Chapter 155
Chapter 155:
“I can’t,” I insisted, stepping out of his reach — though it physically hurt to create that distance. “It’s not that I don’t want to be here, Dallas. It’s that I can’t be fully here. Not yet. My parents’ things are still in that attic. The memory of them is trapped in that house with Victoria. I need to end the deal. I need to look her in the eye and tell her I’m done. If I don’t go back and finish this properly, I’m just running away again. And I can’t start a new life with you while half my soul is still chained to that place p>
I reached up and cupped his clenched jaw, forcing him to look at me. “You said I wasn’t a trinket to be hidden. Let me prove it. Let me be the one to close that door p>
Dallas stared at me, his jaw working. He looked as though he were physically restraining himself from throwing me over his shoulder and locking the door. The conflict in his eyes was a storm of frustration and protective rage — but beneath it, I saw something else. Respect.
Finally, he let out a harsh breath and ran a hand through his dark hair.
“Two days,” he said, his voice low and dangerous. He stepped back into my space and tilted my chin up with his thumb. “You have the weekend to pack your life and sever your ties. But come Monday morning, I am coming for you.” His dark eyes bored into mine, searing a promise into my soul. “And after that, Adella, there is no more Hyde Manor. No more deals. You will be mine — completely p>
He turned me around and drew the zipper back up, the sound loud in the quiet room. It felt like he was sealing away the desire that had nearly consumed us both, saving it for a time when I would be truly free to give myself to him.
𝘘𝘶a𝘭𝗶𝘁y 𝘵r𝘢𝗇𝘀𝗅а𝗍i𝘰n𝗌 𝗈𝗇 𝗀𝘢𝗅ո𝗈𝘷е𝘭s.𝗰𝗼𝗺
Twenty minutes later, I stood beside the open door of the black Maybach waiting at the curb. The night air was crisp, biting at my exposed arms.
Dallas stood by the car, his imposing silhouette blocking out the streetlights. He hadn’t said a word since we left the apartment, his mood brooding and volatile.
As I moved to slide into the backseat, his hand shot out and caught my wrist. His grip was firm, grounding.
“Monday,” he said, his gaze intense. “Be ready p>
“I will be,” I promised.
A corner of his mouth quirked — not quite a smile, but something darker and more possessive. “Good. Because I have a surprise for you. Consider it… our new beginning p>
He released my wrist, and the loss of contact left me cold. As the car pulled away and carried me back toward the place I hated most, I couldn’t stop my mind from racing.
A surprise. A new beginning.
I looked back through the tinted window. Dallas was still standing there — a lone wolf watching his mate leave — and I knew, with terrifying certainty, that my life was about to change forever.
Adella’s POV
The Monday morning sky hung low and heavy over Hyde Manor, a bruised canvas of charcoal clouds threatening rain. The air smelled of wet gravel and decaying leaves — the scent of a place that had been dying for years.