From Substitute To Queen novel Chapter 188

Chapter 188

He stared straight ahead at nothing, completely oblivious to my presence.

I found the wall switch and flicked on the main lights.

Harsh white light flooded the room. Caelan squinted against the sudden brightness, raising his free arm to shield his eyes.

“Edward… when did you get so brave? Walking in without knocking?”

His voice was rough, slurred with alcohol.

“I’ve always been brave.”

Caelan’s body went rigid. He slowly lowered his arm, blinking as his eyes adjusted.

When his gaze found mine, his expression shifted from confusion to shock to complete disbelief.

“Sabi… how are you-this isn’t possible… am I hallucinating?”

He struggled to his feet, swaying slightly.

I didn’t wait for him to recover. I ran toward him, leaping over scattered bottles, and threw myself into his arms.

The impact made him stumble backward, but his instincts kicked in. His arms came up to catch me, pulling me tight against his chest.

I wrapped my arms around his waist like I was trying to merge our bodies into one. My face pressed against his shirt, and I could feel his heart pounding against my cheek.

Tears came in a flood, soaking through the fabric.

“You bastard!” I sobbed against his chest. “You lying piece of shit!”

My voice grew louder, more desperate. “How could you handle all of this alone! Why didn’t you tell me the truth!”

I was practically screaming now. “Do you know how much I hated you! How much I hated myself for hating you!”

Caelan stood frozen for several heartbeats, his hands hovering uncertainly over my back. Then slowly, gently, he began stroking my

hair.

‘Sabi… my Sabi…” His voice cracked with emotion.

After what felt like forever, I pulled back just enough to look at him. My hands still clutched his shirt like a lifeline.

“Who is Elena?”

He raised his hands to cup my face, thumbs brushing away the tears on my cheeks.

“She’s my cousin, Sabi.” The ghost of a smile touched his lips. “We’re not involved. She’s not pregnant.”

His other hand traced the curve of my jaw. “I thought if I made you believe I’d moved on, you could finally let go and find real happiness…”

12:08

Fri, 22 Aug

Chapter 188

The pain in his voice broke something inside me. More tears spilled over.

“You self-righteous idiot!” I slammed my fist against his chest.

He didn’t even flinch, just watched me with those guilt-ridden blue eyes.

I hit him again. “Do you know what I went through! How much it hurt to think you didn’t love me anymore!”

My strikes were getting weaker as emotion overwhelmed me.

“I cried myself to sleep every night! I thought I’d lost you forever!”

I shoved at his shoulders, but there was no real force behind it.

“You arrogant ass! You think carrying everything alone makes you some kind of hero?”

My voice broke completely. “We promised to face everything together! You said you’d never leave me! You liar!”

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Tears streamed down my face as I continued. “You made me hate you for so long I thought I was losing my mind! Do you know how much it hurts to hate someone you love with every fiber of your being?”

My knees felt weak. “And your father… oh god, Caelan, how did you survive all of that by yourself?”

I looked up at him through my tears. “Do you think I’m some kind of helpless damsel? I don’t need your protection! I don’t need you making decisions for me ‘for my own good’! Did you ever think to ask what I wanted? I don’t need you to break up with me and then parade fake girlfriends around to make me give up! The pain of losing you was a thousand times worse than anything Lucian could have done to me! I’m afraid of death, but I’m more afraid of losing you! And you, you arrogant prick, you had to put on that whole show with someone else to make me think—if I’d known you were this kind of person, I never would have agreed to mar-”

Caelan grabbed my hands and yanked me forward, his mouth crashing down on mine.

His tongue pushed past my lips, demanding and desperate. One hand tangled in my hair while the other pressed against the small of my back, holding me so tightly I could barely breathe.

He kissed me like he was trying to devour me, like he could swallow all my words and pain and anger.

“Don’t you dare say you won’t marry me,” he growled against my lips, then dove back in for another fierce kiss. “Don’t you ever say you don’t want to be with me.”

His mouth moved over mine with increasing urgency, stealing whatever protests I might have had left.

I grabbed Caelan’s shirt, pulling him closer with an intensity that surprised even me. The frustration, longing, and relief all crashed together into something undeniable and urgent.

He backed me toward the sofa, his hands firm on my waist.

My legs hit the edge of the cushions, and I fell backward, Caelan following. His weight pressed me into the soft leather.

I wasn’t ready to surrender so easily. With one quick movement, I flipped our positions, straddling him. His eyes widened in surprise.

“My turn,” I said, my fingers working the buttons of his shirt.

Caelan propped himself up on his elbows, watching me with darkened eyes. “I missed this fire.”

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12:08 Fri, 22 Aug PM

Chapter 188

I tugged his shirt open, revealing his chest. “You don’t get to miss things you choose to leave behind.”

He sat up suddenly, our faces inches apart. “I never left you behind,” he whispered, hands sliding under my blouse. “Not for a

second.”

My blouse hit the floor next to his shirt. The cool air raised goosebumps across my skin, or maybe it was the heat in his gaze as he

took me in.

Caelan’s breathing quickened. His hands traced down my spine, stopping at my waist. With one swift motion, he pulled me closer, eliminating any space between us.

I gasped as his lips found my neck, teeth grazing the sensitive skin of my collarbone. My head fell back, fingers tangling in his hair, gripping tightly. Part of me feared he might vanish again if I didn’t hold on.

“Caelan, I breathed.

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12:08 Fri, 22 Aug

From Substitute To Queen