Lahat ng Kabanata ng Married to my bodyguard : Kabanata 31 - Kabanata 40

I sprinted toward the stairwell door, my breath tearing out of me in panicked bursts. My fingers shook as I grabbed the handle, yanked it open, and shoved myself inside. I barely had time to take the first step before the door slammed again behind me. Not by me. By him. “Ariana, stop!” His voice ricocheted off the concrete walls, and the sound of his boots on the steps echoed too close, far too close. I didn’t look back. I couldn’t. The humiliation, the sting, the betrayal—they all twisted into something hot and messy in my chest. I need to get out of here, i need to run. “Don’t follow me,” I choked out, climbing faster. “You shouldn’t be down here alone,” he shot back, voice low, breathless. “Just wait a second.” “For what? Another lie?” The words broke out of me sharper than I intended, but I didn’t take them back. Cole froze. I didn’t see it—I felt it. The sudden halt in his footsteps, the sudden vacuum of sound behind me. “Ariana,” he said slowly, cautiou

I didn’t open the door right away. Cole’s voice stayed on the other side—low, tense, edged with something dangerously close to panic. But I wasn’t letting panic control me this time. Not his. Not mine. I pressed my forehead against the cold wood and forced my voice to stay steady. “Step back, Cole.” “Ariana—” “I said step back.” A long breath came from the other side. Then footsteps. Slow. Reluctant. The weight of them pressed into my chest like a hand. I unlocked the door but didn’t open it fully. Just a narrow crack, enough for his silhouette to appear under the dim hallway light. He looked exhausted. Rattled. Not the composed, controlled soldier I’d known these past days. His hair was messed up, jaw tight, chest rising too fast. But that didn’t move me. Not tonight. I kept the chain locked in place. “Are you alone?” He nodded. “He’s gone.” “Do you know who he is?” Cole hesitated—just for a second, but long enough to set off alarms in my head. His

The grip around my wrist was like ice. Cold.Strong. Unfamiliar. I screamed before I could stop myself, the sound ripping out of my throat. “Ariana!” Cole roared. I twisted violently, trying to yank my arm free, but the hand only tightened. My phone almost slipped from my fingers. The hallway lights blurred as adrenaline surged through me. “Let go!” I choked, slamming my free hand against the doorframe, trying to anchor myself. The person behind me didn’t speak. Not a word. Not a breath. Just that unshakable grip pulling me backward, dragging me toward the dark room again. “Don’t you touch her!” Cole’s voice thundered down the hallway. Then heavy footsteps—his footsteps—barreling toward us. “Run,” I gasped, trying to pull forward. But the hand tugged harder, jerking me back a step. No. No, I was not going back into that room. I would burn the entire damn hotel down before I willingly stepped inside that darkness again. I slammed my back into the door, using ev

I didn’t know how long I had slept, only that I woke with my cheek pressed against the side of Cole’s hospital bed and my fingers hooked loosely around his wrist like I was afraid he’d disappear if I let go. The room was dim, lit only by a sliver of light coming from the gap in the blinds. Machines hummed softly, the rhythm steady, one long line after another reminding me he was alive. Barely, but alive. My body felt stiff from staying in the same position, but I didn’t dare move at first. I listened instead—his breathing, the occasional hitch in it. He was still running a fever. I could feel it from here, even without touching him. He radiated heat like his body was fighting something with everything it had. I slowly sat up and wiped my eyes. I must’ve cried in my sleep. Great. “Cole,” I whispered, my voice rough, testing if he’d react. Nothing. His face looked calmer than it had earlier, less pained, but still too pale. A bruise darkened along his jawline. His lips were dry, p

I burst back into Cole’s hospital room like a hurricane in heels. Well… sneakers. Ride-share sneakers. But my energy? Definitely gala heels. The nurses tried to get me to sign a visitor form at the desk. I told them I’d come back. I didn’t, i lied. Again. I’m apparently consistent in one thing: terrible timing and bad choices made at high speed. When the door whooshed open, I expected the same scene as before—Cole unconscious, quiet machines, dim lights. Except this time, he was staring at the ceiling. The air slammed out of me. He turned his head slowly toward me, like he was testing if the world hurt when he moved. Then he blinked once. “…Ariana?” His voice was toast-scraping sandpaper. Half whisper, half resurrection. I froze mid-stride. “You’re up.” “Seems so,” he said dryly, licking his cracked lips. “Unless heaven looks like cheap paint color and disinfectant.” I let out a breath that was supposed to be a laugh but emerged more like my soul deflating.