All Chapters of Never Mine To Love: Chapter 181 - Chapter 190

River’s POVThe taste of roasted chicken was still in my mouth, but I couldn’t remember actually swallowing. It felt like I had been chewing all night without ever finishing a bite. Dessert sat in front of me now-apple pie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream that was already melting into a puddle. The sweet smell rose up, thick and heavy, but I couldn’t bring myself to lift the fork.Craig was grinning, leaning back in his chair as he teased Noah about cutting the slices unevenly. He pointed at Noah’s plate like it was some kind of crime scene. Noah shook his head, laughing under his breath, pretending to be annoyed but not really. Lydia laughed too, a soft sound, but her eyes kept flicking toward me. She was careful, trying not to make it obvious, but I felt it every time her gaze landed on me.She was pretending to be steady. I was pretending to be steady. We were both liars in different ways.I pushed the pie around on my plate, the fork scraping against the porcelain in a way that m

River’s POVI didn’t remember how my shoes ended up by the door. I didn’t remember who reached first. All I knew was Noah’s mouth was on mine, hot and desperate, like we’d both been choking on silence and finally broke the surface. My back hit the wall, his hand firm on my hip, and the sound that tore out of me wasn’t anything I could control.The kiss wasn’t careful. It wasn’t slow. It was years of wanting stuffed into a single breath, all heat and hunger and the ache of knowing we couldn’t stop. My fingers twisted into his shirt, dragging it up, needing skin, needing proof this wasn’t another dream. His lips were rough against mine, his teeth grazing when I pulled him closer, and I didn’t care if it hurt. I wanted all of it.“Noah…” I gasped against his mouth, but the word wasn’t really a protest. It was a plea.“Shut up,” he whispered back, voice low, burning against my lips, and then he kissed me harder, pressing me deeper into the wall.My hands were everywhere, his shoulders, hi

Daniel’s POVThe steering wheel felt too tight in my hands, like I was gripping it harder than I needed to. The morning sun cut through the windshield, blinding in patches, but I didn’t bother with the shade. My head wasn’t really on the road anyway, it was back in the office, in every conversation Christian and I had been having the last few weeks.“Listen,” Christian’s voice came through the speaker, calm as always but edged with tension, “we’ve gone through the cameras again, the ones you pointed us toward. Nothing yet that ties Karden directly, but there’s enough gaps that make him suspicious. Too many gaps. Almost like he knew where the blind spots were.”My jaw tightened. I pressed harder on the gas, the car humming beneath me. “Of course he knew. He’s not reckless. He plans his moves. He’s careful until he’s not. That’s why we’re here in the first place.”Christian exhaled on the other end. “We’re pushing, Daniel. I’ve got two agents running down the cash trails, and there’s mo

River’s POVI ended the call and slipped my phone back into my pocket, but my hand lingered there, fingers curling tight around the fabric like I needed to hold something down. My chest felt heavy, full of words I didn’t say, questions I didn’t ask. Mrs. Holt’s voice still echoed in my head.Karden was supposed to come home. He never showed.The world outside went on like nothing had changed, cars rolled by, people laughed, the café lights glowed soft and golden just ahead but everything inside me tilted. I had been so sure he was gone, out of Fairview, out of my line of sight. Now it felt like the ground beneath me wasn’t steady anymore.I pulled in a breath, sharp and unsteady, and forced my legs to move. The bell above the café door chimed when I pushed it open, the warm scent of coffee wrapping around me, rich and almost too much after the cold air outside.It was busier than I expected. A couple of students with laptops near the corner. An older man flipping through a newspaper b

River’s POVThe night air was colder than I thought it would be. I stood outside the small café, hands shoved deep into my pockets, the glow of the streetlight stretching my shadow across the pavement. The world felt too quiet, too still, like it was holding its breath. Or maybe that was just me.I told myself a hundred times I shouldn’t have agreed. When Daniel’s message came through, asking if we could meet, my first instinct was to ignore it. To let the silence stay between us. It was safer that way. Easier. But then I saw myself typing that one word-Where?-before I could stop it.And now here I was. Waiting.The café had closed hours ago, the chairs stacked neatly inside, but the benches outside were empty and the street was calm. It was the kind of place people passed by without really looking. Maybe that’s why I chose it. Neutral ground. A place where neither of us had history.I kept checking the time on my phone, though I already knew how long it had been. Five minutes late.