He Didn’t Kidnap Me. Not Exactly novel Chapter 186

Chapter 186

For the first time since the conversation had begun, there was genuine emotion visible in his expression.

Not much.

Most people wouldn’t have noticed it but I did.

“You nearly died because of me.”

The statement wasn’t dramatic. It wasn’t exaggerated. It was simply the truth coming from him.

“I’ve spent most of my life around people who wanted something from me.”

His gaze remained locked onto mine.

“Money.”

A pause.

“Power.”

Another.

“Influence.”

His voice softened slightly.

“But nobody has ever done for me what you did.”

I couldn’t seem to look away.

“Daisy, you saw danger and your first instinct was to protect me.”

The emotion returned briefly, this time stronger.

“And when I thought I might lose you…”

He stopped.

The silence stretched. And it happened as though he was genuinely choosing his next words carefully.

When he finally spoke again, his voice had become quieter than before.

“I realized I was done pretending.”

A strange warmth spread through my chest, slow and terrifying. Because I knew exactly what he was about to say.

And yet hearing it still felt impossible.

“Tear about you.”

The words settled between us.

Direct.

Undeniably sincere.

“I care about you a lot more than I should.”

My breath caught.

“And a lot more than I’m capable of pretending otherwise now.”

The room disappeared.

Not literally.

But close enough.

The nurses. The machines. Aria. Archer- everything seemed to fade into the background.

There was only him.

Only his voice.

Only the impossible reality that Adrian DeLuca was sitting beside my hospital bed confessing feelings he had spent months fighting.

His gaze softened slightly.

“But Daisy, before anything else, before I ask for anything else, there’s something I need to say.”

I swallowed.

He continued.

“I’m sorry.”

The words struck me harder than I would have thought it would, and it did so because they were genuine.

There was no arrogance behind them. No excuses. No attempts to make himself feel better.

Just honesty.

“I hurt you.”

His voice remained steady.

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