Chapter 37
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Without warning, Finn grabbed Arya by the chin, tilting her face up to meet his. His eyes narrowed, cool and dangerous. “Tell me,” he said, voice low and sharp, “who the hell is Silas?”
Just the thought of another man occupying even the smallest corner of her heart made him furious.
Arya looked straight into his cold, accusing eyes and smiled faintly. “What if I told you… He’s just a friend?”
“You expect me to believe that?” he asked, one brow arching in disbelief.
A man who shows up in your dreams is never just a friend. Finn wasn’t buying it.
Arya leaned in, her fingers slowly wrapping around the back of his neck.
Her lips curled into a whisper. “Then what do you think made me agree to that engagement with Malcolm in the first place? And why do you think I ended up here—with you?”
Truthfully, she’d been ready to let him stew for a while longer. But after the way he’d stood up for her against Colin, she figured she could cut him some slack.
Finn’s eyes darkened as they dropped to her lips–soft, pink, moving temptingly close. His throat bobbed with a sharp swallow.
God, she was dangerous.
In the next second, his large hand slid around her waist and pulled her flush against him.
His lips found hers, the kiss starting gentle–then deepening with a heat that stole her breath. His mouth traced a searing path from her lips to her jaw, then down the side of her neck, her collarbone, everywhere he could reach.
It felt like he wanted to consume her. To sink her so deep into him, there’d be no getting out.
His scent surrounded me. Clean, crisp, masculine. It was maddening.
She thought, ‘Every part of me wanted to fall.‘
“Arya…” he whispered hoarsely near my ear, “You said once you’d take responsibility for me. You’re not getting out of it now. Not in this lifetime.”
That brought her crashing back to earth. Right–the truth.
She slipped a hand into her pocket and pulled out the small heart–shaped pendant, laying it gently in her palm. She looked up and asked, quietly, “You’ve been searching for the girl who saved you all this time, haven’t you?”
Finn’s gaze fell to the pendant. His expression didn’t change, but his voice came without hesitation: “Yes.”
Just one word, but the weight behind it was undeniable. Unshakable.
She’d saved his life. Without her, there’d be no Finn today.
Arya looked up at him, calm and unwavering. “Well… you can stop searching now. Because it was me.”
The moment the words left her mouth, time seemed to halt.
Finn looked down at her, really looked at her.
Every detail of her face the soft curve of her lips, the long lashes, the calm in her eyes.
Then, like a ghost, he heard it. A little girl’s voice, sweet and brave: “Don’t be scared. I won’t let anything happen to you.
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Chapter 37.
His chest tightened.
Then slowly, he reached out and wrapped his fingers around her wrist. His voice dropped low, barely more than a whisper, tinged with disbelief and something else–hope. “You’re really… the girl from back then?”
No doubt. No suspicion. Just wonder.
As long as she said yes, he would believe it.
She nodded. “Eight years ago, I was in Duskwood Forest gathering herbs.
“That’s when I found you–your eyes were blinded by lime, your leg was slashed, your shoulder was bleeding from a gunshot wound…
“I went to get help, and somewhere along the way, I lost the pendant. I didn’t know you were out there looking for me all this time.”
Every word she said seemed to etch itself into him.
Then, without warning, Finn pulled her into his arms and held on like he’d never let go. His voice broke against her ear. “I finally found you.”
He’d looked for so long. Through silence, through doubt, and through time that refused to give back what it had stolen.
But now, he had her.
She could barely breathe.
She thought, ‘God, does this man know how to hug someone without cracking a rib?‘
Ten minutes later, Finn sat beside Arya at the table, his usually guarded expression now laced with something rare: softness.
“Edna made breakfast today,” he said, watching her closely. “If you don’t like it, I’ll have her make something else.”
The marble table was practically a brunch buffet.
Every flavor, every style, like he’d ordered one of everything just to be safe.
“It’s enough,” she replied.
Arya picked up a glass of juice and took a slow sip. But she could feel his gaze on her–intense, focused. His usually dark, unreadable eyes now looked clear. Gentle, almost.
She frowned. “Are you not going to eat?”
He gave her the kind of look that should’ve been illegal this early in the morning. “Watching you eat is enough.”
She choked slightly on the juice. “You’re not planning to keep me in a glass case now that I saved your life, are you?”
A slow smile curled on his lips, “If that’s what you want. I’ll even pluck the stars down for you.”
She thought, ‘God. He is serious?‘
Luckily, breakfast ended before she could die of secondhand embarrassment.
Robert came in quietly, holding a crisp shopping bag like it was a holy artifact. He kept his head respectfully lowered. “Mr. Barnett, the clothes you asked
for.”
Finn took the bag and handed it to Arya. “Your clothes from last night were ruined. I threw them out. Try this on, see if it fits.”
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Chapter 37
Arya raised an eyebrow but took the bag upstairs without protest.
Ten minutes later, she descended in a white lace mini dress, delicate and elegant–but the moment Finn laid eyes on her, his expression darkened.
Under the decoration of the skirt, her graceful figure looked even more alluring.
His gaze swept over her long legs, the way the hem swayed just above the knees–barely.
A muscle twitched in his jaw.
Without a word, he pulled out his phone and made a call. “Send over something more conservative. This one’s too revealing.”
Arya glanced down. ‘Seriously? This is too short? I’ve worn way shorter than this!‘
Moments later, Robert returned with a new outfit.
Finn handed it over. “Change again.”
Arya grumbled silently but took the bag upstairs anyway.
When she came back down in a full tracksuit, Finn finally nodded approvingly. “Now that looks good.”
Arya blinked. ‘It looks like I’m heading to gym class, not breakfast.‘
Just then, her phone rang.
She answered immediately. “Travis? What’s going on?”
Travis said, “Arya! You need to get home–Dad just woke up!”
The second she heard those words, Arya jumped up and bolted for the door.
But before she could make it out, a firm hand caught her by the waist and pulled her back. “I’ll take you,” Finn said, already grabbing his keys.
1
At Keller Villa, Stephen sat half–upright in bed, slowly sweeping his gaze across the room.
Then his eyes landed on Jared, who was smiling.
