The Prison Project (by Bethany Donaghy) novel Chapter 211

Coban’s POV

The room was quiet again.

Not the heavy kind of silence that had stayed with me for the past couple of nights when I’d sat in here reflecting on my own over my poor choices…

But this was something far calmer.

Mine. Under my control. Back to normal.

I lay back against the bed, one arm tucked behind my head, the other wrapped securely around Margot where she was curled into my side. j;ob;ni;b;c;o;m Her head rested against my chest, her body fitting into mine like it had always belonged there – which I realise now that it had!

My fingers moved slowly through her hair.

Back and forth.

Again and again.

A steady rhythm I hadn’t realised I’d gotten used to until now.

She shifted slightly, letting out a soft breath, and I felt it against my chest.

Relaxed.

Comfortable.

Here with me.

That alone did something to my head I couldn’t even explain.

“Thanks for today, Coban…” Her voice came soft out in to the silence of the room.

Sleepy.

The kind of statement that caught me off guard more than anything else she’d said all day.

I glanced down slightly, just enough to see the top of her head as she yawned.

“You’ve been a different person…” she added, her words slower now. “It’s nice to see how much you’re trying to fix this… to fix what we have.”

Different…

A small huff of amusement left me.

“Well,” I muttered, “it was fucking exhausting, to say the least.”

That earned me a quiet laugh from her.

And fuck… I’d missed that sound.

Missed her like this.

Not tense.

Not scared.

Not pulling away.

Just… happy to be here. Happy to have me, even with all of my scars…

“But seriously,” I added after a second, my tone shifting slightly. “I’m really trying to make shit up to you.”

My hand slowed in her hair.

“I feel bad for how I was acting with you.” I admitted, staring up at the ceiling now. “You didn’t deserve any of that.”

The words didn’t feel forced anymore.

Didn’t feel like something I had to say.

They just… were the truth. Simple as that.

She sighed softly against me, shifting a little closer like she was settling in properly now, preparing to sleep.

“Fresh start tomorrow,” she murmured. “New week… let’s see if we can have a peaceful one this time.”

Peaceful… I almost scoffed at the idea of peace in this place… but now, I actually felt like it could be possible.

Maybe.

“Yeah,” I muttered, nodding slightly even though she couldn’t see it. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Silence followed again, but my mind didn’t stay still for long.

It never fucking did.

Because something else had been sitting there all day.

Something I hadn’t fully brought back up yet.

Something I needed to know, to help settle my mind.

My jaw tightened slightly before asking-

“How was my father with you?” I asked finally, my voice quieter now.

The words felt heavier than I expected them to.

“We didn’t really get into:

earlier…”

I stared up at the ceiling, waiting now for a response.

And when she didn’t answer straight away, that’s when it hit. That tight feeling in my chest. That worry. That instinct.

Did he say something out of line? Most likely.

Did he push too far? Probably.

My fingers stilled slightly in her hair.

“Did he cross any lines with you?” I added, my tone sharper now.

Because if he did… I’d fucking end him!

I didn’t give a fuck who he was to me.

I’d deal with it the second I got out of this hell hole…

She shifted again, and I felt her breath steady before she finally spoke.

“He was… fair,” she said slowly.

But the thing was…

He wasn’t wrong either.

Not about that.

I didn’t even need to think about it.

Didn’t need to question it.

Because the second she’d walked into my life…

That had been it.

She had been signed over to me – for good.

Whether I realised it then or not.

I glanced down at her again, my hand moving slowly through her hair once more.

“You are mine.” I tell her, letting the statement sink in.

This was something else now.

Something deeper between us.

Something I couldn’t walk away from even if I tried.

And I wouldn’t.

The idea of someone else ever having her now… ever touching her… looking at her too long…

It made something dark grow in my mind.

Something dangerous.

No.

That wasn’t happening.

Not ever.

I tightened my arm slightly around her.

Subtle.

But intentional.

And as she relaxed further into me, her breathing evening out…

I stared up at the ceiling again.

Not restless.

Not angry.

Not looking for the next fight.

Just… finally content again.

Mine. Forever.