Obsession His Runaway Bride (Noelle and Adrian) novel Chapter 81

Chapter 81: Light

Chapter 81: Light

+25 BONUS

Marco stood frozen with his hand still mid–air where Grace had blocked him. His pulse pounded as each beat echoed the frustration, the disbelief, and the sheer fucking helplessness clawing at his chest.

She had locked herself away for three days.

Three days of silence. Three days of ignoring everyone. Three days of waiting for her to snap out of it, to barge out of that damn room with a scowl and some sharp remark just to prove she was st her usual herself.

But she hadn’t.

And now, after all that time, she just walked out of the room with calm, detached demeanor as if those three days had never happened?

The moment she began to walk downstairs, something in Marco snapped.

“Like hell you’re walking away from this.”

His body moved on instinct.

In swift movements, he chased after her. His fingers wrapped around her wrist in a firm, unyielding grip before she could reach her car.

But what happened next had every man in the vicinity looking away.

Grace didn’t hesitate. She didn’t recoil.

She retaliated.

With a sharp, vicious crack, her palm sliced through the air and struck his face with enough force to turn his head. The impact was instant. A sharp sting bloomed across his cheek, and the unmistakable taste of copper flooded his mouth as a fresh cut split open his lower lip.

A heavy silence immediately fell over them.

Every man watching diverted their eyes, instinctively taking a step back, as if sensing the trouble that had just been unleashed.

Grace’s chest rose and fell with controlled breaths while her fingers still tingled from the force of the strike. But her voice, when it came, was calm and deadly.

“Don’t ever… touch me again.” She glared. “I gave you no permission.”

She didn’t wait for a response.

Didn’t care to see if he wiped the blood from his lip.

Without another word, she turned, stepping into her car and pulled the car door shut. But Marco wasn’t done yet. He slammed his palm against the window. His fingers were splayed against the cool glass and his body moved before his mind could catch up.

“Grace.” He spoke in a controlled, but firm voice. The kind of tone he usually uses to force her to listen. “You’re in no conditi

to drive.”

He expected another resistance. A sharp glare. A biting remark. Anything.

But instead, she barely spared him a glance as she jammed the key into the ignition.

“I’ve been in worse conditions and I’m still alive.” she muttered, letting the words roll off her tongue with unnerving indifference and drove away.

Grace gritted her teeth and hardened her heart as unwanted memories replayed in her head.

1/3

Chapter 81: Light

+25 BONUS

Ever since they were young—long before her sister’s death, her father, Bartholomew had never looked at Grace with affection.

All of his love, all of his attention, all of his pride had been reserved for Falth.

He showered her with warmth, spoiling her to the bone, treating er like a delicate treasure to be protected at all costs. When Faith spoke, he listened. When she smiled, he smiled back. She was the jewel of the Blackwood family, a daughter who could do no wrong in his eyes.

Faith had been given everything. The best tutors, the finest clothes and gifts that outshined anything Grace had ever received. If Faith so much as whispered a wish, their father made it a reality. She was the daughter he adored. She was the daughter he

chose.

But for Grace?

There was nothing.

Not a single kind word. Not a single lingering glance. No warmth in his voice when he spoke her name–if he even bothered to say it at all.

She wasn’t hated. That would have required acknowledgment.

Instead, she was invisible.

A shadow that existed on the fringes of her own home, hovering just outside the golden light of Faith’s perfect world.

Even her own mother never called her by name.

For a young child who was barely old enough to understand the complexities of favoritism but old enough to feel its weight- Grace had quickly learned that love was not something freely given Not to her.

She would watch from the sidelines silently, as her father and Faith shared moments she had never been part of. The way he ruffled Faith’s hair. The way he spoke to her with patience, pride, and endless indulgence. How he praised her for the smallest things, while Grace’s own accomplishments barely warranted a glance.

Then there was Marco.

Marco had been just a boy back then, no older than Grace, who was taken in and molded under Bartholomew’s watchful eye, trained to be sharp, ruthless, and obedient. He was not born into privilege, nor was he a child of wealth. He was simply chosen, plucked from nothing and shaped into something that could one day be useful. From the moment he arrived, he was given purpose, a role to fulfill within the empire. Unlike Grace, who had spent her life being overlooked, Marco was acknowledged and

valued.

And yet, despite growing up in the same cold world, he was different.

The first time he saw her, she had been standing alone, tucked away in the corner of the grand estate, half–hidden behind one of the towering columns that lined the halls. She had not spoken, had not moved to greet him, and had not even lifted her head high enough to be properly seen. She was there, existing, but only just.

But one thing shook little Gracie’s world. It was when he noticed her, waved his hand and smiled at her.

For the little boy, it was a mere friendliness and nothing else. But for Grace, it was everything.

Because for the first time in her short, loveless existence, someone saw her. It was not a glance of obligation, nor was it an empty courtesy. There was neither expectation in his eyes nor cold judgments behind the gesture. He had simply seen her,. instead of looking away, instead of pretending she did not exist, he had acknowledged her.

Little Gracie had stood there, frozen while her tiny fingers curled against the fabric of her dress, unsure how to respond. Unsure how to accept something so foreign. No one had ever smiled at her before.

She had spent her whole life knowing what it felt like to be unwanted.

And yet, in that single moment, with that single smile–Marco had unknowingly reached inside her hollow chest and planted

2/3

Chapter 81: Light

something there.

From that very moment, he became her light.