เข้าสู่ระบบแชร์
Chapter Two: The Line between Us
ปรับปรุงล่าสุด:
2025-05-18 17:35:03Eden
I can’t stop thinking about the way he said it. "That doesn’t mean I don’t have rules of my own." It’s been two hours since Roman brushed past me in the living room, but the words are still lodged in my chest like a thorn I keep pushing against. Sharp. Deep. Just enough to sting. I sit curled up on the window seat in my bedroom, pretending to read, but really I’m just staring out at the backyard. Roman's there. Shirt off. Sweating. Swinging an axe into logs like the woods have personally offended him. He’s not just strong. He’s violent in the way he moves—controlled chaos. Like he’s constantly holding himself back from going further. Doing more. And it makes my stomach twist in ways I can’t admit out loud. He’s not like other men. Not like the boys in my classes who wear sneakers too clean and hands too soft. Roman looks like he could break someone with a thought—and maybe he has. I wonder what he does when my father isn’t around. I wonder what happens at that secret club I wasn’t supposed to find. The one tucked behind unmarked doors in the bad part of town. The one I followed him to, once, even though I knew I shouldn’t. He didn’t see me that night. At least, I don’t think he did. But something changed after. He watches me differently now. Speaks to me like he's choosing his words with a blade against his throat. Every time we're in the same room, something buzzes under my skin—like electricity. Like temptation. I press my forehead to the glass and whisper, “What are you hiding from me?” As if he hears me, Roman pauses. Looks up. Our eyes meet. I should look away. I don’t. His stare is steady, heavy, and terrifying in how still it is. Like he’s waiting for me to blink first. Like he’s daring me not to. And maybe I am. Because I don’t want him to protect me. I want him to lose control. Later that night, the house is quieter than usual. Dad’s gone on another last-minute trip, and Roman hasn’t come out of his room since dinner. I should be asleep. I should stop thinking about the way his eyes lingered on me today—the way his voice softened just a fraction when he said my name. But I’m not. Instead, I find myself standing outside his door, heart pounding like a warning drum. I knock. No answer. I try the handle. It’s unlocked. I step inside. Roman is sitting on the edge of his bed, hands clasped tightly between his knees, jaw clenched so hard it looks like he’s trying to hold back a storm. “Roman?” My voice is barely a whisper. He looks up, startled—like he wasn’t expecting company, like the mask he wears so well is starting to crack. “What are you doing here?” His voice is rough. “I could ask you the same thing.” I step closer. “Why do you shut yourself away like this?” He doesn’t answer right away. Instead, he runs a hand through his hair, sighing deeply. “I’m keeping my promise,” he says finally. “Your father asked me to watch over you. That’s all this is.” I bite my lip. “It doesn’t feel like ‘just watching’ anymore.” Roman’s eyes darken. “It shouldn’t.” “Why?” I challenge, stepping closer until the space between us feels like an electric current ready to snap. “Because I’m young? Because you think I don’t understand what you’re doing?” He stands abruptly, towering over me. The heat radiates off him like a wildfire. “I don’t want to want you,” he admits, voice low, raw. “I shouldn’t feel this way.” My breath catches. “I never wanted this,” he continues, voice breaking. “But every time I look at you, I remember the promise I made to your father—and I want more than just to protect you.” The room spins, the line between fear and desire blurring until I don’t know where I end and he begins. “What do you want, Roman?” I whisper. He steps so close our breaths mingle, “I want to keep you safe. And I want to keep you close. But I’m terrified I’ll destroy you if I do.” The weight of his words crushes the space between us. And in that moment, I realize—we’re both already broken. Roman's POV I can feel her breath—shallow, quick—as if she’s on the edge of running or falling. “I’m not going to destroy you,” I say, voice rougher than I’d like. “But I’m not sure I can control what I feel anymore.” She looks up at me, eyes wide, vulnerable. “You don’t have to control it,” she whispers. That scares me more than anything. Because letting go means crossing lines I swore I’d never cross. Lines that shouldn’t exist between us. But the truth is—it’s already too late. I reach out, barely touching her arm. Electricity shoots through me. “Eden,” I say, trying to steady my voice, “you don’t know what you’re asking.” “I want to know,” she says, voice firm despite the tremble in her hands. Her courage surprises me. Or maybe it’s desperation. “I’m here because your father asked me to be,” I remind her. “But I’m also here because I can’t leave. Not completely.” She swallows hard. “Then don’t.” For a moment, the world falls away. It’s just us, two broken souls standing too close to a fire that could burn us both. I close the distance. “Tell me what you want,” I breathe. She hesitates, then steps into the space between us, bold and trembling all at once. “I want you to stop pretending this is just protection,” she says. “I want you to be real with me.” Her words pierce the quiet night like a challenge. And I realize—we’ve already crossed that line.
บทล่าสุด
Guardian of Ruin SEQUEL CHAPTER
Chapter Twenty Three: Secrets Unearthed The study was cloaked in shadows, the dim glow of a single desk lamp casting long, flickering shapes on the walls. Dust motes floated lazily in the stale air, as if time itself had paused within these walls. Eden sat rigidly in the cracked leather chair, a heavy folder resting on her lap. The pages inside were yellowed and brittle, covered in typed reports, photographs, and handwritten notes — evidence of a life she had never known, a past her father had tried to bury. Her father stood quietly by the window, staring out at the gathering storm. Thunder rumbled in the distance, a fitting soundtrack to the storm inside Eden’s mind. She finally broke the silence. “Dad... I need to know everything. No more half-truths.” He sighed deeply and lowered himself into the chair beside her, his eyes tired but steady. “You deserve to know, Eden. It’s time.” He pulled the folder closer and began to speak, his voice low but deliberate. “Before you were b
Guardian of Ruin SEQUEL CHAPTER
Chapter Twenty Two: Aftermath and Reckoning The mountain lay shattered beneath a sky heavy with smoke and ash, a jagged wound where the Caldera complex once stood. The air hung thick and choking, bitter with the scent of burning metal and earth torn open. Eden’s lungs burned as she sucked in every ragged breath, her body trembling—not just from exhaustion, but from the adrenaline still coursing through her veins. Beside her, Roman crouched on the rocky ground, brushing soot from his hair, his sharp eyes scanning the horizon as if expecting an enemy to rise from the ruins at any moment. The quiet between them was heavy, charged with the unspoken weight of survival and loss. “We did what we could,” Roman finally said, voice low and steady despite the chaos that still surrounded them. Eden nodded slowly, her gaze fixed on the smoldering crater below. “Yeah. But she’s still out there.” The words hung in the smoky air, a bitter reminder of Valeska’s escape. The woman who had orchestr
Guardian of Ruin SEQUEL CHAPTER
Chapter Twenty One: Into the Heart of the Storm The air was thick with the scent of burning metal and scorched earth as Eden and Roman pressed forward into the bowels of the Caldera complex. Each step echoed against the cold concrete walls, the sound swallowed quickly by the low hum of machines struggling to maintain balance. Sparks flickered from exposed wires overhead, casting erratic shadows that danced on the surfaces around them. Eden’s fingers grazed the edge of a control panel, the screens cracked but still faintly glowing with a ghostly light. Somewhere deep inside the complex, the core’s unstable power pulsed—its rhythm like a warning heartbeat, accelerating with every second. “We’re close,” Roman whispered, voice tight with tension. Eden swallowed hard, her mind replaying everything Kessler had told them about the monolith: the heart of Valeska’s experiment, a weapon unlike any other. It wasn’t just power—it was a new frontier of control, able to manipulate energy and ma
Guardian of Ruin SEQUEL CHAPTER
Chapter Twenty Four: Endgame The dawn was slow to break, the sky a bruised purple over the city. The streets were silent, except for the occasional hum of early traffic and distant sirens — the calm before a storm that none of them could ignore. Eden stood at the edge of the rooftop, wind tugging at her hair, eyes scanning the horizon where the first pale light met steel and concrete. The city felt alive, but tense — like it was holding its breath, waiting for what was coming. Behind her, Roman moved silently, checking the weapons and gear they would need. Her father was already on the comms, coordinating with old contacts and allies who had promised their loyalty once again. “Today, it ends,” Eden said softly, more to herself than to anyone else. Roman glanced at her, eyes sharp but kind. “It will. One way or another.” She turned to face him fully. “We don’t get a second chance. No mistakes.” Roman nodded, understanding the weight of those words. They both did. Her f
Guardian of Ruin SEQUEL CHAPTER
Chapter Twenty: Ashes and Echoes The ground split beneath their feet.Chunks of debris rained from the ceiling as Eden and Roman sprinted through the narrowing corridor. Sparks hissed from severed wires overhead, and smoke curled around them, thickening by the second. Behind them, the collapsing core groaned like a wounded beast, shattering the silence of the deep.“Up the secondary shaft!” Roman shouted, his voice barely audible over the chaos.Eden followed, lungs burning, vision blurred with sweat and smoke. Her mind buzzed with images—Beta’s blank stare, Valeska’s unnerving calm, the glow of the monolith as it surged with volatile energy. The final words echoed louder than the alarms:> “You still can.”As if she had a choice. As if she hadn’t already chosen.Roman hauled open a steel hatch just before it locked, dragging her through. They climbed into a vertical crawlspace that led up—angled, narrow, and built like a maintenance vent. Every surface was hot to the touch. Somewher
Guardian of Ruin SEQUEL CHAPTER
Chapter Nineteen: The CoreFor a moment, Eden forgot how to breathe.The boy in the glass chamber didn’t blink. His gaze was sharp, lucid—but there was something wrong beneath it. Like a storm caged in glass. Amber veins pulsed faintly beneath his skin, forming strange patterns that shimmered and faded. Artificial. Controlled. Designed.Roman stepped in front of Eden instinctively, scanning the hallway behind them. The steel doors they entered through were now sealed—hermetically, judging by the sudden hiss of pressure locking them in.Valeska’s voice echoed again, honey-smooth and venom-laced.> “Don’t bother trying the doors. You’re in my house now, Eden. I’ve been waiting a long time for this.”Roman growled, “We need to find the control room. Now.”But Eden didn’t move. Her eyes were still fixed on the boy—no, the weapon. That’s what he was. Another experiment. Another product of Caldera’s twisted vision.“Who are you?” Eden asked, stepping closer to the glass.The boy tilted his
บางทีคุณอาจจะชอบ
Punished by His Love
Suzie4.3M viewsBillionaire's Substitute Bride and Her Secret Child
Lana West448.1K viewsThe Divorced Billionaire Heiress
I Wanna Eat Meat16.0M viewsRevenge of the Hideous Lady
Moonlight954.6K viewsTaming Mr. Wolfe
Marieè46 viewsParty Animals
Jade Lane106 viewsONE NIGHT STAND WITH MY PROFESSOR AND LAWYER BOSS!
Jubril Zainab300 viewsMidnight Cravings: Steamy Erotic Stories
Scribe2.2K views
