Chapter 9 – A Lesson in Control

Chapter 9 – A Lesson in Control

The room was silent except for the sound of my own voice, reading the words printed on the fragile, yellowed pages. My throat felt dry, but I kept going, afraid of what would happen if I stopped.

Alexander sat across from me, his gaze steady, watching me as if studying every flicker of emotion that crossed my face. Damien was still near the door, arms crossed, expression unreadable.

I had never felt so exposed in my life.

But I read.

The book was nothing like I expected. It wasn’t a fairytale or a simple novel. It was dark—filled with suffering, loss, and survival. The story followed a woman who had been betrayed, abandoned, and left to fend for herself in a world that saw her as nothing. It was raw, painful, but beneath all of that, there was something else.

Strength.

She refused to break.

My fingers tightened around the edges of the book as I continued reading, my voice more firm now, more steady. I wasn’t sure if Alexander noticed, but I knew I did.

I could feel it.

I wasn’t just reading. I was understanding.

“Enough.”

His voice cut through the quiet like a knife, and I immediately shut the book, my pulse jumping at the sudden command.

Alexander leaned forward, elbows resting on the desk. “What did you learn?”

I blinked, taken aback. “I—” I hesitated, trying to find the right words. “She didn’t give up.”

His expression remained unreadable. “Why?”

I swallowed. “Because she couldn’t afford to.”

There was a beat of silence, then—

Alexander smiled.

It wasn’t warm. It wasn’t comforting. It was sharp, calculating. A look that made me feel like I had just unknowingly walked into another one of his traps.

“Good,” he murmured.

I clenched my fists in my lap, forcing myself to hold his gaze. “Why did you make me read this?”

His smile faded slightly. “Because you need to understand something, Evelyn.”

He stood, slowly walking around the desk until he was right beside me. I fought the urge to flinch when he reached down, taking the book from my hands and closing it with deliberate care.

“You think you’re trapped,” he continued, his voice calm, controlled. “That you have no choices. But that’s not true.”

I frowned. “Isn’t it?”

Alexander tilted his head, watching me. “No. Because even in a cage, you can decide whether to rot or survive.”

My breath caught in my throat.

The way he said it, the way his voice carried the weight of someone who knew exactly what he was talking about—it made me wonder.

Had he been in a cage, too?

I wanted to ask, but I knew better. He wasn’t the type of man to reveal anything unless he wanted to.

I let out a slow breath, forcing myself to relax, even as my mind raced. “So, what now?”

Alexander smirked. “Now, you learn more.”

My stomach twisted. “More of what?”

“Discipline.”

The word sent a chill down my spine.

Before I could question him further, the door opened, and a new figure stepped inside.

A woman.

She was tall, poised, and dressed in all black. Her dark hair was pulled into a sleek bun, and her sharp eyes flickered to me before settling on Alexander.

“She’s ready?” the woman asked, her voice smooth, almost uninterested.

Alexander nodded. “She will be.”

I looked between them, heart pounding. “Who is she?”

The woman finally turned to me, her lips curving into something that wasn’t quite a smile.

“I,” she said, “am your teacher.”

-----

I stared at the woman in front of me, my pulse racing.

Teacher?

I didn’t understand. What was I supposed to learn? How to survive in this place? How to obey Alexander?

Or was it something worse?

The woman’s eyes swept over me, assessing, cold and calculating, like she already knew everything about me just from a single glance. I felt small under her gaze, but I forced myself to sit up straighter, to look back at her without showing fear.

Because that’s what Alexander wanted, wasn’t it?

To see if I would break.

She took a step closer, her heels clicking against the floor. “Stand up.”

I hesitated, glancing at Alexander, but he only watched, waiting.

My throat tightened. I didn’t want to follow orders—I was tired of being told what to do, tired of feeling powerless—but at the same time, I knew better than to resist. Not yet.

I slowly pushed myself up from the chair, my legs feeling stiff.

The woman studied me again, then nodded. “Good.” She turned to Alexander. “She’s weak.”

Heat flooded my face.

Weak.

I hated that word.

It reminded me of all the times my family had thrown it at me. How they laughed at my pain, called me useless, a burden, something meant to be discarded.

I clenched my fists, my nails digging into my palms.

Alexander smirked. “That’s why you’re here.”

The woman turned back to me. “Your posture is poor. Your presence is nonexistent. And your mind—” She tilted her head, narrowing her eyes. “—is scattered.”

I swallowed hard. “Why does that matter?”

She lifted a brow. “Because you will not survive here if you remain as you are.”

My chest tightened.

Survive.

That word again.

Alexander kept saying it. Now she was saying it too.

Like this was some kind of test.

I forced my shoulders back, lifting my chin slightly. “And if I don’t want to change?”

The woman didn’t blink. “Then you’ll be broken. And once you’re broken, you’ll be discarded.”

A shiver ran through me.

Not because I believed her.

But because I knew she was telling the truth.

Alexander was still watching me, amused. Like he was waiting for my reaction, waiting to see if I would crumble under the weight of her words.

I wouldn’t give him the satisfaction.

I took a slow breath, steadying myself. “Fine,” I said quietly. “Then teach me.”

For a moment, the woman said nothing. Then, slowly, she smiled. It wasn’t warm—it was sharp, like a blade pressed against skin.

“As you wish.”

She stepped back, motioning to the open space between us. “First lesson: control.”

I frowned. “Control of what?”

Her expression didn’t change. “Your emotions.”

I swallowed.

That was impossible.

I had spent my whole life drowning in my emotions. Pain, fear, anger—I had never been able to escape them. My emotions were the only thing that reminded me I was still alive, that I hadn’t completely disappeared.

How was I supposed to control them?

The woman must have seen my hesitation because she tilted her head. “Tell me, Evelyn—what do you feel right now?”

I hesitated. “I don’t know.”

“Liar.”

I flinched at the sharpness of her voice.

Her eyes darkened. “Your hands are clenched. Your shoulders are tense. Your breathing is shallow. You are angry.”

I sucked in a breath.

She was right.

I was angry.

But not just at her.

At everything.

At my family for treating me like nothing. At Alexander for dragging me into his world. At myself for never being strong enough to fight back.

The woman took a slow step forward. “But what good is anger if you cannot use it?”

I frowned. “What do you mean?”

She studied me for a long moment, then, without warning—

She slapped me.

Hard.

Pain exploded across my cheek, my head snapping to the side. My vision blurred for a second, my heart hammering as the sting burned across my skin.

I gasped, my fingers flying to my face.

“What the hell?”

The woman didn’t react. She simply waited, watching.

I looked at Alexander, expecting him to say something. To stop this.

But he didn’t.

He just smirked.

Like this was exactly what he wanted.

The woman’s voice was calm, controlled. “You felt that, didn’t you?”

I glared at her, my hands shaking. “Of course, I did!”

“But what will you do with it?”

I froze.

The question hung between us, heavy, suffocating.

What would I do?

I wanted to scream, to hit her back, to make her feel even a fraction of what I had felt. But what would that accomplish?

Nothing.

It wouldn’t change where I was. It wouldn’t change what was happening.

And that’s when I understood.

This wasn’t about pain.

It was about control.

She was testing me.

She wanted to see if I would lash out. If I would let my emotions control me.

Slowly, I lowered my hand from my cheek, forcing my expression to remain blank.

The woman watched me, waiting.

Then, she nodded. “Better.”

I exhaled shakily.

Alexander finally spoke, his voice filled with amusement. “She learns quickly.”

The woman gave a small smile. “Perhaps.”

I swallowed, my pulse still racing. My cheek still burned, my skin still tingled with the sting of her slap, but I refused to react.

I wouldn’t give them the satisfaction.

I wouldn’t let them break me.

Not yet.

The woman stepped back. “That is enough for today.”

I didn’t move.

I was too afraid that if I did, I would collapse.

Alexander leaned against his desk, watching me with a look I couldn’t quite decipher.

“You’re starting to understand, aren’t you?”

I forced myself to meet his gaze. “Understand what?”

His smirk deepened.

“That strength isn’t about power.” He tilted his head slightly. “It’s about knowing when to fight… and when to wait.”

Something about his words sent a chill down my spine.

Because I had a feeling—

This was only the beginning.

To Be Continued...

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