Chapter 597
[ 489 words ]
Chapter 597:
By the time I finished, exhaustion weighed so heavily on me that standing upright hurt. Resting against him, I spoke quietly. “Come lie down. Your body can’t handle any more strain.”
Without resistance, he returned to the bed. But the instant I tried stepping away, his hand clamped around my wrist, dragging me beneath the blankets beside him.
“Why won’t you ask me? Why won’t you ask where I went… who I met… why I’m like this?” he whispered roughly.
I turned toward him and wrapped myself around him instead, resting my cheek against the icy firmness of his chest.
I shut my eyes, listening to the uneven pounding of his heartbeat. “I don’t want to ask. Right now, I’m more terrified of losing you than of hearing the truth.”
His embrace tightened suddenly, fierce enough to steal my breath, as though he wanted to hold me inside his very soul.
“It hurts. My heart hurts, Lianne,” he murmured softly.
“Let Melisa examine you,” I said gently, stroking through his damp hair.
He shook his head faintly and closed his eyes as he buried his face against my neck, clinging desperately to my warmth. “It won’t change anything. You’re the only thing keeping me alive.”
Even though the sacred mate bond between us had long since broken apart, years of being tied together had left something deeper behind. I could still feel the chaos tearing through him.
The terrible feeling growing inside me became impossible to ignore.
J𝗈𝘪n 𝗈𝘂r сo𝗆𝘮𝗎𝗻i𝘁𝘺 𝘰ո 𝗀𝗮𝗅𝘯о𝗏𝗲l𝘀.com
Part of me knew his collapse had something to do with the answers I’d been searching for.
Yet when I looked into those shattered eyes, so vulnerable they reminded me of an abandoned pup, cowardice crept into my heart.
Only a handful of days remained before the agreement with Rola ended.
And during those final days, I didn’t want to be the person dragging us toward the painful truth waiting ahead.
So I buried those thoughts and held him closer.
On that cramped hospital bed, we curled around each other like wounded animals trying desperately to survive the cold.
I pulled the thick comforter over us and tucked it tightly around his body.
He moved without resistance, empty of fight, allowing me to position him however I wanted. Yet his gaze remained locked on me the entire time, unwavering, almost fearful that if he blinked, I would disappear.
I tightened my arms around him again.
Even through the robe, the cold radiating from him still felt alarming.
“Try to sleep,” I whispered against his neck, pressing myself closer in hopes of warming him.
I didn’t have the energy to make him let me tend to his wounds, let alone ask where he’d been.
He was far too fragile for that now.
“Lianne…” His voice disturbed the silence as his grip around me hardened possessively. “Will you disappear again while I’m asleep… like you did years ago? Will you leave and never come back?”
“I’m staying. I’m not going anywhere.” I rubbed soothing circles across his back while tears burned behind my eyes.
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