His Touch, Her Ruin のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 31 - チャプター 40

**Amelia's POV**The room seems to spin around me as I stood there with Nico's note clutched to my fist.“You could be mad at me, but please stay safe.”Safe from what? Safe from whom? Safe from himself?My head hurts. Everything is exhausting.The gorgeous expansive glass walls of the house felt chilly, like they are closing on me.I walk around the room, looking over every inch of the bedroom.Then my eyes settled on the ancient bookshelf next to the fireplace. It had something about it. That felt … wrong. It wasn't just inaccurate. It felt like, it was deliberately arranged.I walked closer to the bookshelf.I pushed gently against the wood with my fingertips grazing the edges. It didn't budge. One of the them slanted strangely, as though it had been nudged ahead a little. So I grasped it.I pulled it.And then the shelf clicked.A breath got trapped in my throat.Staring at the book shelf as it shifted back. Revealing a small secret passageway, flanked by shadows and stone.What'

**Amelia's POV**My eyes fluttered open.The light pouring through the windows was light and quiet. As though, even the sun doubted its place here,My head ache with a dull persistent weight. Sleep stung my eyes, but it didn't revive me. I felt as though I had missed something important, as though the world has moved on without me.And then I realized.Nico's voice. The questions. The Whispering."It has always been you."My heart strained terribly, torn between believing and wanting to run.The space beside the bed was empty now.He wasn't beside me.He certainly wasn't. He left without answering any of my questions.I sat up slowly. The blankets slipped from my shoulders, and I looked at the faint imprint of his body on the mattress. He had been present there. With me. Till I fell asleep.Before I had to get up. My fingers turned towards the sheets. The IV was gone. The nausea also. But something else still persisted. Something much worse.A hollow ache of not knowing who I was anym

**Nico's POV**His smug face scarcely flinched across from me. In the corridor behind us, the scent of blood persisted.That dog touched her. One of Marco's guys had dared to touch Amelia with his dirty hands.Not in this city, not in front of these men, I couldn't do a damn thing without sparking a blood feud that would consume us both completely. One thing I am aiming to stay clear of.I choose the lone option left.Pain.Submission as survival."She is mine." I had said coldly, "Should punishment be warranted, I shall deliver it myself.”It seemed my insides were ripping open when I drew the knife to her neck. The look of disbelief in her eyes.The cut was superficial. Her gasp pierced me more deeply than any knife ever could, though."I'm sorry," I murmured. But this will hurt a little.I knocked her out afterward.And I hated myself for it.---Back in the Valente Estate…I paced the hallway, I discarded the jacket I had worn, my shirt was bloodied at the collar from the cut on

**Amelia's POV**I didn’t know what annoyed me most, if it my own traitorous heart or the look on Celine’s face as she sat across from Nico at breakfast, smiling like she belonged there.I could barely touched my food.Even though Nico didn’t seem particularly engaged in the conversation, but he wasn’t brushing her off either. He wasn’t ignoring her hand that casually brushed his arm or the way she tilted her head just so when she spoke.My spoon clattered against the plate louder than I intended. I stood without a word, ignoring Maria’s concerned glance and her voice as I walked out of the dining hall with my stomach burning.Why did I care?Why did I care that she was laughing beside him? That he didn’t push her away? That he didn’t follow me?Ugh. This wasn’t who I was.I wasn’t jealous. I couldn’t be.I'm not that stupid.Needing air and a breathing space, I turned to the courtyard.Even though the wind was harsh, the sun was soaring high. Shaking my hands slightly, I occupied mys

**Amelia’s POV**The morning light streamed through the sheer curtains, warm and soft, but the bed beside me was cold. Again.I turned over, my fingers brushing the empty space Nico had filled just hours before. The sheets still smelled like him, amber, spice, and something darker, something that always made my chest tighten in ways I didn’t understand.Last night replayed in my mind in quiet waves. The kiss. The heat. The way our breaths tangled in the silence, and my first ever release. I had fallen asleep with his arms around me, and for the first time in a long while, I hadn't dreamt of running or falling. Cause it felt so good here.But now, he was gone.I sat up slowly, heart oddly fluttering. After dressing in something simple, a soft cream sweater and fitted jeans. I made my way downstairs, trying to act like everything was normal.But the truth was, nothing felt normal to me anymore.My steps wavered as I entered the dining room.Sitting at the head of the table, Nico was rea