140 Chapter 140
Betrayed by Blood
Avery’s bare feet hit the cold floor, a shiver racked through her body as she looked around, her eyebrows furrowed. It couldn’t be… how could she be back here? Her gaze flickered to the wall clock ticking quietly and then flashed to the calendar next to it. A sharp gasp left her lips, and she immediately ran out of the room, sprinting down the
staircase.
The house was wrong. Too quiet. Too still. The calm was suffocating, wrapping around her throat like a noose.
She could hear voices–familiar, warm, comforting–voices she’d longed to hear for years but distant. As though they were close and yet still far away. She rounded the corner and stumbled into the kitchen.
“Mom! Dad!” Her voice came out strained, raw with desperation, but neither of them turned. They were right there, packing up the last few things before leaving.
Her mother’s gentle laughter floated in the air as she adjusted her coat, the cook was next to her, writing down the things her mother wanted. “Tell Avery we couldn’t wait any longer. Her uncle Hugh hasn’t stopped
he doesn’t have his way. Tell her we will and we all know how he gets when
back tomorrow, and she better not miss us
too much,” her mother said with a soft smile on her face.
Her father, on the other hand, checked his watch impatiently. He couldn’t leave, not without his wife, and yet he couldn’t help but be bothered by the traffic they could
face.
Avery reached out–please, just let her touch them–only for her hand to pass through her mother’s arm as if she were nothing but smoke. Panic bloomed quickly in her chest. “Please–please–don’t go! You need to stop!” But her words dissolved into the air, unheard, unnoticed.
Her mother picked up her bag. Her father jingled the car keys.
“No- No, you can’t go, not yet.” Avery screamed, her voice cracked.
She ran after them, her body trembling as she ran for the front door. She could see
140 Chapter 140
them through the glass, stepping into the car–her mom buckling in, her dad adjusting the rearview mirror like it was any other day.
She pounded on the door, screaming so hard it tore at her throat. “Stop! Don’t leave! Please! I need you!”
They didn’t hear her. They couldn’t. The car engine roared to life.
Avery turned around, bolting outside, feet hitting the cold floor as she ran after the car. The wind whipped through her hair, cold. She ran until her lungs burned, until her muscles screamed, but the car kept moving–further and further away.
She didn’t make it far. They didn’t either.
The car blew up in flames, the wildfire swallowing the car as a whole. Her knees buckled, and she collapsed onto the cold ground, a piercing scream left her lips as she watched her parents burn to their deaths.
But suddenly, it was gone. The fire. The car. Her parents.
Now, she was in the forest. The ground was damp beneath her feet, leaves crunching with every frantic step she took. She was running–why was she running?
Branches clawed at her arms, slicing her skin open in thin, angry lines. Her breath Could hear something behind her, heavy, rushed came in short, ragged gasps.
footsteps.
Her heart pounded like a war drum.
No, no, not again.
She ran as fast as she could, and just like before, she ended up at the cliff edge. Cornered yet again.
Uncle Hugh stepped forward, a wicked grin on his lips as he drove his dagger into her yet again. “Goodbye, Avery Jae,” he pushed her off the cliff.
“NO!” Avery screamed as she jolted awake.
Avery shot upright in bed, her chest heaving. Her skin was slick with sweat, id her heart pounded violently against her ribcage. The terror still clawed at her–her parents‘ laughter, the burning car, the forest, Uncle Hugh’s dagger…
140 Chapter 140
“Avery.” The voice was low, rough. She turned, and there he was, Cain.
He was standing by the edge of her bed, frozen, his hand half–raised as if he wanted to reach out but didn’t know how. His usual stoic expression was gone–replaced by something she couldn’t recognize.
Avery’s breath hitched. She tried to speak, to apologize, but her body moved before her mind caught up. She lunged forward, grabbing onto him like a drowning woman clinging to solid ground. Her arms wrapped around him, burying her face against his
chest.
froze, completely still. His chest rose sharply, as if her touch had knocked the air
out of him.
And then she realized what she was doing and who she was hugging. She began to pull away, her face heating up in shame. “I–I’m sorry, I didn’t mean-
But his hand caught her wrist firmly. “Don’t,” Cain said, his voice low but steady. His other arm slid around her waist, pulling her closer. “You don’t need to apologize.”
Avery didn’t fight it. She couldn’t.
And then, without hesitation, he pulled her in. His arms wrapped around her, strong and sure, holding her like she belonged there–because she did. His chin rested lightly against the top of her head, and his voice dropped low. “You’re safe.”
His warmth seeped into her skin, grounding her, dragging her back. Slowly she stopped trembling, her heart calming with each second she spent in his arms.
Cain didn’t let go. “Sleep.”
And for the first time in what felt like forever, Avery let herself believe him.
The morning light filtered softly through the curtains. Avery stirred, her lashes fluttering as she blinked awake. For a moment, she lay still, memories of the nightmare filling her mind.
Suddenly, it hit her. The hug, Cain’s arms around her, the way he held he ke she was something precious.
No, she thought, shaking her head. That didn’t happen. It couldn’t have.
140 Chapter 140
Avery sat up, groaning. “You’re losing it, Avery,” she muttered under her breath, lifting a hand and giving herself a light slap on the check. It was just a dream. There was no way in hell Cain would’ve come into the room, hugged her, and even comforted her. In what world would that ever happen?
Comment
O
