Lahat ng Kabanata ng The Stranger My Heart Belonged To: Kabanata 41 - Kabanata 50

SADIE POVI didn’t say anything in the car.Not because I didn’t want to. I just… couldn’t.I was too weak. My body felt disconnected, like my limbs weren’t listening properly. The window beside me was fogged, the beach long behind us now, the sky dimming into that strange, colorless blue between daylight and night. Damon hadn’t said a word since we left.And that was fine.Better, maybe.Because I couldn’t think about anything clearly. Not his kiss. Not the way I’d folded into it like a fool. Not how fast my body had turned against me afterward—dizzy, sick, shaking. And definitely not the sharp wave of nausea I’d barely made it to the restroom in time for.I hadn’t gotten my period yet, but it wasn’t late. Not really. My cycle was always unpredictable—stress could throw it off. Or hormones. Or skipping meals. Or pretending I was fine when I wasn’t.Still.The thought had crossed my mind while I was bent over the sink, breathing through it.And once it was in… I couldn’t shake it.But

SADIE’S POVI sat at the kitchen island, both hands wrapped around a mug I hadn’t touched in ten minutes. The steam had faded. My appetite too.The test was negative.One stripe. Clear. Definitive.And I should’ve felt relieved. But something inside me twisted, sharp and confusing. Like I’d lost something I didn’t know I was holding onto.I hadn’t planned to want it.But I did. Somewhere deep beneath all the logic and careful restraint, I wanted that fantasy.A family of my own. Laughter. Messy mornings. Little feet running across the hall. Damon in the doorway, kissing me goodbye with a tie half-knotted and coffee forgotten.Ridiculous.I set the mug down gently and pressed my chin into the heel of my palm, sighing.Don’t feed the lie, Sadie.Don’t fall in love with something that was never yours to begin with.Still, the memory of his kiss kept returning. The way his mouth felt on mine. Hard, controlled, but so intensely there, like he needed it too. It echoed in my chest like the f

DAMON’S POVThe car was too damn quiet.Not even the hum of the engine could drown out Theo’s voice in my head, playing on repeat like a scratched record. That smug half-grin of his, so casual, like he didn’t know how close he’d come to being smashed through the glass table.Jack was driving. My driver since college. Steady. Silent. Thank God.I leaned my head back against the seat, staring at the ceiling as the city lights passed in blurred streaks. The whiskey buzzed in my blood—not enough to lose control. Just enough to strip away what little patience I had left.“She’s kind,” Theo had said earlier, swirling his drink like he owned the damn world. “Did you know she likes her coffee with just a splash of milk? No sugar. Says sweetness should come from the company.”He laughed at his own line. I didn’t.“We met at the orphanage. Nothing big. Coffee. Small talk.” He looked right at me when he added, “Actually, if it’s any consolation, I asked for her number. She didn’t give it.”Conso

DAMON’S POVI’d poured a few more fingers after I left her room.Took the longest bath I’ve had in years. Jacuzzi jets thudding against my spine, eyes shut, her name echoing in places I swore were empty. It didn’t help. None of it helped.By the time I dried off, the burn in my chest was still there, dull and steady. I threw on a towel and walked into my closet, planning to change and shut the night down.I didn’t expect her to come in here. Not like this.But when I saw her standing there, it knocked something loose in me. Those pajamas—thin, soft, clinging to her in ways that made it hard to think.She looked up at me, wide-eyed, cheeks flushed, clutching her phone like it might save her from something.From me, maybe.She looked like she wanted to say something but couldn’t quite find the words. She whispered, “I knocked.”Like that made it better. Like that explained why she was standing in the one place I went to breathe.I didn’t answer.Couldn’t.Because the second I saw her, e

DAMON'S POVShe was gone when I woke up.No note. No text. No Sadie.Just the imprint of her body still warm in the sheets, and the ghost of her scent on my skin.I hated it.It was the first time I was the one left behind. The first time the silence in the room didn’t feel earned—but stolen.I stared at the ceiling for a long time. Still half-drunk. Still aching. Not from the whiskey. From her.Maybe she thought I wouldn’t remember. Maybe she thought I’d blame it on the liquor. But I did remember. Every second.Even when I’m drunk, I’m not blind.I don’t forget the way her voice cracked when she said my name. Or the way her fingernails dug into my back like she was holding on for dear life. I don’t forget the heat, the mess, the sound of her breaking apart under me like she wanted it to mean something.The whiskey never lies. It just strips the mask.I wanted her. Still do.And I hated the way that made me feel.“Morning, husband,” Theo smirked, brushing lint off my jacket before I c