Uncaged: Loving The Golden Boy

The moment I hit "Send," I finally buried nine years of pathetic, onesided love. Loving my best friend’s older brother was the stupidest mistake of my life.

Nine years of chasing him only earned me endless coldness and indifference. I’m done with this oneway marathon.

That arrogant, controlling ice king can keep his highandmighty attitude. I turned and pinched the cheek of the young man beside me.

He’s sweet, passionate, and completely obsessed with me. Who needs a cold CEO anyway?

Why settle for a man who looks down on you when you can have a loyal golden retriever boy who treats you like his entire world?

Chapter 1 The day I went public with Jude on Instagram, my phone exploded. The comments were a frantic blur of notifications, with a thousand likes racking up in seconds.

My friends were all screaming, congratulating me for finally ending my "eternal single" streak. Then, I saw Daisy’s comment.

It stood out like a jagged piece of glass: [Are you insane? Did you actually block my brother?] I scowled. [Who does he think he is? Why wouldn't I block him?

My love life is none of his business.] What I didn't know was that at that very moment, Daisy was sitting right next to him.

Vance tapped his fingers against the table, his voice freezing the air around them. "What did she say?" Daisy shrunk back, her body trembling as she avoided his darkened gaze.

She read my reply out loud, her voice shaking with every word. The temperature in the room plummeted instantly. The pressure was suffocating.

Daisy’s internal scream: Daphne, you are dead. Back on my end, I shivered. Then, I saw something impossible: Vance had liked my post. Holy hell.

The sun must have risen from the west. Vance actually liked my photo? I started overthinking. Maybe all those years of chasing him were the wrong move.

Maybe I just needed to trigger his possessiveness to finally get a glance. I might not love you, but you aren't allowed to love anyone else. That was the vibe, right?

I let my imagination run wild, expecting the classic "obsessive chase" arc to begin. I was practically vibrating with anticipation.

I swore right then and there: from now on, I’m only staying with the loyal knight who treats me like his only queen. But the "chase" never happened.

Vance continued to ignore me like I didn't exist. It was fine, though. I wasn't the same Daphne who would cry for days just because he didn't text back. Besides, I had Jude now.

For our first date, Jude took me to the movies.

At the theater, I pointed at the new horror flick. "Let's see this one." Jude looked at me, confused, and pointed to a teen romance. "Wouldn't this be better?" I shook my head.

No way. But I regretted it ten minutes into the movie. I didn't realize Jude was such a scaredycat. He was practically vibrating, trying to crawl into my lap.

I patted his hand. "It’s all fake. Don't be scared." Jude looked up, his damp, puppydog eyes meeting mine. The atmosphere shifted.

I let out a soft breath, grabbed a kernel of popcorn, and pressed it against his lips. My thumb brushed his bottom lip, lingering just a second too long. "Eat something sweet.

You'll feel better, good boy." Jude swallowed, his gaze darkening with something far more intense than fear. God, he was pretty. Why was I ever so stubborn?

Just as I was thinking about how to turn up the heat, a voice more haunting than the movie’s soundtrack drifted from above. "Sit properly and watch the movie." My spine snapped straight.

My heart skipped a beat, the sheer weight of that suffocating voice slamming into me. I instinctively jerked away from Jude.

Jude looked lost. "He’s my neighbor," I managed, my voice tight. "Like a big brother." Jude nodded. "Nice to meet you, sir." Then his eyes lit up. "Wait—you're Vance!

The legend from my department!" Daisy was there too, wearing a pained, awkward smile. "Hey, Daphne. Jude. What a… coincidence." Jude was thrilled.

I, however, shot a lethal glare at Daisy. She looked away immediately, the guilt written all over her face. Chapter 2 The rest of the movie was sheer torture.

The second the credits rolled and the lights flicked on, I grabbed Jude's wrist, ready to bolt. "Stop." My traitorous legs froze on command.

For the millionth time, I cursed my own pathetic conditioning. "It's too late. Daphne must go home. She has a curfew." "I don't have a curfew anymore!" "I just made one.

Do you have a problem with that?" Vance stated, leaving no room for argument. His large hand clamped around my wrist, the crushing grip sending a shockwave up my arm.

Jude looked at him with pure admiration. "Understood, sir.

I will just take Daphne out again tomorrow." Then, his expression shifted into genuine awe. "You have always been an industry leader to me.

Would it be alright if I connected with you on LinkedIn?" A muscle in my jaw twitched. Vance patted the top of my head like I was a golden retriever. "Of course.

I will have Daphne send you my profile." With that, he dragged Daisy and me straight to his car. "The kid makes a decent enough pet." I fought the urge to roll my eyes, silently cursing his sheer arrogance and god complex. "Daphne, did you sleep with him?" Vance's voice dropped the temperature in the cramped car below freezing.

I met his glare in the rearview mirror without backing down an inch. "Obviously.

We did the whole damn routine." The veins on the back of Vance's hands bulged against the steering wheel. "You better take that back." "Wow, since when do you care?" "I don't care if you date right now, but keep it in check.

Your priority is your degree and your future." I let out a dry, sarcastic laugh. "Well, I guess I should thank you for your suffocating control issues." That hit a nerve.

His grip on the wheel tightened until his knuckles turned bonewhite. The muscles in his forearms coiled tight, vibrating with suppressed fury.

I clamped my mouth shut, deciding to take a page out of Daisy's book and play dead in the passenger seat. It was not that I was a coward.

It was just that Vance had been the only constant in my life for way too long. When my parents got divorced, they made me pick who to live with.

I told them I did not want either of them; I wanted Vance. His parents agreed without missing a beat.

From that day on, the guardian I chose took over my entire life, managing every single detail of my existence. At fifteen, my stupid teenage heart started romanticizing everything.

Chapter 3 Daisy was out at a class party, leaving me alone in the house. I was curled up on the couch, glued to the TV.

Right as the onscreen couple locked into a heavy, breathless kiss, a shadow fell over me. Vance materialized behind my back.

He dropped into a crouch beside the sofa, snatched the remote from my hand, and killed the romance with a single click of the channel button.

His scalding breath brushed against the shell of my ear, thick with raw testosterone.

His deep, gravelly voice sent a jolt of electricity straight down my spine. "Daphne, instead of rotting your brain with this fake romance, why don't you focus your energy on something real, hmm?" He patted my head, the gesture entirely too intimate.

I whipped my head around to glare at him, but he just let out a low chuckle.

His thumb brushed against the corner of my mouth, wiping away a stray potato chip crumb. "Such a greedy girl. Turn the TV off and go read a book in your room.

Think about what you want for dinner, and I'll make it." I froze. My heart hammered against my ribs like a trapped bird, and a hot flush crawled up my neck.

That was the exact second the realization hit me like a freight train. I was falling for the guy next door, the man nine years older than me.

The thought sent a jolt of pure panic straight through my nervous system. From that day on, I was a walking disaster. Every move I made around him felt stiff and calculated.

It drove Daisy crazy. "Daphne, are you possessed?

Since when do you clean willingly?" I paused, the rag hovering over the coffee table, and leaned in close to her. "Daisy, do you think Vance is seeing anyone?" Daisy's eyes went wide with sheer shock. "Are you out of your mind?

You actually have the nerve to use his first name? You dropped the 'big brother' title entirely?" Lovers who act like siblings stay siblings. Screw that.

If I wanted to be with him, I had to stop calling him by his title. Obviously, I wasn't going to confess my master plan to oblivious Daisy.

She tilted her head, thinking hard. "I'm not sure.

But a few days ago, I did see some gorgeous girl come over to the house." Before I could even interrogate her, Vance walked through the front door—and he wasn't alone. "The sun must have risen in the west.

Daphne is actually doing chores." I snapped my head toward his voice. They looked like a pictureperfect power couple. I slammed the rag down onto the glass table.

So much for playing the hardworking domestic girl. I spent all this time trying to impress him, didn't get a single compliment, and instead, he brought home the competition.

Daisy, completely blind to the fact that I was mentally setting the room on fire, smiled and waved at the intruder.

Then again, what right did I even have to be jealous? "Daphne, that's the pretty girl I was talking about," Daisy whispered loudly.

I lifted my chin, locking eyes with the stunning woman who was currently scanning me with pure amusement.

She let out a light laugh. "Vance, your two little sisters… one is completely clueless, and the other looks ready to bite my head off." The fury instantly scorched my last thread of rationality.

That night, I blindly shoved a few hoodies into my duffel bag and stormed toward the front door.

Vance's large hand clamped around my upper arm, stopping me dead in my tracks. "Daphne, what kind of tantrum is this?" I violently yanked my arm out of his grip, glaring at him with eyes like daggers. "Let go of me!

I'm going back to my own house so I don't interrupt your intimate time with that woman!" His dark brows pulled together in a sharp frown.

He reached out, his long fingers pinching my cheek in a reprimanding grip. "What kind of nonsense are you spouting? Stop acting out and get back to bed." I was pathetic.

It only took Vance a few firm words to instantly extinguish my fire. But as time crawled on, playing the obedient girl wasn't enough anymore.

I didn't dare confess, purely because he still viewed me as some helpless kid. Ironically, it wasn't like I lacked options of my own.

Once, after a parentteacher conference, he intercepted a love letter some guy slipped into my locker.

He waved the envelope at me, a teasing smirk on his lips. "Look at Daphne, so popular with the little boys. But no dating right now.

You have to wait until you are legally an adult." Wait until you are an adult. The words burned themselves into my brain. Eighteen. At eighteen, I could finally make my move.

Chapter 4 "If you are not actually into him, end it before it gets messy." The moment the car idled in front of my building, the traitor Daisy scrambled out.

I reached for the door handle, but Vance's heavy arm blocked my exit, pinning the door shut. His dark eyes were bottomless, stripped of any readable emotion.

I forced a sweet, impenetrable smile. "I'm actually pretty serious about him this time, big brother." The ice instantly shattered in his eyes.

His large hand violently clamped around my jaw, possessing a terrifying, undeniable dominance as he forced my head back, making me stare straight into his bloodshot eyes. "What did you just call me?" The sheer danger radiating from him paralyzed my vocal cords. "Daphne.

What did you just call me?" Big brother. From fifteen to twentyfour. Nine whole years of pathetic, stubborn delusion, refusing to use that title because I wanted to be yours.

But we were impossible. His words, not mine. I did not want to become total strangers, so going back to playing siblings was the perfect, brutal compromise.

The rough pad of his thumb scraped across my jawline, sparking a dangerous friction against my skin.

I tried to pull my head back. "Brother." His other hand shot out, gripping the back of my neck to drag me flush against his chest.

The space between us vanished into a suffocating, overheated vacuum, his heavy breaths fanning across my lips.

I let out a sharp gasp of pain. "Let go…" A flicker of panic fractured his dark stare, and he released me like I burned him.

He yanked at his silk tie, wrestling down the possessive madness swimming in his eyes. When he spoke, his voice was a broken rasp. "Sorry. You crossed a line." Sure, I got it.

The annoying stagefive clinger who had been stalking him for a decade was finally backing off. I would be thrilled, too.

But maybe he could find a less homicidal way to show his relief? My heart was still hammering against my ribs. After that night, Vance vanished. He was not at the house.

He was not at his firm. I could not pinpoint exactly how I felt. The sudden silence left a hollow ring in my chest, half relief, half the phantom pain of an amputated limb.

I never expected nine years of bleeding for him to end with such a pathetic, quiet whimper. It was a messy, unresolved end.

The grand, allconsuming romance I had scripted in my head was probably nothing more than a giant red flag to him. I was done begging for scraps.

Before, the second he walked into a room, I would shamelessly throw myself at him, declaring my undying devotion.

But now, I just taped up another cardboard box and let out a dry breath. It was time to pull the plug and start fresh.

I dialed Daisy's number. "Daisy, my boxes are pretty much packed. My parents are flying back together in a couple of days, so I am moving back to my place." It was utterly absurd.

After over a decade of toxic warfare, my parents were actually getting remarried. A shriek nearly shattered my phone speaker. "Daphne! You cannot!

My brother will literally murder me when he gets back!" "Gets back? Where did he even go?" "He flew out to New York. He is going to be there for three months.

Did he seriously not tell you?" No. He did not. But that was perfect. I ignored Daisy's frantic begging, ended the call, and moved to lock my screen.

I saw a text from Jude pop up, asking what I was up to. [Packing. Moving out.] Jude replied with an adorable, animated nodding sticker. I left him on read.

Once the last box was sealed, I ordered a UHaul moving service on my app. Just then, the doorbell buzzed. I frowned. Since when were movers this fast?

I swung the door open, only to find a hyperventilating Daisy and a beaming, energetic Jude standing on my porch. Chapter 5 I stared at Jude. "I don't have time for a date today.

Go home." His eyes lit up. "Not a date.

I am here to help you move." Without waiting for an answer, he grabbed the heaviest box and started hauling it to the UHaul alongside the movers.

Daisy tugged at my sleeve. "Daphne, I seriously regret introducing you two." I patted her hand. "What is your problem?

We are doing great." Daisy groaned. "If you guys actually become a thing, what about my brother?" I bit the inside of my cheek, refusing to answer that.

Jude and Daisy were in the same grad program under the same advisor.

Daisy was a walking emotional disaster, and over the years, I had naturally slipped into the role of her overprotective sisterinlaw. Or just her sister.

She was clingy, so I hung out at her campus a lot. That was how I met Jude. At first, the kid was so shy his ears would turn crimson if I just said hi to him.

I still had no idea where he found the nerve to actually ask me out. A dry laugh escaped my throat at the memory.

I pulled a tissue from my pocket and handed it to Jude as he walked back over, his forehead slick with sweat. "Wipe your face." Jude looked at me like I hung the moon. "I am not tired." Daisy gaped at us, scandalized by the domestic vibe.

She grabbed my arm and dragged me into the hallway. "Daphne, are you actually serious about him?

I thought you were just using him to make Vance jealous!" I flicked her forehead. "I don't play games with people's feelings." I did not buy into the whole loveatfirstsight crap anyway.

Jude was sweet, loyal, and practically worshipped the ground I walked on. Since there was nothing about him I hated, I knew I could make this relationship work.

Vance returned on the night of Daisy's birthday. Four months. From the suffocating heat of summer straight into the dead leaves of late autumn. The front door swung open.

He stepped inside, draped in a sharp black overcoat that made the angles of his face look sharper, colder, and utterly untouchable. "Vance! How are you back already?

Was your flight not tomorrow?" Daisy shrieked with joy, sprinting across the room to throw her arms around him. His dark eyes swept over the room.

Daisy had invited a bunch of her grad school friends over for a small house party to celebrate her birthday. None of us expected Vance to crash it tonight.

It was already past ten, and the exhaustion was etched into the tight lines around his eyes.

Yet, the sheer, crushing gravity of his presence instantly silenced the loud, buzzing room. Everyone stared at him. For months, I had heard absolute radio silence from his end.

Seeing him look this drained jolted something in my chest. In my pathetic mind, he had always been bulletproof.

Turns out, he could bleed just like the rest of us. "Do not let me stop you." His voice was a low, steady rumble, cold but undeniably smooth.

He handed a sleek shopping bag to Daisy. "Your present." My eyes darted to his hand. There were two gift boxes inside. Chapter 6 "Vance! We are just about to start a game.

Join us!" "Yeah, come on, join in!" Before I could even grab Jude's wrist to stop him, he was already leading the charge.

Jude flashed a bright, sunny smile. "Sir, everyone here looks up to you.

Grant us the wish of hanging out with our industry idol for a bit!" Daisy grinned, hooking her arm through Vance's and dragging him over. "Makes sense.

My brother definitely needs to unwind." Surprisingly, Vance did not brush them off. He went with the flow and took a seat.

We all sat in a circle, gearing up for a cliché game of Truth or Dare with an empty beer bottle. I was originally sandwiched between Daisy and Jude.

Now, whether she did it on purpose or not, that little traitor maneuvered it so Vance sat directly on my right, with her taking the spot on his right.

For the first few rounds, I was lucky. The bottle never pointed at me, and I mercilessly dared the others. We were all tightknit friends, so everyone was just having a good time.

But my luck eventually ran out. The second the neck of the bottle locked onto me, the room erupted in cheers. It was payback time. My mind raced.

The man I had chased for a decade was sitting on one side, and my current boyfriend was on the other. Truth was absolute suicide.

I had to go with Dare. "Kiss the person on your left or right for one full minute!" When Daisy's friend, Margo, excitedly read the dare from her phone, my brain shortcircuited.

My adrenaline spiked, a burning heat rushing straight up my neck. "Whoa! Do it! Do it!" "Jude!

You owe us!" Jude turned his head toward me, a teasing smile playing on his lips as he winked. I dropped my gaze, knowing there was no way out of this.

Karma was a bitch, especially after how hard I had roasted everyone else.

But making out with Jude right in front of Vance… the sheer awkwardness was paralyzing. "Uh, maybe we should not do that one," Daisy chimed in, trying to save me.

I shot her a grateful smile and looked up. But instead of Daisy, my eyes crashed directly into a gaze that could freeze hell over.

Vance's lips were curved upward, and the room was stiflingly warm, yet a violent shiver ripped down my spine.

Before I could process the danger radiating from him, a warm hand cupped the back of my head. Jude leaned in, his clean, heavy scent crashing over me.

His kiss was not the sweet, innocent peck he portrayed.

It held an undeniable, aggressive possession as his mouth crashed down on mine, dragging a deep, heavy pull from my lower lip. "That is enough.

My Daphne is shy," Jude pulled back, his voice slightly rough. "I will take the penalty drink for her later." The room erupted into groans and whistles, everyone teasing us for being too intensely domestic.

I let out a shaky breath, absolutely terrified to look to my right. I did not know it, but Daisy was far more terrified than I was.

In the dim lighting, poor Daisy abruptly sucked in a sharp breath. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw why.

The exact second my lips met Jude's, Vance's right hand closed into a fist so violently the tendons in his knuckles threatened to snap. Thick veins corded up his forearm.

Daisy looked paralyzed, her eyes darting between him and the table like she expected him to shatter someone's jaw. Honestly, I recognized that terrifying, suffocating calm.

It was a dark, quiet ocean right before a catastrophic tsunami ripped everything apart.

The first time I saw that exact look was back when Daisy and I were sophomores in high school.

Chapter 7 Daphne was stunning, especially her eyes, which were vibrant and full of life.

That day after school, just as she and Daphne walked out of the school gates, they were intercepted by a few thugs from outside the school.

Without wasting many words, they tried to get their hands on Daphne. She was absolutely terrified, but Daphne remained incredibly calm.

Fortunately, she had managed to sneak a text to her brother, who happened to be on his way to pick them up.

By the time Vance got there, Daphne's top had already been slightly torn, exposing her smooth shoulder.

His face completely devoid of emotion, he grabbed the lead thug by the collar and made sure several of them bled.

Through all her racing thoughts, Daisy still managed to sweat for Jude.

Even though the circumstances were different, as a bystander, she had long since figured out exactly what was going through her older brother's mind.

It was just that those involved were blind to it