Imprisoned While Pregnant, She's Back for Payback novel Chapter 401

Chapter 401 Hug Me

Chapter 401 Hug Me

“By the way, what did you have my secretary check for you today? Listen, you’re the only son in this family, and that means you carry more weight than anyone else. If you just want to have some fun while you’re young, fine. But if you cross the line, don’t blame us when we come down on you hard.”

The call ended with a sharp click.

The flat beep … beep … rang again and again, sharp in his ears.

Abel kept holding the phone, the sound of that bossy voice still stuck in his head.

He bit down hard, trying to calm himself, but the anger pushed through. His fist slammed against his thigh.

Pain stung right away, a red mark showing on his skin. He didn’t even notice.

“Kid, do you fight with your folks?”

The driver, a kind–looking older man, glanced at him through the rearview mirror.

Abel’s face stayed cold. “No.”

The driver smiled a little, not bothered. “You’re still young. Your family just worries about you.”

Abel gave a quiet grunt and closed his eyes, pretending to rest so the man would stop talking.

But rest never came. The cab bumped along the road, and his mind wouldn’t stop turning. He opened his eyes and stared out the window.

The cab was plain and ordinary, the kind you’d forget the moment you stepped out. On the window, faint handprints spread across the glass, cloudy and pale, like fog smearing out the view of the world outside.

Abel stared at them, lost in thought, his chest tightening as air refused to fill his lungs.

In that moment, the prints weren’t just marks anymore. They twisted in his mind, turning into

a hand pressing him down, pinning him in place, squeezing the breath right out of him.

And that gray blur outside blocked the whole world from him.

Abel clenched his hand tight.

1

The last time his family dragged him back, they had hit him hard, even though he had just finished a big project. Only that win had given him this chance to come back to Aetheris.

But after today’s call? He knew what waited when he returned. Another storm. And after that… who knew when he’d ever get back here again? Days? Weeks? Maybe months.

The thought of months without seeing her made his chest ache. He grabbed at his collar, gasping for air.

He had finally found her. To go months without seeing her again–it felt like dying.

Abel gritted his teeth, heart burning.

“Sir, we’re here.”

The driver’s voice broke through.

Abel stepped out of the cab and almost ran right into Tess and her friends.

Raven spotted him first. “Abel! Perfect timing–we were just heading to grab some food. Want

to-”

“Tess.”

It was like he didn’t even see anyone else. He went straight for her and caught her hand.

The sudden touch made Tess’s skin prickle. She tensed, ready to pull back–until she heard that familiar voice call her name.

“Abel?”

She blinked, caught off guard by the desperate look on his face.

“What happened? Weren’t you meeting with Finn? Did something—”

But before she could finish, her vision tilted.

Abel had already pulled her hard against his chest.

Connor, who stood closest, reacted at once and stepped forward to break them apart. But Abel bent down, slid an arm under Tess’s legs, and swept her up in his arms. He shot Connor a sharp glare, dark and dangerous, nothing like the man people usually saw.

“You–what are you doing?!”

Tess gasped as the ground dropped away beneath her, arms flying around his neck just to steady herself.

Abel didn’t answer.

He was already moving fast, straight to the car she’d parked outside. The wind rushed past as he leaned close to her ear. “Tess, unlock it.”

Her eyes widened. “Put me down!”

Instead, he held her tighter, his gaze locked on hers.

Tess finally noticed how strange he looked–different, almost frightening.

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