Bound by the Past, Locked by the Heart novel Chapter 216

Willa closed her eyes and remained silent.

She deliberately provoked him to gamble for her unborn baby's chance at survival.

Deep down, she still believed Randal didn't actually want to see her dead.

An eerie, suffocating silence filled the room.

Randal's face was chalky white as he stared intensely at her, desperate to find some crack in her facade.

But there was nothing.

He knew her better than anyone. She was fierce, and when she made a threat, she always followed through.

An unprecedented wave of terror clawed at his heart. All his obsessive need for control crumbled completely before her absolute, scorched-earth resolve.

"Fine," he finally caved. "After the wedding... I'll let you go."

Her eyelashes fluttered slightly. She simply gave a soft "Mm," offering no other response.

Randal suddenly stood up and bolted from the room as if fleeing for his life.

The second the door clicked shut, the invisible thread holding her together snapped. She collapsed back onto the bed, drenched in cold sweat.

With a trembling hand, she touched her belly, a wave of delayed terror washing over her.

If he had lost control even a fraction more, the consequences would have been catastrophic.

Thankfully, her gamble had paid off.

Willa mentally calculated the date on that wedding invitation. Four months from now. By then, her bump would just be starting to show. She could pull this off.

It wasn't long before Randal returned, stepping into the room with a tray in his hands.

"Willa," he called softly, his tone laced with a clumsy, almost agonizing caution. "Get up and eat something. You skipped dinner. You can't just starve yourself."

Sitting on the edge of the bed, he picked up the porcelain spoon in the bowl of soup and gently stirred it to let the heat escape.

The nausea stirred in Willa's stomach once more, but she forcibly shoved it down.

"Mrs. Gable simmered this all afternoon. It's soft and easy to digest." He scooped up a spoonful, gently scraping the excess off the rim of the bowl, and held it to her lips. "Come on, open up. Just one bite, okay?"

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