modern design, all gleaming surfaces and professional–grade appliances.


    Everything about the space screamed wealth and taste and the kind of casual luxury that most people could only dream about.


    ‘This is the kind of ce celebrities live in,‘ I thought numbly. ‘But why would Hunter bring us here?‘


    Hunter moved past me without exnation, carrying Caesar toward a hallway that led deeper into the penthouse.


    I watched him unlock one of the doors and disappear inside, appearing a few minutester without our son.


    He closed the door with careful quiet, leaving it slightly ajar–close enough to ensure Caesar’s privacy but open enough to hear if he woke.


    Moving to the kitchen, Hunter opened an expensive–looking refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water.


    His eyes found mine as he took a long drink, the simple action somehow loaded with tension and unspoken meaning.


    Heat flooded my face under his scrutiny, and I turned away to stare out at the glittering cityscape beyond the windows.


    The view was stunning, but it felt like looking at the world from behind ss–beautiful but untouchable, a reminder of everything thaty beyond my reach.


    “You’ll be staying here with Caesar,” Hunter said finally, his voice cutting through the silence like a de.


    I wasn’t surprised by his words, but hearing them out loud made the reality sink in with crushing weight.


    This wasn’t a temporary arrangement or a safe house–this was my new prison, painted in rosy colors and luxurious but a cage nheless.


    “Are you hiding us?” I asked, turning back to face him. “You can’t take us back to your mansion because you’re ashamed of us?”


    Hunter’s frown deepened, but he didn’t deny it. Instead, he continued as if I hadn’t spoken.


    “Tomorrow I’ll send a doctor <i>to </i>examine you. Someone will also bring everything you and Caesar need–clothes, food, whatever else might be necessary for yourfort.”


    The clinical way he discussed my captivity made something rebel inside my chest. “Is this my punishment?” I demanded, my voice rising despite my efforts to stay calm.


    “Locking me and my son away in one of your penthouses? How low can you get?”


    Hunter paused halfway to the door, and then heughed–a sound so cold and bitter it made my blood freeze in my veins.


    When he turned back to face me, his smile was sharp enough to cut.


    “Celine,” he said softly, “you have no idea how low I’m prepared to go to punish you. You shouldn’t be in such a hurry–I n to give you your punishment very slowly, very carefully. I want you to savor every moment of it.”


    The promise in his voice made my knees weak with terror.


    Chisple: 136


    This wasn’t an idle threat this was a man who had thought long and hard about exactly how he wanted to make me suffer.


    “Get some rest,” he continued, his tone returning to that terrible casual pleasantness.


    “And I suggest you think twice before considering escape. You won’t even make it to the elevator without me knowing about it”


    The finality of his words broke something inside me. “I hate you!” I screamed, all the fear and frustration and heartbreak of the past few days exploding out at once.


    “I hate you and I will never forgive you for this!”


    Hunter’s smile never wavered. “I’m not looking for your forgiveness, Celine. I never was.”


    And then he was gone, the door closing behind him with a soft click that sounded like the end of everything.


    The silence that followed was deafening.


    I stood frozen in the middle of that beautiful prison, surrounded by luxury that felt like mockery, until my legs finally gave out and I copsed to the floor.


    All the tears I had been holding back, all the grief and terror and desperate sadness I had been carrying–it all came pouring out at once.


    I sobbed until my chest ached, until my throat was raw, until there was nothing left inside me but emptiness and the devastating certainty that my life as I had known it was over.


    When the tears finally stopped, I found my hand pressed against my stomach, protecting the secret that grew there like a ticking time bomb.


    With shaking fingers, I pulled the pregnancy test from my pocket, staring at the paper reminder of everything that was about to be infinitely moreplicated.


    I forced myself to stand on unsteady legs and began opening doors, searching through the penthouse until I found the master bathroom.


    It was as breathtaking as everything else, all marble and gold fixtures and mirrors that reflected my tear–stained face from every angle.


    I knelt beside the toilet, staring down at the pregnancy test in my hands. <fnfd2d> Newest update provided by FindN()vel</fnfd2d>


    The positive result seemed to mock me with its look, its promise of a future that Hunter could never be allowed to control.


    Slowly, deliberately, I began tearing the test into pieces, destroying the evidence of the secret I carried.


    Each rip felt like a small act of defiance, a way of keeping onest piece of myself away from Hunter’s reach.


    The pieces disappeared into the water with barely a ssh, and I flushed them away like I was trying to flush away the truth itself.


    “He’ll never know,” I whispered to my reflection in the bathroom mirror, wiping the tears from my cheeks with hands that still trembled.


    “I’ll never let him know. He can’t find out. Never.”


    My reflection stared back at me–hollow–eyed and broken, a woman I barely recognized anymore.


    Underneath the destruction, there was something strong.


    It was a fierce desire to protect and a determination that even Hunter’s cruelty couldn’tpletely break.


    “I’m tired, Hunter,” I whispered to the empty bathroom, my words echoing off the marble walls. “I’m so damn tired of all of this.”


    But tired or, than to keep eliting for Care, for the shore growing inside


    The golden prison around me was beautiful and secure, but it was stel a prison.


    And somehow, someday, I would find a way to escape.