Chapter 49 — The Ride BackThe car door shut with a dull, final sound that seemed to seal everything that had just happened into the night behind them.Arielle sat still for a moment, her fingers resting loosely in her lap, though the faint sting around her wrists hadn’t faded. She could still feel the rope, even though it was gone like her body hadn’t caught up with the fact that she was free.Beside her, Lucien didn’t speak.The engine came alive, smooth and controlled, and the car pulled away from the isolated house as if nothing had happened there at all.But everything had.Arielle turned her head slightly, watching the darkness slip past the window. The trees blurred together, indistinct, distant… like the version of the night she wanted to forget.She became aware of him before he said anything.Lucien’s gaze.It wasn’t casual. It wasn’t soft either.It was searching.Careful.“Did he hurt you?” he asked at last, his voice low, steady, but carrying something tightly restrained
Magbasa pa