Page 34 of Entrapped
Vaughn had moved out of the mansion a month ago, buying his own place on the far side of town. The move had been a relief; his presence in the house had become increasingly unsettling,especially after he’d intruded on that intimate moment between Colson and me. His aggression had been building, his agitation growing as Colson and I became closer.
But now, as Colson smiled at me, the last remnants of Vaughn’s intrusion melted away. There were still questions I needed answers to, like why Colson’s father had bankrupted my grandfather, but those were for another time. For now, I chose to focus on the man in front of me—the man who, despite everything, was slowly winning my heart.
Every day, I felt myself falling deeper for him, and it wasn’t just one-sided. Colson was changing too. He smiled more, his touch was gentler, and he was rarely rough like he had been on that night on the yacht. For the first time since we married, I allowed myself to hope that maybe, just maybe, we could be something real.
Vaughn's new mansion was as grand as expected, a testament to his need to outdo Colson, but it lacked warmth. The coldness of its grandeur pressed on me as I wandered the halls, seeking some respite from the crowd. I wasn’t interested in the champagne or the laughter echoing from the living room. Instead, I found myself drawn to the solarium, where the late fall sun filtered through the glass ceiling, casting prisms of light that danced along the floor.
It was beautiful—serene. The kind of place where I could lose myself in a book while the snow danced outside. A place that, if it were mine, I could fill with warmth and love. But it wasn’t mine, and it never would be. This was Vaughn’s domain, and hismisery hung in the air, as palpable as the dust motes floating in the sunlight.
I had spent the past two hours watching Serena cling to him, her desperate need for validation clear in every gesture. Vaughn had never looked more miserable, his eyes hollow and his smiles forced. The engagement ring on her finger was as much a shackle for him as it was a symbol of commitment. I pitied him, truly. He was trapped in a future he didn’t want, while I—despite everything—had a chance for something real with Colson.
Even if that chance didn’t include children.
The thought stung, but I pushed it aside. There was no room for regret in my life. I had made my choices, and I would live with them.
“Running away from the crowd, Josephine?”
Vaughn’s voice startled me from my thoughts. I turned to find him standing in the doorway, leaning casually against the frame. His expression was unreadable, but there was something in his eyes—a darkness that hadn’t been there before.
“I needed some air,” I replied, my voice steady. “It’s beautiful in here.”
“It is,” he agreed, stepping into the solarium. The light caught the edges of his features, softening the hard lines of his face. For a moment, he looked like the boy I had once known, before life had twisted us into who we were now.
He moved closer, his presence unsettling. “You’ve been avoiding me.”
I shrugged, trying to keep things light. “It’s your party, Vaughn. You have plenty of other guests to entertain.”
“None of them interest me,” he said, his gaze locking onto mine. “Not like you do.”
I felt a shiver run down my spine at the intensity in his voice. There was a rawness to him that I hadn’t seen in a long time, something feral and uncontained.
“Vaughn…” I started, but he cut me off.
“Do you know what I see when I’m with Serena?” he asked, his tone almost conversational, but there was an edge to it, like a blade hidden in silk.
I didn’t answer, my heart thudding painfully in my chest.
“I see you, Josephine,” he continued, his voice dropping to a whisper. “Every time I touch her, every time I kiss her, it’s your face I see. Your body I want.”
“Stop it,” I said, my voice trembling with a mixture of anger and fear. “This isn’t appropriate. You’re engaged, Vaughn. You asked her to marry you.”
He laughed, but there was no humor in it. “I made a mistake. A mistake I’m paying for every damn day. But you…” He stepped closer, his breath warm against my cheek. “You’re the fire I crave, the one thing that keeps me alive in this frozen hell.”
I recoiled, disgusted by his words. “If you’re so disgusted with your life, then why don’t you do something about it? Why don’t you leave her?”
“And face the wrath of my father?” he asked, a bitter smile twisting his lips. “You know better than that, Josephine. We don’t get to choose our own happiness. Not in this family.”
I turned away from him, trying to gather my thoughts. His words were cutting, too close to the truth I didn’t want to face. “You don’t have to live like this, Vaughn.”
He grabbed my arm, forcing me to face him. “And what about you? If you’re so disgusted by me, why didn’t you say something to Colson? Why didn’t you tell him I was watching that night? I waited for him to approach me, but he never did.”
My mouth went dry, and I had no answer. The truth was too humiliating to admit.
“You were ashamed,” he said, reading my silence. His grip on my arm tightened. “But not disgusted. No, you liked it, didn’t you? Knowing I was watching while my father fucked you.”
I didn’t want to rehash this. I jerked my arm free, the force of his words hitting me like a slap. “You’re gross, Vaughn. This obsession with me—it’s twisted.”
“Maybe,” he conceded, his voice low and dangerous. “But you’re part of it now, whether you want to be or not.”
