《Daddies Taste Better 》全部章節：第 261 章 - 第 270 章

After that day, I made a quiet promise to myself: I wouldn’t be the weight on my family anymore. I started showing up for dinner without being called. I laughed at Micah’s terrible jokes even when they weren’t funny, let Mom hug me longer than I wanted and told Dad I was “fine” every time he asked. On the outside, I looked like I was healing. On the inside though, I was already packing my bags for somewhere else. College became my escape hatch. I didn’t aim for any of the safe schools near home and went straight for the hardest ones, the competitive programs on the opposite side of the country where the acceptance rate was barely above single digits. Places where no one knew my name, my face, or the story that still followed me. And that was exactly what I wanted. New faces. So I buried myself in applications. Late nights at my desk with the door cracked just enough for Mom to see I was “trying.” Essays rewritten until my eyes crossed. Test scores chased like they could er

He set the last bag down on the bottom step and finally met my eyes. For the first time since the airport, he actually looked at me straight on. “It’s very safe, Miss Saraphina,” he said, voice calm. “I promise you that. If it wasn’t, your father would never have let you stay here. Not for a single night. This house has been in his family for a long time. It’s secure, private, and completely off the grid from the city noise. You’ll be fine here.” He bent down, picked up both heavy suitcases like they weighed nothing, and started up the wide stone steps toward the front door. I followed a step behind, the gravel crunching under my shoes, still trying to wrap my head around the sheer size of the place. “A cleaner comes every Wednesday morning,” Markus continued as he unlocked the heavy wooden door with a loud click. “She’s very thorough and discreet, been with the house for years. You won’t even notice her unless you want to. And your room is already prepared for you. Top floor, the

“Yes,” I breathed out, the word shaky and small. He finally loosened his grip just enough for me to twist my head and get a clear look at his face for the first time. My stomach dropped. He spoke my name like he already knew me—like it left a bad taste in his mouth—but I’d never seen him before in my life. If I had, I would’ve remembered. No one could forget a face like that. Sharp, angular features, dark brows slashed across his forehead like they’d been cut with a blade, and a small silver hoop piercing glinting in one ear. Ink crawled up his neck and along his jaw in patterns that disappeared under the collar of his black t-shirt. He was… he was very handsome. He still hadn’t let me go. His narrowed eyes locked onto mine and then his lip curled, that low, humorless laugh turning into something crueler. It was terrifying. “What the fuck are you doing here, Saraphina?” he demanded, voice edged with disbelief. “In this house, what do you mean you live here?” I swallowed hard,

I grumbled under my breath. “I AM smart. I got into one of the most competitive schools in the country, I’ll have you know.”He didn’t even bother replying. Just gave me a light nudge between my shoulder blades with two fingers, firm enough to make me stumble forward a step. “Hurry up.”I bit my tongue and kept climbing the rest of the stairs, hyper-aware of him right behind me. When we reached the top floor and I pushed open the door to the corner suite, he stepped inside after me and let out a low scoff as he looked around.“Fuck me. Just a few weeks of not being here and they already changed the whole damn room.” He shook his head, eyes scanning the fresh white linens, the new furniture arrangement, and the balcony doors I’d left cracked open. I didn’t know what to say to that. So I just walked over to the nightstand, picked up my phone, and held it out to him with a shaky hand.He took it without a word, then looked back at me expectantly.“Open it.”My fingers tightened around

That offended me.The other men exchanged quick looks, but nobody argued. The silence stretched again, until Noah finally flicked ash into a crystal tray on the coffee table and leaned back.“Besides,” he added, eyes sliding back to me, “she lives here now. Might as well get used to it.”Silence.Then the one with the scar leaned forward on the couch, elbows on his knees, and let out a sharp breath.“Noah, this is serious,” he said, voice urgent. “The bounty on your head right now is unbelievable. People are already circling. You show your face anywhere and—”“And whose fucking fault is that?” Noah cut in. “You’re the one who opened your goddamn mouth to the wrong fucking people last month. So spare me the lecture.”The room went dead quiet again.I sat frozen in the armchair, knees pressed together, trying to make myself as small as possible. Okay… maybe I really shouldn’t be here. This wasn’t some family argument or petty drama. This was the kind of conversation where the more you