part 5
PART 5
Dominic removed his jacket slowly.
Not seductively.
Ceremonially.
As if he had rehearsed the moment.
Audrey stood near the foot of the bed, one hand resting lightly on the carved post.
Her pulse was fast.
Her face remained calm.
Dominic pulled a folded paper from inside his jacket and set it on the marble table.
Then he opened the wardrobe and removed the riding crop.
Audrey did not move.
Inside, every nerve in her body sharpened.
“What is that?”
Dominic smiled.
“Tradition.”
“Whose?”
“Mine.”
He tapped the paper.
“Rules.”
Audrey looked at the locked door.
Then at the pearl clutch on the dresser.
Then at the chair where the manila envelope waited beneath the draped train of her gown.
Dominic unfolded the list.
“Rule number one, Audrey—my word is absolute.”
His voice was smooth.
Pleased.
Audrey tilted her head.
“And if I refuse?”
Dominic stepped closer.
“You won’t.”
He said it with such confidence that her last doubt died.
This was not passion.
Not awkward arrogance.
Not a bad joke.
This was a man showing her the marriage he believed he had bought.
Audrey let him come closer.
One step.
Then another.
He reached for her wrist.
She moved.
Fast.
Clean.
Controlled.
One hand redirected his grip.
One foot shifted behind his ankle.
His balance broke before his pride understood.
Dominic hit the Persian rug with a grunt.
Audrey turned his arm behind his back and pinned him face-down with practiced pressure.
He gasped.
“What are you doing?”
“No, Dominic.”
Her voice was calm.
“I’m just making sure I don’t ruin this beautiful rug.”
He tried to push up.
She tightened the lock.
He cried out.
Not loudly.
Enough.
“Get off me.”
Audrey reached with her free hand and pulled the manila envelope from under the chair.
The annulment petition slid out beside his face.
His eyes widened.
“You planned this?”
Audrey leaned closer.
“You performed exactly as warned.”
Dominic’s breathing changed.
Fear entered it.
She placed a pen near the papers.
“All you have to do is sign.”
Then the private connecting door opened.
Victoria stepped inside without knocking.
May you like
And saw the wedding night she had helped create collapse beneath her son’s cheek.
Read the full story 👉 Dominic revealed the rules, but Audrey used his own locked-door trap to prove coercion and begin the annulment immediately.
