Obsession His Runaway Bride (Noelle and Adrian) novel Chapter 38

Chapter 38: Unbearable

Chapter 38: Unbearable

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“What do you mean he’s looking for her?!” Bianca’s voice cracked, filled with pure disbelief and rage.

“That florist?!” She let out a bitter laugh, pacing back and forth as fury pulsed through her veins. “After everything, after all this time, he-” She stopped mid–sentence, shaking her head as if trying to process the reality of it. “He left me… for her?”

Carol sighed while swirling the wine in her glass as she lounged in her chair and watched Bianca with both amusement and mild irritation. “Don’t be so dramatic. Adrian hasn’t left you for anyone. At least not yet, anyway.” She took a sip as her red lips curled into a knowing smirk. That’s why we need to handle this before it’s too late.” Bianca clenched her jaw. Her perfectly applied lipstick was now smudged from biting her lip in frustration. She was the glamorous, untouchable Bianca Monroe. The starlet, the woman who had once been the only one beside Adrian Blackwood. But it had all been for nothing if he was willing to throw her away for some nobody who didn’t even belong in their world. 1

And she needed Adrian back.

Not because she loved him. Not because she longed for him.

But because she was desperate.

Her fortune was gone after spent all of it chasing an impossible dream. One bad investment led to another, and now she was drowning, suffocating under the burden of debt she couldn’t repay. What made it all worse was that the people she owed weren’t just bankers or businessmen they were dangerous people who were now after her. The kind who didn’t send polite reminders or legal notices.

The kind who made people disappear.

Bianca gritted her teeth, masking her panic with fury. “Then why aren’t you doing anything?!” she snapped at Carol. “He listens to you, doesn’t he? Stop him! Call him back! Remind him who he belongs with!”

Carol’s expression darkened slightly at Bianca’s tone. Her fingers tightened around the stem of her glass as she lightly reprimanded. “Careful how you speak to me, dear,” she said coolly. “Adrian is my son. I know what’s best for him.”

Bianca swallowed back the urge to scream. She wanted to throw something, destroy everything but she forced herself to breathe and to think calmly.

The truth was, Carol wanted Adrian to marry her than Noelle who was merely someone she thought who leeched off his son. That much was clear. But the older woman was acting far too calm, too confident, as if she believed this was only a minor inconvenience.

Bianca straightened, smoothing her dress, trying to regain her composure. “Then do something,” she urged, lowering her voice, making it softer, more pleading, “You and I both know that woman isn’t right for him. She’s… nothing. She doesn’t have the same status as we do and besides, I love him more than she does. You want what’s best for him, don’t you?”

The older woman’s smirk returned, pleased by Bianca’s change in approach. “Of course I do.”

“Then stop him,” Bianca whispered. “Before he ruins himself over her.”

Carol exhaled slowly, setting her wine glass down. “Oh, don’t worry, darling,” she assured her. “Adrian will come to his senses. He always does.”

Chapter 38: Unbearable

Bianca forced a smile, but inside, her mind was troubled.

Because if Adrian didn’t come to his senses, if she couldn’t secure her place beside him again…

Then she was as good as dead.

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Noelle sat on the edge of the bed with her body draped in the sheet Adrian had wrapped around her earlier. The fabric felt foreign against her skin even though she had laid on it for hours. It felt too soft, too gentle, as if mocking the rawness she felt inside. Her hands rested limply in her lap while her fingers curled slightly. But she made no move not even a single flinch. She had no strength left.

But more than that, she couldn’t look at him.

Her gaze remained fixed on the floor, unblinking, as if the world beyond it didn’t exist. The soft glow of the bedside lamp illuminated across the room, but they didn’t reach her. She was somewhere else, trapped in a hollow space where time stretched endlessly that even her own breath felt like a stranger’s.

Adrian, on the other hand, moved with an almost unbearable tenderness. He knelt in front of her with his hands working precisely, dressing her as if she were a fragile doll that might break beneath his touch. His touch lingered, adjusting the fabric carefully, smoothing out invisible creases. His fingers lightly brushed her wrist, then her shoulder. His touch was light and reverent, the kind of touch that would’ve once made her heart flutter.

Now, it only made her colder.

“There,” he murmured gently, securing the last button on her blouse. “Warm enough?” He asked, but she didn’t

answer.

Noelle’s silence stretched between them like a chasm.

Adrian exhaled softly, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear. He acted as if nothing had happened. His thumb brushed her cheek, but she didn’t react. She didn’t flinch, didn’t pull away and just sat there, unresponsive, while her gaze remained glued to the floor.

And so Adrian cupped her face, tilting it slightly to get her attention.

“Elle,” he called in a low and coaxing manner.

But still, nothing.

Adrian smiled trying to be soft and patient. “Look at me.”

Noelle didn’t.

Her breathing was steady, controlled, but there was an eerie stillness to her, as if she wasn’t fully there. As if whatever had been done to her had drained something vital from her bones.”

Adrian studied her for a long moment as his fingers tightened ever so slightly against her skin.

Then, his grip eased a moment later. His fingers trailed down her jaw in a touch that was almost affectionate. Almost.

Adrian exhaled and tilted his head as he regarded her. “You’re always so stubborn,” he mused. “Even now, when you’re right here with me.”

He didn’t sound angry. He didn’t sound regretful. If anything, he sounded pleased.

“I used to think I understood you, Elle. I thought I knew how your mind worked, how you felt about me. But you

Chapter 38: Unbearable

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you

like a

ran.” His thumb traced the line of her cheek. “And I was furious. You humiliated me, made me chase madman, made me burn with questions I didn’t want to ask. But in the end, none of it matters now. Because you’re here. Where you belong.‘

He leaned in slightly, as if he were sharing a secret. “And you’ll never leave again.”

Noelle sat still with a vacant expression and dull eyes.

Adrian pulled back, studying her as if waiting for a reaction. When he got nothing, he smiled to himself. “You must be exhausted.” He shifted, sitting beside her on the bed while his fingers absentmindedly began toying with the hem of her sleeve. “But that’s okay. You don’t have to say anything.”

He then sighed, rolling his shoulders before tilting his head toward her. “I was thinking,” he began, as if they were having an ordinary conversation, “…we should just go ahead and proceed our plan on getting married. We will finally make things right.”

“I’ve had enough of being separated from you. We’ll have a private ceremony–just us, a few guests. Or maybe no guests at all.” He smirked, as if the idea amused him. “I don’t need an audience to claim what’s already mine.”

His fingers traced idle patterns along her arm. “I’ll take care of everything. The dress, the venue, all the little details. You don’t have to lift a finger. You just have to say yes.”

But still, Noelle said nothing.

Adrian chuckled softly, shaking his head. “Or you don’t have to say anything at all. I know what’s best for us, after all.”

His hand slid down to hers, wrapping around her cold fingers. He gave them a light squeeze, but Noelle remained motionless and unresponsive which he didn’t seem to mind

“You’ll understand soon,” he murmured, bringing her knuckles to his lips. “Once we’re married, you’ll see that this was always meant to be.”

Noelle’s gaze remained locked on the floor, empty and distant.

But Adrian did not mind at all. He would rather have her this obedient than fight him. At least everything was going according to his plan.

“I love you… Let’s get married tomorrow. We’ll build a family here. We’ll have five kids just like you always wanted, hm?” He whispered and kissed her forehead. “Don’t leave me anymore.”

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