Tempted Trapped and Too Late to Run

Her palm rested softly against his cheek. He seemed calmer now, his eyes clearer, the storm in them finally settling.

Clara wasn't watching him, so she missed the way his gaze turned hotter and more intense with every passing second. He caught her hand, a hint of a smile curving his lips, and then closed his eyes.

Inside, Clara's mind was chaos-a tug of war between logic and something she couldn't name.

About an hour later, she caught a glimpse of Aiden passing by and called out before she could think twice. "Aiden."

He stopped, water glass in hand, and nodded respectfully.

"Did something happen while we were out?" Clara asked.

Aiden glanced at Dylan, searching his face, but found nothing out of the ordinary. "Mrs. Ferguson's back. She wants the CEO to marry Tara from the Warren family. And... Ada passed away. The Fergusons are having the funeral."

Ada's gone?noveldrama

Clara blinked. She didn't remember hearing anything about Ada being sick.

She frowned, trying to make sense of it. It had only been a couple weeks, but outside, everything seemed to have changed. Here she was, stuck in this place, completely cut off from the world and its shifting tides.

Worry for Z crept back in. If even Mrs. Ferguson was getting involved in Dylan's marriage, didn't that make Clara public enemy number one in the Ferguson family's eyes?

Her heart picked up speed. She forced herself to take a steady breath. "Does Dylan usually do what Mrs. Ferguson tells him?"

If Mrs. Ferguson was dead set on marrying him off to Tara, maybe Clara would finally be free. That thought brought a strange kind of relief.

Aiden took a sip of his water. "Not really."

"Then who does he listen to most?"

With all these people around, how was there not one person who could talk some sense into Dylan? He could've had someone perfect and instead, he'd chosen to tie himself to her. Wasn't he just asking for trouble?

"You," Aiden said, not even hesitating.

Clara stared at him, stunned. She pointed at herself. "Me? I'm the one he listens to?"

Aiden nodded. "Yeah."

Then he turned and headed upstairs, leaving Clara almost wanting to laugh out loud. If Dylan actually listened to her, he would've already taken her to see Z.

Just thinking about Z made her feel a little uncomfortable around the man lying next to her. Z was so kind, so blameless-Dylan's hatred for him made no sense at all.

Dylan's brows drew closer together as he slept, lines deepening on his forehead. He looked like he was trapped in a nightmare.

He dreamed of endless, black swamps-of poisonous bugs, crawling steadily up from his feet. The people above told him it was to make him braver, that the place he was headed would be a hundred times scarier.

The stings and bites felt all too real. Ever since he was kid, he'd been told his life carried the family's fate. But no one ever explained what that

fate actually was. The only probaise:

survive each trial, and you'll finally get to see your family again.

He never realized he was the one left behind. For the longest time, he'd thought he was lucky.

If he hadn't run into that boy who looked just like him-gentle, bright, a smile like sunshine—he might still believe it.

But how could the truly favored son be forced to grow up in darkness, nameless and hidden? That so-called destiny felt more like a cage-a curse.

He wasn't lucky at all. He'd been

completely and utterly abandoned.

From the moment he was cast

aside, he'd never even belonged to

aside.h

himself. Not even his own name was

really his.

Day after day of brutal training chipped away at his hope. He'd skirted death so

many times, he wasn't sure what was real anymore.

"Dylan."

"Dylan?"

Clara watched the tension in his face grow sharper. She finally reached over and shook him gently.

He opened his eyes slowly, the world blurry at first, then sharpening into her face just like the first time he'd woken in her arms.

"Clara."

"Yeah?" she answered softly.

What's going on with you, really?