All Chapters of His Touch, Her Ruin: Chapter 41 - Chapter 45

**Amelia’s POV**The music no longer sounded sweet.My father’s presence tainted everything it touched. The laughter, the warmth, the candlelight, it all dulled under his shadow. I stood by the edge of the room, my fingers nervously tightening around the stem of my champagne glass.He moved through the gathering like he belonged, exchanging polite greetings with people who didn’t know what he was. What he was capable of. Perhaps some knew but pretend not to know.But I did.And yet, tonight... I let him stay.Why?Because some selfish part of me, one that I hated still craved even the illusion of a father. One who remembered my birthday. One who brought a gift.Nico stood not far from me, stiff, tense, eyes never leaving my father. His jaw ticked every time the man moved. I knew he wanted him gone.But he hadn’t said a word, not after I begged him to allow him stay.“Do you want me to walk you to the sitting room?” Matteo appeared beside me, offering a calm smile. “You look like you n

**Amelia’s POV**The van screeched as it turned sharply off the main road, gravel spraying beneath the tires. I was slammed into the side, pain shooting up my tense shoulder. The trees outside grew thicker and wild, endless, and far from everything I knew.My wrists ached, still zip-tied. My legs were cramping, my breath shaky.“You think you can out-run him?” I said, barely able to speak.My father’s jaw clenched. “I don’t need to out-run him. I just need to disappear, before he finds me.”“You think these backroads can hide you from Nico Valente?”He didn’t respond. But the dread in his silence said it all.And then, headlights.Blazing behind us.There were getting closer.In fast pace.Nico.My heart leapt, chest aching with desperate hope.My father cursed and swerved into a narrow dirt road, tires skidding across the forest floor. But it was useless.A loud crash. Metal smashing against metal. The van spun off the road, slamming into a tree with a gut-jarring stop.Then everythi

**Amelia’s POV**The cabin had changed.The quiet, wooded hideaway was now surrounded by strange black SUV cars. Men I didn’t recognize stood at the windows, by the trees, near the gates. All of them watched me like I was a prisoner, or a won prize.I didn’t ask questions anymore. I didn’t waste my breath on the guards, asking them questions. Because they gave no answers. Only food, water, and silence.And now, after three days of waiting in this hidden place, someone different had come.I felt the air shifted the moment he stepped into the room.He didn’t storm in like Nico always did. He didn’t raise his voice. He didn’t need to. His presence is dominating. Unlike Nico who gave off, the cold, controlling and you don't want to mess with me vibe. This man gave off the calm and dangerous kind of vibe.He walked in like he already owned everything.He is tall. Crisp in black coat. Clean-cut with charcoal eyes.Not someone I recognized but someone I felt I know.The silence stretched bet