Obsession His Runaway Bride (Noelle and Adrian) novel Chapter 143

Chapter 143: Tulips

Chapter 143: Tulips

The wind stirred with a mournful sigh, sweeping low across the cemetery and rustling the brittle grass beneath Keegan’s feet. The sky hung overcast, colorless, as if even the heavens had gone quiet in grief. A fine mist clung to the air, too thin to call rain, but heavy enough to settle on his shoulders like a veil.

He knelt without a word.

The bouquet in his hands was a simple collection of white tulips and forget–me–nots. The petals trembled in the breeze like they, too, had something to mourn. His fingers were tight around the stems and finally began to let go of the flowers.

The gravestone before him was newly polished and immaculate, untouched by time. The earth beneath it still looked too fresh. He reached out and brushed his thumb along the carved name.

He sighed as the inscription below the name was short and simple.

“You were loved more than you knew. And you are still.”

He bowed his head and pressed his free hand flat to the stone as if it could hold together what remained broken. And when his voice came, it was hoarse. Fragile. Almost childlike.

“You don’t have to worry about anything anymore. Rest in peace…Blackwood.”

The wind whispered through the bare trees like a hymn, and the silence that followed stretched just long enough to break hearts. It lingered, daring the worst.

And then… the sound of soft, measured footsteps drew his attention. Keegan straightened slowly, his breath catching as he turned because even after everything they had been through, even after a thousand mornings and sleepless nights, the sight of her still undid him.

There she was, walking toward him with grace. The cold wind didn’t seem to touch her as she moved, wrapped in a cream wool coat that fluttered slightly around her calves. Her scarf trailed softly behind her like a ribbon of warmth as her boots sank into the gravel with each step.

A year had passed since the successful transplant. Twelve long, breathless months of uncertainty, pain, and prayer. And miraculously, she had made it. Her recovery had not been swift, nor easy, but it was real. It was happening.

Her skin which was once translucent and gray with the shadow of sickness, now held the faintest flush of life. Her cheeks had color again–rosy in the wind, kissed by the chill. Her frame that was still slender, had begun to rebuild the strength that illness tried to steal. There was movement in her eyes again, not the haunted flicker of someone waiting for the end, but the full, bright gleam of someone who had fought their way back from the edge and lived to see the sun rise again.

And her hair… was now short, soft, and feathered into a long pixie cut. It curled ever so slightly at the ends, tousled gently by the breeze. She reached up to tuck a lock behind her ear, and Keegan felt something stir in his chest that was part wonder, part awe. To him, she had never looked more beautiful. Not because she had returned to the woman she used to be but because she had become someone stronger, someone reborn. A woman made not of survival alone, but of grace, grit, and glory.

She met his eyes with a bright smile.

In that moment, Keegan couldn’t move. All the anguish of the past year… the helplessness, the grief, the nights he had sat beside her bed whispering prayers into her skin while she slept–all of it lived behind his eyes. And yet none of it could dim the sight in front of him.

“Hey, beautiful…” Keegan called out with a grin as Grace approached.

Grace raised an eyebrow. “Flirting in a cemetery? Classy.”

Keegan held up his hands, smirking. “What can I say? You walked over here stealing my heart and I panicked.”

Chapter 143: Tulips

+15 BONUS

She snorted. “You panic–flirt?”

“Only with you. You’re very stressful to love.”

“Good,” she said, bumping his shoulder with hers. “Keeps your heart in check.”

He chuckled and gazed at her from head to toe. Her skin had begunto glow again and a gentle warmth returned to her cheeks “You look unfairly gorgeous,” he said. “Like if I kissed you right now, doves would fly out of the sky and some violin would start playing.”

Grace rolled her eyes. “Okay, Shakespeare.” She chuckled and suddenly tugged his hand. “Come here,” she murmured, “I want to introduce you properly.”

Keegan followed her without hesitation, standing beside her as she looked down at the grave. He smiled at the grave where he had placed the flowers he brought as he read–Faith Blackwood. He had known about her. Grace had spoken of her in soft pieces, like memory–fragments she was finally learning to trust him with

Grace looked at the headstone, then spoke as if her sister was standing right in front of them. “Hey, Faith… sorry it’s been a while. But I’ve got someone to introduce to you.”

Keegan blinked, a little thrown not expecting her to talk about him

She looked up at him, then back at the headstone with a tiny, proud smile. “This is Keegan. He’s the man who helped me get back up when I didn’t think I could anymore. And…” she paused, glancing up at him.

Keegan tilted his head slightly, curious.

Grace cleared her throat and leaned forward a little, whispering, “He’s also the man I’m going to marry.”

Keegan’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait… I didn’t say yes yet!” he feigned a complaint, eyes wide with mock offense but his stunned smile betrayed him.

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