All Chapters of Beautifully Ruined By Him: Chapter 41 - Chapter 49

Cael's POV"What are we?"For a second I just looked at her.The streetlights cast soft shadows across her face, her eyes fixed on me, waiting. Nervous, curious, maybe a little scared too. The question hung between us like something neither of us was quite ready to deal with.I could answer it. I should.But the problem was that Nora still didn't know anything. Not really. She didn't know who I was outside that office, didn't know what I was, and if she knew the truth right now, standing outside her building with that look on her face, I genuinely wasn't sure what would happen.So instead of answering, I smirked. Because if I didn't, I was probably going to say something reckless. Something I wasn't supposed to say yet."You already know the answer."Her eyebrows pulled together immediately."What? What does that even mean?"I almost laughed. Of course that was her reaction. I stepped closer, not enough to crowd her, just enough."Goodnight, Nora."Her eyebrows pulled in confusion. "

The laughter was still in my chest when my mom's voice shifted. Not dramatically or all at once. It was just a small change in tone, the kind I'd learned to notice over the years. Like she was about to say something she'd been working up to for a while. "Nora." "Mm?" "I need to tell you something." I stopped smiling. "Okay." She paused. Then, carefully, "Leon is coming back." The name landed in my chest like something cold. Wait, who??? For a second I didn't say anything, just lay there on my bed staring at the ceiling, feeling the warmth of the last few minutes drain out of the room completely. "Leon....?" I repeated. "Yes." Her voice had gone gentle in that specific way she used when she already knew she was walking into something difficult. "He called last week. He's been abroad for a while but he's coming home, and I thought... I thought it would be nice if we all—" I frowned and cut in. "No." "Nora—" "Mom." "Just.... listen to me for a second." I sat up slowly, my

I woke up already annoyed. Not because something was wrong exactly, just because my head was too loud and sleep had felt less like rest and more like drifting in and out of thoughts I hadn't asked for.Leon, the house, the silence. Sixteen-year-old me standing in a hallway holding a watch nobody wanted.I turned on my side and muttered, "Stop it," to absolutely no one. "It was years ago. It's nothing now."I waited for my brain to agree.It didn't.And then, as if one problem wasn't enough, another face slipped in without permission.Cael.I groaned into my pillow."Fantastic," I said out loud. "One man I don't understand and one man I don't want to see again. Great combination, Nora. Very healthy."What was wrong with me??I sat up, rubbed my face, and decided that today was going to be a professional day. Strictly professional. No replaying last night's dinner, no thinking about the way he'd looked at me across that table, and absolutely no thinking about him stepping close outside

Nora's POV I didn't stop running until I reached the restroom. I pushed the door open so fast it nearly slammed against the wall behind it and walked straight into the nearest stall before locking it. Then I just stood there, breathing, or trying to, because suddenly breathing felt harder than it should. My hand stayed pressed against my stomach while my chest kept rising too quickly. Oh my God. Oh my God. Oh my God! What just happened??? I closed my eyes tightly. No. Absolutely not. My brain refused to catch up, like everything had happened too fast. The office, his hand at my waist, the way he looked at me, the way he said— I pressed both hands over my face. "No." My voice came out weak. "Nope." I shook my head like I could physically throw the memory away, because what in the world had just happened? Cael kissed me. Cael. Cael Draven. My boss. The same man who spent most of his time annoying me and smirking at me and making my life harder for absolutely no reason. And th

Nora's POV For a second I genuinely forgot how to do anything. Not just breathe. Everything. Think, blink, move, exist. All of it just stopped, I couldn't explain how. His tongue traced the seam of my lips, soft but sure, and I opened for him before my brain could even catch up. The kiss got deeper right away—warm and a little messy. A rush of heat flooded my chest and spilled down my spine, making my knees feel weirdly unsteady. I stood there staring at him, and he stood there looking back at me while kissing me. The room was completely silent, and my brain was offering me absolutely nothing useful. Then everything came back at once. My eyes went wide and I pushed against his chest and took two steps back so fast I nearly lost my balance. "What the hell?!" My voice came out louder than I meant it to. Cael didn't flinch, didn't move, didn't even look particularly surprised, which somehow made everything worse. I pointed at him. "You—" Nothing came out. I trie