Vows of convenience Hearts in Collision のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 171 - チャプター 180

(Saphira’s POV)The countdown bled red across the glass wall.00:03:12Every second thudded through my skull like a gunshot.The mastermind watched me the way scientists watch an experiment calm, curious, certain the outcome would obey their math. Lucien stood half a step behind them, jaw clenched, hands flexing like he wanted to reach for a weapon he no longer trusted himself to use.Alicia whimpered behind me.I tightened my grip on the blade hidden in my palm.“Caelum,” I murmured without turning my head. “Status.”Static crackled, then his voice slid through, low and fast. “I’m ghosting the cameras now. They’ll see a loop thirty seconds max. After that, they’ll know.”“Thirty seconds is enough,” I said.The mastermind smiled faintly. “Talking to your invisible friends again?”I met their gaze. “Talking to your blind spots.”Their eyes flicked briefly to the blinking cameras. Just a flicker. Just enough.Lucien noticed.That was the crack.“Lucien,” I said softly, deliberately usin

(Saphira’s POV)Darkness enveloped us.Not the comforting kind that softens edges and eases fear. No. This was a living, breathing void, pressing in from every direction, and the only sounds were our ragged breaths, the scrape of boots on concrete, and the faint, mocking drip of water somewhere deep in the garage.I could barely see my own hands, but I knew Alicia’s head was pressed against my shoulder, her weight both fragile and heavy, grounding me.“Stay close,” I whispered. “No matter what happens, don’t let go of me.”Lucien’s hand brushed against mine, a rare, grounding touch in a chaos we didn’t control. “They’re setting up a perimeter,” he said in a low voice. “We have to move now.”I could feel Caelum’s presence in my earpiece, his voice steady despite the chaos. “Saphira, I’ve deployed the countermeasure. It will stun them long enough for you to break the line. Don’t hesitate.”I swallowed hard. Hesitate? I hadn’t hesitated in a lifetime, not now. Not when Alicia’s life, min

(Saphira’s POV)The room smelled like antiseptic and control.That was the first thing that hit me.not fear, not anger, but the sterile certainty that whoever built this place believed emotions were weaknesses to be erased.Glass walls rose on all sides, seamless and unforgiving. Behind them, screens glowed with live feeds: city streets, boardrooms, private rooms I recognized with a sick lurch in my stomach. My penthouse. Caelum’s office. Alicia’s apartment.Our lives.Mapped. Monitored. Owned.The elevator doors slid shut behind us with a soft hiss that sounded far too final.Alicia squeezed my hand. “Saph… this place”“I know,” I said quietly. I feel it too.Lucien stepped forward, shoulders squared, eyes scanning for exits. “You built this like a confession booth,” he said to the empty room. “Planning to make us bleed our sins out loud?”The mastermind’s voice flowed from hidden speakers, calm and intimate.“Only the truths you’ve been lying to yourselves about.”The lights shifted

(Saphira’s POV)The room screamed.Not metaphorically literally. Sirens tore through the air, sharp and panicked, as if the building itself had realized it was dying. Lights strobed violently. Glass walls spider-webbed with fractures that raced outward like lightning searching for ground.Caelum moved first.The moment his restraints released, he lunged not at the mastermind, not at the screens, but at me.He caught me by the shoulders, pulling me into his chest as another explosion rocked the control floor. His heart hammered against my cheek, solid and real.“You okay?” he demanded.I nodded, breathless. “Alaric”“I’ve got him,” Lucien snapped.I twisted just in time to see Lucien hauling Alaric out of the chair. Alaric’s legs buckled immediately. Lucien caught him with a grunt, dragging him over his shoulder with grim determination.Alaric’s face was gray. His lips tinged blue.“Caelum,” I said sharply. “He’s crashing.”Caelum’s jaw set. “We’re getting him out.”The screens flicker

Hospitals have a way of shrinking time.Minutes stretch into hours. Hours fold into memories you don’t want to relive. Every beep becomes a reminder that survival isn’t the same as safety it’s just permission to keep fighting.They wheeled me down the corridor slowly, careful of my shoulder, and was careful of everything. Caelum walked beside the bed, one hand never leaving the rail, his presence a steady gravity that kept me anchored.Ahead, glass walls revealed the ICU.And him.Alaric lay propped up against white pillows, tubes snaking from his arms, a heart monitor marking time in patient green lines. He looked thinner than I remembered. Older. But undeniably alive.His eyes lifted the moment they brought me in.“Saphira,” he said softly, like saying my name might break me.Something in my chest loosened and something else tightened painfully.“Alaric,” I replied.The nurse gave us a brief look, then stepped back. “Five minutes.”Caelum stopped at the doorway.“I’ll be right her