Semua Bab The Billionaire’s Captive Bride: Bab 31 - Bab 40

The first thing I noticed was the warmth…not the strange peace I was expecting but rather warmth.I blinked against the blinding light above me, my throat dry, my head aching and my mouth filled with a bitter aftertaste. My limbs were heavy, as though someone had poured lead through my veins.I shifted, and a sharp punch tugged at my arm.An IV.I wasn't dead.I failed.No.My eyes adjusted slowly, the room was dimly lit except for the bedside lamp. The sheets beneath me were far too comfortable, and the scent was far too familiar.Cologne…expensive…cleanI sat up, taking in the smooth black walls, clean air that smelled like soap and something masculine.Leo.My stomach churned.No. No, no, no.This wasn't my bed.This wasn't my room.It was his room, the dark mahogany furniture, the cold, the perfectly arranged space. Even down to the glass of the nightstand, everything around me screamed control.I shot out of the bed and I guess my body wasn't ready as a wave of nausea slammed int

I woke up disoriented, my breath ragged and skin clammy with sweat. The bitter aftertaste of the sedative clinging to the back of my tongue.The sunlight poured into the room and Leo's scent lingered faintly. My heart hammered from the nightmare that had yanked me awake.Leo was nowhere in sight. He must have left early. Since I started staying in his room, I've been able to see him just twice when he was about to leave the room.My eyes scanned the space, instinctively landing on the mirror across from the bed. My reflection was pale as usual. It was a reminder that no matter how soft these sheets were, no matter how expensive the nightgown felt…I didn't belong here.This was neither my home nor my life.My hand instinctively reached for the bedside table, searching for the glass of water Mrs Thornton always left for me when without warning the door burst open.I screamed in fright as I scrambled upright, knocking over the glass of water on the nightstand. The clatter echoed through

I didn't sleep.I couldn't — not with the way his mouth had branded itself onto mine, the way his fingers curled behind my neck like I was something he needed…and then discarded.Because after the kiss, he just rolled over like nothing happened.No words. No explanation.Just silence and space.I laid beside him for hours, stunned and stiff, wondering if I was supposed to say something, if he had even been fully awake, if I was losing my mind.I laid there frozen in the dark, lips swollen, chest heaving and pulse echoing in my ears as I waited for morning to come.When I finally opened my eyes again, the sun was streaming through all the windows, and the space beside was empty.He was gone.Of course he was.I slowly sat up, the sheets tangled around my legs, and stared at the door like it might give me answers.It didn't.I pressed my fingers to my lips and shut my eyes, but all I could see was him. His eyes, half-wild. His hand behind my neck. His mouth-unforgiving and greedy.I pus

Sleep didn't come easy.I stayed in my bed, tossing and turning uncontrollably.I laid in bed for a long time, my eyes fixed to the ceiling, my thoughts felt louder than the silence. Ravenbird, Hex, BlackBird.I kept hearing those names like they were an important part of my life I couldn't necessarily remember.Or maybe I had just buried them deep enough to forget.At some point, I stopped trying to rest. I slipped out of bed, pulled on a hoodie, and crept back to the closet. The laptop was still where I'd hidden it.The lid creaked open, my fingers moved without hesitation. Password, command prompt, directory.Back up folders. Video archive.There it was, the file I hadn't dared open.I clicked play and the screen flickered.And then I saw myself.Grainy black and white footage. Surveillance angled on my face turned slightly to the side as I walked down an alley in a hoodie, hands shoved in my pockets. Another clip was of me sitting alone at a public terminal, typing fast, glancing a

The mansion had gone quieter since the lockdown-but not calmer.There was this…shift in the atmosphere. Like the air was waiting for something.The Ghost Clan wouldn't really show, would they?I had bumped into Leo only a few times after he told me about the lockdown, and the few times I did meet him, he was incredibly busy giving out orders to the guards.I wasn't really bothered about the lockdown because I wasn't the only one kept in isolation, everyone within the mansion walls were kept in isolation.I sat on the patio, while watching the wind shift the trees. Pretending everything was normal, that is irrespective of the guards training fearlessly, and the distant sound of gunshots from the shooting range.“You're up early,” I turned when I heard Mrs Thornton's voice.She was holding a tray with two cups of what looked like tea. She joined me like it was any other morning.“I couldn't sleep,” I said honestly.“Your nightmares are still bothersome?”I shook my head, “Not really. I