Obsession His Runaway Bride (Noelle and Adrian) novel Chapter 54

Chapter 54: Wounded

Chapter 54: Wounded

Valerian stood outside the operating room impatiently as he stared at the closed doors.

His men had already handled Adrian, sedating him before dragging him back to his enclosed cell. Valerían hadn’t even spared the bastard a final glance. He couldn’t afford to waste a second of his attention on anything but her.

She had already lost too much blood.

And now, she might lose her child for real this time. He wasn’t sure how she would react but wanted to make sure he would be there beside her.

His jaw tightened as he exhaled slowly, forcing himself to stay in control. But the minutes stretched unbearably, the wait digging into his nerves like a slow, twisting knife.

But it didn’t even reach half an hour when the doors finally swung open.

Dr. James stepped out, pulling his mask down as he walked toward Valerian with measured steps. His face was composed, but there was a heaviness in his expression that sent an immediate wave of dread through Valerian’s chest.

“We couldn’t save it,” James stated simply.

Valerian’s shoulders stiffened even if he had already expected it. Had already prepared himself for those words. But hearing them still hit harder than he anticipated.

James continued, “She is stable now. The anesthesia is still strong, so she’ll likely wake up in the next two to four hours. That time will be good for her body to regain strength. She’s been through a lot.”

Valerian nodded stiffly, absorbing the information. He should have felt some relief that she was stable, that she had made it through the procedure without further complications. But James hadn’t finished speaking.

He hesitated. It was a subtle flicker of reluctance in his eyes, the way his lips pressed into a thin line but Valerian noticed it instantly. James wasn’t the type to hesitate unless there was something he wasn’t sure how to say.

Valerian’s patience was already running thin. His brow arched as he demanded. “Speak.”

James exhaled and finally met Valerian’s gaze.

“…I found… hymenal lacerations,” James said carefully. “Based on the healing process, they appear to be from two or three days ago.”

The words struck Valerian like a physical blow. His usually sharp, controlled expression faltered for the briefest moment, his silver–grey eyes widening as the weight of the revelation settled in

Two to three days ago.

Noelle had been here for almost three days.

Which meant…

His throat tightened as his mind pieced together the horrifying truth. The truth that, up until now, he hadn’t allowed hi

consider.

to

Without another word, as if moving in a daze, Valerian turned away. His steps were controlled but his body was tense, rigid with the kind of rage that simmered just beneath the surface, waiting to explode.

By the time he reached the gym where he wanted to be, his presence alone was enough to send everyone scattering. The men training barely had time to exchange glances before they immediately cleared the area, leaving the space empty within seconds. No one dared to stay.

Valerian didn’t acknowledge them. Didn’t hear them. Didn’t see anything but the violent storm raging inside his own head.

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Without hesitation, he shed his coat and gloves, discarding them to the floor as he strode toward the heavy punching bag:

And then, without warning Valerian swung his fist and it came crashing into the bag with brutal force. The chains above it groaned from the impact. But it wasn’t enough. He struck again, harder, his breath coming in sharp, uneven bursts.

Another punch. Then another. Each blow landed with sickening force and the sound of flesh against leather echoed through the

empty gym.

His mind was a storm consuming every bit of sanity he has. His jaw clenched letting the fury take over. His knuckles throbbed while the skin split open, but he barely felt it: He kept going, faster harder, the strikes growing erratic as his control slipped

with each hit.

Blood smeared across the worn leather. His fingers becaine numb is breath gped and shallow. His muscles burned, his arms screamed from the relentless assault, but he didn’t stop. He couldnt. The image of Noelle lying pale and weak and the heartbreaking truth of what Adrian had done to her, all of it fueled the fite raging inside him.

Then, all at once, the fury inside him erupted.

A guttural roar tore from his throat, reverberating through the empty gym like a wounded animal’s cry. His entire body coiled, his muscles locked tight, and with one final, devastating blow, he sent the bag flying off its stand. The chains snapped and metal clattered against the floor as the heavy bag crashed down with a deafening thud.

Valerian stood motionless while his chest heaved and blood dripped from his knuckles onto the mat below. His hands trembled but even as pain settled in, even as the destruction before him registered-

It still wasn’t enough.

And then, like a wound torn open all over again, the past came rushing back.

A memory of his deep pain and hurt.

His mother’s broken, choked, and helpless cries. The sound of her struggling, muffled behind the closed doors of a room he was too small to enter, too powerless to change. The scent of blood, the echo of his own childish screams that no one answered. He had been forced to watch. Forced to understand, far too young, what it meant to be powerless.

Noelle… Noelle had suffered the same way his mother had.

And even after having the power to avenge his mother, it still did not wash away the memory that made him the man that he is

now.

Then, for the first time in years, Valerian Vasiliev, a ruthless and feared man broke down.

Tears spilled down his face, hot and unrelenting at the thought that even if he had everything, he still couldn’t protect the woman he loved.

He had failed to save either.