When Ren woke up, he wasn’t in the medical wing anymore. He was in a room he recognized immediately—the same green bedroom where Cilian had kept him when they first arrived at the manor. The room was similar to the one he used to live in when his world was still... whole.

It was a room filled with a heavy, nostalgic weight, a space designed to keep him locked in the past.

He hated it now.

He sat up with a groan, his head spinning. The curtains were drawn, but the sunlight still managed to filter through, casting a sickly green hue over the furniture.

Without thinking, Ren rushed to the window, pulling back the heavy velvet drapes. He wanted to escape. But as he reached for the handle, he stopped.

The glass had been reinforced. It was fitted with a discreet, high-tension wire mesh. He looked out over the Vane Estate. From this height, he could see the high concrete walls that separated him from the rest of the world.

He was in a cage. He couldn’t tell the difference.

The door to the room clicked and then it opened, exposing Cilian, looking perfectly groomed in a charcoal suit.

"Good morning, wifey," Cilian said, stepping into the room as if he hadn’t just forcibly strapped Ren to a table the night before.

His voice carried that eerily sweet tone that always made Ren’s skin crawl.

Ren stared at Cilian. The exhaustion and defeat were still heavy on him, but a flicker of irritation managed to push through the haze. He looked at Cilian, his grey eyes dull but determined.

"Is it fun for you, Cilian?" Ren’s voice was barely a whisper.

Cilian paused, his brow arching in confusion. "Is what fun, darling?"

"Playing a stupid married couple," Ren said, his voice gaining a sliver of strength. "You call me ’wifey,’ you smile, you act like we’re happy. Does it make you feel better about being a monster?"

Cilian’s smile didn’t waver. He stepped into the room, his golden-brown eyes glinting with a dark amusement.

"We are married, Ren. The union was sealed on the island, and now it’s been confirmed. As for being happy... that’s something we can work on. And I believe it’s a choice you’ll eventually have to make for the sake of our child."

Ren’s grey eyes filled with a final, bitter spark of defiance. "Never!"

Cilian chuckled, as if he had already seen how this would end.

"We’ll see," he purred and that made Ren clench the fabric of his shirt so hard his knuckle turned white.

"I don’t need you to call me ’wifey’ or smile at me. Just... leave me alone."

"I can’t do that," Cilian purred, his fox-like grin slowly returning. "You’ve proven that I can’t leave you alone for even five minutes without you trying to destroy our future. Besides, you need to eat."

Cilian walked towards him and added. "Come now, wifey. Let’s go have some tea and discuss your new schedule."

Ren sat still. He didn’t want to have tea with this monster. He didn’t want to even move from where he was standing. He just wanted to disappear forever. He stayed still, hoping Cilian would just leave him alone.

But that was as hopeless as any other dreams he’s had in this mansion.

"You don’t want to go?" Cilian asked. The tone of his voice had dropped.

The sweet tone was gone, replaced by a coldness that made Ren shiver. Ren flinched. He remembered what happened when he said no. Cilian would just find someone else to hurt to make Ren listen.

Ren nodded slowly, his body stiff. "I... I’ll have tea," he forced out.

Cilian smirked. "Excellent, Ren."

He didn’t wait for Ren to stand up. He picked Ren up and carried him out of the room.

He took him down the stairs and into the large dining hall. Cilian sat him down right next to his own seat at the head of the long table.

The maids began to bring out the food and the tea. Ren looked at their faces, searching for a familiar one. He looked for Mary, the maid who was assigned to look after him. But she wasn’t there. He looked again, curious if something had happened to her.

Cilian was watching him. He stirred his tea with a silver spoon, looking amused.

"Are you looking for someone, darling?" Cilian asked, but Ren didn’t say anything, but his eyes kept moving toward the door, as if waiting to see someone else walk in.

Cilian finally caught on. It was always a certain maid who took care of Ren, after all.

"Do you remember that the plane had explosives on it?" Cilian asked casually. "It was a very smart setup. It turns out we had someone on the inside telling our enemies everything we did. And that person was Mary."

Ren flinched, his eyes widening. Mary did?

Cilian let out a short laugh.

"Hilarious, right? The woman who was in charge of you was the one trying to blow us up."

Ren’s hand started to shake on the table. He thought about Mary and how much she had suffered because of him.

The reason she betrayed Cilian... It was probably not for the money. She had probably just wanted the nightmare to end. She wanted Cilian dead, even if it meant she died too when caught.

"What did you do to her?" Ren whispered.

"I got a confession out of her, so don’t worry," Cilian said. His voice was calm again, like he was talking about a business deal. He patted Ren’s hand. "We know who our enemies are now. I made sure she understood what she did wrong before I let her go."

Ren felt sick. He knew what ’letting her go’ meant when Cilian said it. Mary was gone, and not just from the Estate, but from this world entirely.

Now, the only one he could look at was the man sitting next to him, smiling as he pushed a plate of fruit toward him.

"Now, eat, wifey," Cilian said softly. "You need to be strong. You’re eating for two now, remember?"

It made Ren sick just thinking about it. But then again, he wondered... would he be free of this if he just killed Cilian?

That’s right. The plan was still in motion.

Once he took out his uncles, once he got Toby to safety... one he killed Cilian, he would be free.

He could end this seed growing before it even sprouted fully and had a heartbeat.

Yes, and to do that, he needed to... sweet-talk Cilian. If he showed Cilian he was suddenly obedient, he would find it suspicious, so he would act like his usual self but seem more willing.

"Cilian," he suddenly called and Cilian opened his eyes.

"Hm?"

"Thank... thank you."