He Locked Me in His GOLDEN CAGE, So I Locked Him Behind Iron Bars Chapter 03
I slipped out of bed, shoving my feet into my slippers.
When I opened the door, I stared blankly at the apartment across the hall.
The night light in the hallway of The Northside Apartments flickered, dim and depressing.
It was 2:00 AM. Luke should have been fast asleep by now.
But faint rustling came from behind his door, and it swung open.
Luke stood there, holding a trash bag, completely caught off guard when he saw me.
“Hailee…”
“I had a nightmare.” I cut him off.
The moment the words left my mouth, tears spilled over, entirely out of my control.
Knowing I was making a scene, I quickly wiped my face. “It’s probably just the stress from the upcoming exams. Sorry, don’t mind me.”
Luke stayed silent for a second. He bent down, leaving the trash bag by his door.
Then he turned and walked back inside.
His shabby studio was tiny. Standing at the threshold, I watched him wash his hands at the sink.
Then he walked right back over to me.
I didn’t move away.
Luke reached out, his hand hesitant as he gently patted my back to comfort me. “Are you hungry? I can make you a grilled cheese sandwich.”
Catching the faint scent of laundry detergent on his clothes, my composure completely shattered.
I gripped the edge of his faded thrift-store hoodie, sobbing hysterically. “I have the money, Luke. I don’t need anyone else’s cash… Please, just don’t do anything stupid…”
Right then, a lazy, irritated voice drifted up from the stairwell. “Yeah, I got it. I’ll drag him back to you in a minute.”
“If they were going to date, they would’ve done it years ago. What are you even worried about? Luke doesn’t care about you, so why would he give a damn about her?”
Suddenly, the voice abruptly cut off.
At the top of the dim, concrete stairs, a boy in a loose t-shirt narrowed his eyes, tracking his gaze up and down between Luke and me.
His phone was still blaring Chloe’s muffled voice. “Hello? Julian? Where the hell are you? Did you grab him yet?”
Julian Laurence pressed the screen to kill the call, his tone dripping with malice. “Well, well. Midnight trysts right outside your doors. You two really know how to play.”
Pure provocation.
The walls in these low-income apartments were paper-thin, and I had no intention of making a scene with Julian here. I grabbed Luke’s hand, trying to pull him inside.
“Are you that scared of me?”
Julian’s voice cut through the dark.
I kept my eyes turned away. “Why wouldn’t I be? Rich, entitled pricks who think they own the world—who knows what kind of twisted shit you’re capable of?”
He didn’t look pissed at all. He just raised an eyebrow, entirely unfazed.
He didn’t view me as an equal, so he couldn’t be bothered to waste real emotion on me.
“Oh, so you do know?” Julian sneered. “Then let go of him. Don’t make me do this the hard way.”
I froze. Glancing down past the railing, the moon illuminated several blacked-out SUVs idling on the street below.
Julian hadn’t come alone. He brought a crew, and a big one.
He was actually going to kidnap Luke for Chloe.
My hand wrapped around Luke’s was trembling violently.
I knew exactly what Julian Laurence was—a lawless, unhinged psycho backed by a family that always cleaned up his goddamn messes.
The next second, a warm, solid palm flipped over, squeezing my fingers tight.
Luke’s voice was deathly calm, clear as ice. “I’m not going anywhere. Tell your guys to come up. Let’s see how big of a scene we can make.”
Julian’s smirk vanished.
A midnight kidnapping was supposed to be quick and quiet.
Catch the target asleep, throw him in the back of a car, and vanish.
Julian obviously hadn’t expected us to be awake, let alone standing in the hallway, which completely screwed up his plan.
If I screamed right now, the entire floor would wake up. It would be total chaos.
“Tch.” Julian narrowed his eyes at Luke, his voice tracking low. “Chloe’s really into you, man. You sure you won’t reconsider?”
“He won’t!” I snapped, answering before Luke could speak.
Julian’s gaze slowly dragged over to me.
His thin lips parted.
He slowly muttered my full name, syllable by syllable. “Hailee Townsend.”
A cold shiver raced straight down my spine, leaving me covered in goosebumps.
It was that exact, suffocating sensation from my past life—like being tracked by a venomous snake.
Julian shoved one hand into his pocket, casually waving the other at us as he gave a low chuckle. “Goodnight, then. Sweet dreams.”
He turned and walked down the stairs, his footsteps echoing carelessly.
I stood frozen.
After a long silence, Luke’s long fingers reached up, wiping the cold sweat from my forehead.
“Don’t worry,” Luke whispered. “Nothing’s going to happen.”
I nodded, pretending to believe him.
But Luke didn’t understand. Chloe was never going to stop.
Julian wasn’t just Chloe’s friend—they were childhood sweethearts, born into the same old money, raised in the same toxic circle.
They shared the exact same brand of cruelty. Julian would always back her up.
I swallowed the dread building in my chest and forced a smile. “After all that, I’m actually starving. Can you make me that grilled cheese?”
“Yeah,” he said softy.
…
I leaned against the counter, watching him work in the small kitchen, carefully buttering the bread and frying the eggs.
I lost myself in the sight.
Noticing my stare, Luke turned his head. “Almost done, Hailee. Don’t worry.”
I whispered back, “I know.”
No matter what it took, I wasn’t letting history repeat itself.
