Obsession His Runaway Bride (Noelle and Adrian) novel Chapter 133

Chapter 133: Knock

Chapter 133: Knock

Grace shut the door behind her with a click and for a long second, she just stood there with her back against the wood, eyes wide and breath shallow.

Then came her deep exhale.

Not a heavy one. Not weighed down by grief or fear or exhaustion like the ones she was used to. No, this one was light. Disoriented. A little disbelieving.

As if her body had finally caught up to her heart and couldn’t make sense of how full it felt.

Her fingers hovered near the doorknob, then pressed to her lips like she could still feel him there. Like the ghost of Keegan’s mouth lingered, imprinted in some place deeper than skin. Her cheeks burned.

She didn’t know what to do with herself.

So she laughed quietly.

She crossed the room, paused, then doubled back and paced in a little half–circle before burying her face into her hands, groaning into them like a teenager. A ridiculous, overthinking, heart–racing teenager.

“Oh my God,” she whispered into the empty room.

It wasn’t panic. Not exactly. Just… everything.

Everything at once.

Because Keegan Sergeyev had just kissed her like she was the only woman left in the world. Had looked at her like she’d hung the moon. Had said “For you? Without question” like it was the easiest truth in the world.

And the wildest part?

She believed him.

She wanted to doubt it and wanted to remind herself of all the reasons not to fall, not to hope. But it was too late.

She was already gone.

And it was terrifying.

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Chapter 133: Knock

But it was wonderful.

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Grace spun once in the center of her room and clutched a pillow to her chest, collapsing onto the bed with a dramatic flop that made her laugh at herself again.

This wasn’t her. This wasn’t the cold, armored girl raised behind locked gates and taught to feel nothing but survival.

But somehow, Keegan had cracked everything open.

And now here she was. Breathless. Blushing Smiling like a fool at the ceiling.

She let out another helpless laugh, then whispered to herself like a secret she wasn’t ready to say aloud to anyone else.

“…I’m so…in love with him.”

Grace pressed a hand to her chest, feeling the thundering of her heart. It felt so full, it almost hurt.

And so she stood slowly, unable to sit still with the kind of energy surging through her. Her bare feet hit the floor and she paced once, absently running a hand through her hair.

But then she felt the room suddenly tilt.

Her hand caught the edge of the dresser for balance as her breath hitched in confusion. She blinked hard and steadied herself, chalking it up to all the adrenaline, the kiss, the chaos of emotion.

But a second later, she felt something wet and warm.

She raised a hand instinctively to her nose… and when she pulled it back, her fingertips were streaked with blood.

Her breath caught in her throat and the momentary joy she had been floating in collapsed like glass underfoot.

Reality, of course. It hadn’t gone anywhere. It had only waited for her to come back down.

Grace sat slowly on the edge of her bed, grabbing a tissue and pressed it against her nose as she closed her eyes, trying to push away the panic. Not from the bleeding itself–she’d learned to manage that–but from what it meant. What it reminded her

1. of.

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Chapter 133. Knock

The clock she couldn’t see but could always feel ticking behind her ribs.

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She tilted her head back slightly, willing her heartbeat to steady, the tears to stay away. She couldn’t cry now. Not after tonight. Not after him.

Keegan had looked at her like she was the only thing that existed in his world. He had kissed her like he didn’t care what came before…only what came next.

And what scared her most was that she wanted that next so desperately.

She wasn’t supposed to. She was not…supposed to…

But tonight… when he kissed her and she let him… She let herself believe this was something beautiful.

Her eyes fluttered open again and stared at the ceiling–at the place where, moments ago, she had smiled like she had a whole lifetime ahead of her.

But that smile didn’t return this time.

Instead, she whispered into the quiet, almost apologetically.

“I forgot…”

She swallowed hard, and her voice broke around the next part.

“I wish I hadn’t.”

Because now that she had felt what it was like to be his, she didn’t know how to leave him behind.

Meanwhile, Keegan couldn’t stop smiling.

Not his usual business smile. But the stupid crooked, unguarded kind…the one he hadn’t worn since he was a boy.

He was grinning like a man who had just kissed the girl he’d been aching for, and who by some miracle–had kissed him back

He ran a hand through his hair as he stepped into his bedroom. He hadn’t even made it to the light switch before he started laughing softly to himself with one hand pressed over his mouth, trying to calm the ridiculous flutter in his chest.

He felt like a damn teenager.

Far from the image of him as the powerful heir, or the man who had stood over his uncle minutes ago with blood on his knuckles and hell in his eyes.

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Chapter 133: Knock

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Just a man… completely undone by a girl with fire in her eyes and a kiss that wrecked him.

He shrugged off his coat, still smiling, and reached for his robe. The silk brushed against his skin, cool and grounding, but his thoughts were anything but calm.

She hadn’t pulled away from him. She didn’t flinch from the monster.

She held on to him.

And when she smiled after the kiss, like she couldn’t believe she’d just done it?

He was done for.

Keegan stood in front of the mirror for a second, adjusting the robe absentmindedly, then chuckled again, shaking his head.

“She kissed me…” he whispered to no one, like he needed to say it out loud to make it real.

His chest felt full in a way he didn’t know how to name. Hopeful. Reckless. Warm.

He could still feel the press of her fingers on his chest, the way she held him like she was afraid letting go might end something too good.

And hell, maybe it would’ve.

He exhaled and looked out the window toward the faint outline of her wing. She was probably in bed now. Hair down with a smile on her lips like the one on his.

Keegan’s heart thudded and he was just about to finally sit down when a knock pulled him out of his own reverie.

He frowned slightly as his body tensed just a little out of habit.

“Who is it?” He asked.

But the voice that came next made him flinch.

“It’s me…”

Keegan breathed and reached for the doorknob and opened the door. “Grace?”

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