All Chapters of The Man Who Killed Me Wants My Hand: Chapter 11 - Chapter 20

The tense silence didn't last long. Skyden, with his trademark smirk, actually stepped forward and pulled out the empty chair next to me. Without a hint of guilt, he sat down and leaned back casually, as if he'd just joined a reunion of old friends."Go ahead and keep talking. Pretend I'm not here," Skyden said casually, waving a hand as if brushing away a fly. "I just want to know how good the hot chocolate is if my 'wife' was willing to travel all the way out here for it."I clenched my fists under the table. "Skyden, what are you doing here?" I hissed sharply.Elliot, who had tensed up, slowly sat back down. He stared at Skyden with his analytical gaze—searching for cracks beneath that overly clean, cheerful facade."Skyden," Elliot's voice sounded flat yet firm. "You don't need to act in front of me. We're on the same team. I know your marriage is just for the mission to infiltrate Echelon Nine."Skyden chuckled; his laughter sounded crisp, yet there was a hidden sharpness in it.

The deadly silence was broken not by anger, but by Madam Valerine's crisp laughter. She clapped her hands softly, gazing at Skyden with a genuine look of admiration."Remarkable, Mr. Wolfe!" exclaimed Madam Valerine between laughs. "I never expected to find someone with such sharp eyes here. See, Gideon? Our collection is truly being put to the test tonight."Gideon merely gave a faint snort, but the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease slightly.In the blink of an eye, the icy atmosphere Skyden had just created evaporated. He pulled the corners of his lips back into the bright, playful smile that had always been his trademark.The change was so quick and effortless, but I knew—I'd just seen a crack in that mask a few seconds ago—Skyden had just put his mask back on."Ah, forgive my boldness, Madam," Skyden said in a light tone, his hand waving casually. "I'm just a huge fan of EL. I know exactly how he works with color. Seeing a replica in a gallery as magnificent as yours… it fee

The pungent smell of medicine was the first thing that greeted me, even before I could open my eyes.The familiar white ceiling slowly came into view. A hospital. A cold sensation on the back of my hand indicated that an IV needle had been inserted there. Everything was exactly as I remembered from my past life—a week after The Raven investigation began, I collapsed because of my stomach condition.Skyden didn't take me to the clinic on the ground floor of Echelon Nine, which was only a few floors away from Jeff's unit. That bastard chose to speed through the city streets in his car to take me to a public hospital.He wouldn't let Dr. Julian or Madam Valerine's people lay a finger on me while I was helpless. I knew he didn't do it because he was worried about me; he did it because it wasn't just me who would be in trouble, but him too.I tried to move my fingers, but a strange warmth held me back.That's when I realized it. Skyden was there, sitting on the metal chair beside the ward

"He really is pretty terrifying when he loses control," I replied, masking my cruel thoughts with a light chuckle that sounded convincing enough to Luna.Luna snorted and leaned back against the hydraulic chair again while twirling a digital pen between her fingers. "Typical of the older folks in this building. My older brother is just as fragile when he's on a rampage. Scary, stiff, and acting all-powerful. Yeah… though the last part isn't wrong," she muttered at the end of the sentence.My heart skipped a beat. My detective instincts, which had briefly relaxed, snapped back to attention, picking up on that new piece of information. An older brother?"You have an older brother?" I asked, deliberately putting on a casual, surprised expression as if this were just ordinary small talk. "I thought you lived alone in this unit. You said you weren't married."I certainly hadn't forgotten the absolute rule of Echelon Nine discussed during Madam Valerine's banquet the other day. Almost every

"Don't forget to take your medicine," Skyden said, breaking the silence, his voice sounding weary as he turned away from the living room.I stood frozen in place, staring at his broad back as he walked toward the long sofa in the corner of our master bedroom.Unexpectedly, there was no argument or further confrontation about Elliot's message, and no possessive pressure like I'd predicted earlier.The man truly kept his word; he stretched his sturdy body out on the sofa without looking back at me.I let out a long sigh, quickly swallowing the doctor's pills before crawling up onto the large bed.On one hand, this was a huge advantage—I didn't have to share a bed with the man I avoided most. Yet, for some reason, the chill in this room suddenly felt so foreign.An hour passed, and I was still tossing and turning under the covers. The mattress was too soft, or perhaps the noise in my head was too loud after seeing Stilliam Spancer in person tonight.I rolled from side to side, the rustli