Free Web NovelChapter 148: Chapter 148
Riley’s POV
I stood there, still trying to steady my breathing, still trying to ignore the way my body felt a little weak after what just happened, and all I could do was watch him.
He didn’t look at me again after those last words.
"I’m not mad enough to drink from an unstable wounded petite little woman, you’ll lose consciousness faster than your breath."
The way he said it stayed in my head, and I didn’t know if I should feel annoyed, embarrassed, or something else entirely, because part of me knew he wasn’t wrong, but another part of me didn’t like the way he made it sound like I was fragile.
He turned away from me like nothing had happened and walked back to the bed, his steps calm like he had already pushed everything aside and moved on.
Meanwhile, I was still standing in the same spot, still feeling everything.
My hand lifted slightly to my neck without me thinking about it, touching the spot where he had bitten me earlier, and my fingers paused there for a second before I forced my hand down again.
I didn’t want him to see that.
He reached the bedside stand and leaned slightly, opening one of the drawers like he already knew exactly what he was looking for, and then he pulled something out. freewebnovёl.ƈom
At first, I didn’t really process it.
But when I looked closer, my eyes widened a little.
A cigarette.
Wait... what?
I blinked, staring at it like I had somehow imagined it.
They had cigarettes here too?
That didn’t make any sense to me at all, not in this place, not in this kind of environment.
He must have noticed the look on my face even though his back was still turned toward me.
"I bring back a lot of them each time I visit Crescent Hollow," he said casually, like it wasn’t a big deal, like he didn’t even need to look at me to know what I was thinking.
I didn’t say anything.
I just kept watching.
There was a small candle on the stand, and I had noticed it before but didn’t pay much attention to it, because it looked different, not like a normal candle, and I had assumed it was something medicinal or something important.
But then he took the cigarette tip and placed it against the flame.
The tip caught fire slowly, and he lifted it to his lips, taking a drag like this was something he had done a thousand times before.
Smoke filled the air, and I felt my breath hitch slightly without me meaning to.
I had never seen him like this.
Actually, I had never seen any of them like this.
Among all his brothers, among all of them, there was always something about Gunnar that stood out to me, even when I didn’t want it to.
He was different.
Not just in the obvious ways, not just in how he acted or spoke, but in something that felt locked away, something he didn’t let anyone see.
Not even himself.
It felt like he had taken a part of himself and buried it somewhere no one could reach, and no matter how much time passed, he refused to dig it back up.
And right now, watching him stand there with his back to me, smoking like nothing else mattered, it felt even more obvious.
He exhaled slowly, the smoke drifting into the air, and for a second, the room felt quieter than before.
Then his voice cut through it.
"Are you going to stand there watching me all day?"
I stiffened slightly.
He still didn’t turn around.
"You don’t want to go back to Crescent Hollow anymore?" he continued, his tone calm but carrying something underneath it. "Ethan must be going crazy by now."
The moment he said that name, something inside me twisted hard.
My hands tightened at my sides without me even thinking about it.
"I have nothing to do with Ethan anymore," I said, my voice sharper than I expected.
I hated the way his name sounded now.
I hated the way it felt when people said it, like it was something I was still connected to, like it still had any meaning in my life.
It didn’t.
Not anymore.
The thought of Ethan now made something inside me turn, like I couldn’t stand it, like it repulsed me in a way I didn’t even want to explain.
There was a short pause. Then Gunnar spoke again. "Why?"
Just that one word.
Simple.
But heavy.
"You used to be so desperate for his attention," he added, and this time there was something different in his voice, something quieter but more pointed. "What changed, Riley?"
I froze for a second.
Because the truth was, he already knew.
He didn’t need to ask.
He had seen enough.
Still, he asked anyway.
Maybe he wanted to hear me say it.
Maybe he wanted to see if I would.
I let out a small breath and shook my head slightly.
"I’m not answering that," I said, my tone dismissive, followed by a quiet scoff.
I didn’t want to talk about Ethan.
I didn’t want to give him that space again.
Not here.
Not now.
There was another silence after that, but this one felt different.
He didn’t respond immediately. And that alone made me more aware of everything.
Because this wasn’t how Gunnar usually acted.
Among his brothers, he was the one who showed his dislike for me the most, the one who never bothered to hide it, the one who made it clear every time I was around that he didn’t want me there.
And now...
Now he was calm.
It didn’t make sense for real.
It made me uneasy in a way I couldn’t explain.
I shifted slightly where I stood, my body still feeling a little weak, but I ignored it.
I didn’t want to look like I couldn’t handle this.
Then suddenly, he turned.
My breath caught without warning.
His eyes looked darker now, maybe because of the smoke, maybe because of something else, but whatever it was, it made my stomach tighten slightly.
And for a second, I forgot how to move.
He started walking toward me.
Slow. Steady.
Each step intentional, like he knew exactly what he was doing, like he knew exactly what this was doing to me.
My mind told me to step back.
To put some distance between us.
But my body didn’t listen.
I still stood right where I was, like I was rooted to the ground, like I couldn’t move even if I tried.
He stopped right in front of me. I could smell the faint scent of smoke on him now, mixed with something that was just him, something I couldn’t ignore no matter how much I tried.
Then he leaned slightly closer, just enough to make my breath catch again.
"I’ve been meaning to ask" He paused, calculating my expression with his gaze "Do you remember anything?" he asked, his voice lower now.
I frowned slightly, confused.
"From your childhood," he continued, his eyes locked onto mine, searching, intense in a way that made it hard to look away.
"Anything at all about your parents?"
My heart skipped a beat.
The question came out of nowhere. freewёbnoνel.com
I blinked, my mind trying to catch up."My parents...?" I repeated softly, unsure.
His gaze didn’t leave mine.
"Or," he added, his voice just as cold, "did they only make you remember getting married to Ethan?"
