Semua Bab Before Her Heart Was Taken: Bab 21 - Bab 28

Even after leaving the hospital, Tiffany's fingers still wouldn't stop shaking.Just seeing Hector had her frozen—pure fear, bone-deep."As long as I'm here, he's not taking you anywhere," Javier whispered, pulling her in. "You're safe. Just breathe."His chest was warm, solid.That steady heartbeat in her ear? It made everything feel a little less terrifying."Thanks, Javier," she whispered.Once she'd finally calmed down, the exhaustion slammed into her. She eased out of his arms. "It's late. Let's head back to the dorm."Her leg throbbed—she'd slammed it into a table during the chaos earlier. After everything, she was barely hanging on. If she didn't crash soon, tomorrow was gonna suck.Still, she kept quiet. Javier was hurt too. No way was she adding to that.Then he stepped in front of her and crouched.She froze.He glanced back with a grin. "If you're too wiped to walk, just say so. It's kinda far to the taxi stand. I got you.""But your arm..."Hector had slammed t

The second his breath hit her nose, Tiffany's stomach twisted.She used to fear him. Hate him. Now? He straight-up made her want to puke."Get off me! Get the hell off!"She kicked and clawed, her tears mixing with blood as it dripped to the floor.Hector didn't care.It had been almost a month.He was like an addict crashing back into withdrawal—the second his lips hit hers, he lost it.This wasn't love. It was desperation.His eyes went wild, burning red. And for one messed-up second, he actually thought about taking her right there.But then—Tiffany gasped. Loud. Ragged. Hurting.And he stopped."Tiffany? What's wrong? Don't scare me! I won't do it again! I swear I won't! Calm down! Somebody call a doctor! An ambulance!"Hector went ghost-white.He clutched her limp body, yelling for help, trying to shake her awake.Tiffany couldn't hear him.Her face went blue, eyes rolled back, limbs totally numb."Breathe, Tiffany! Please—breathe!" He fumbled a paper bag over he

"Tiffany, what... what are you saying?"Hector looked like he'd just been smacked with a brick. His voice shook. He wanted to step closer, but the knife at her neck stopped him cold."I love you. I love you so much—how could I ever hurt you? Everything that happened... it was because Charlotte lied. She tricked me!""Stop making excuses!" Tiffany screamed. "How dare you talk about love? The only person you've ever loved is yourself! You say you wanna make it up to me? Don't kid yourself. You just wanna feed that twisted need to control me."You've never treated me like a person. To you, I've always been some dog you branded—someone to mess with when you're in a good mood, and crush when you're not."You don't love me. You just can't handle being wrong. You can't stand that I walked away. In your world, it's fine for you to throw people out, but no one's allowed to leave you!"Hector, you make me sick!"For the first time since joining the Coxon family, Tiffany stood tall—no fear

Tiffany thought she was done with Hector for good.Life in Nyrobi had been calm for a while. Her legs were almost healed, and with how short-staffed things were, she'd started volunteering to teach in nearby towns.The day Dave showed up, she was showing kids how to fold paper cranes."Ms. Talwyn... Mr. Coxon—he doesn't have much time left."The crane slipped from her hands, fluttering to the floor.She looked up. "What are you talking about?"Dave let out a slow breath and handed her a medical report."The day you turned down the property, Mr. Coxon was set to fly back to Dalvona. But he changed course. Went to Kibana alone.""Kibana?" Tiffany's brows pulled together. "Why would he go to the slums?""Maybe he wanted to see that other world you mentioned."She didn't answer.She didn't care where Hector went or why. The question had just slipped out—muscle memory, nothing more.Dave could tell where she stood. He hadn't wanted to drag her into it—but time was running out.