Ms. Escape Marrying to Run Fighting to Rise novel Chapter 198

Chapter 198 Only Each Other

What Harold feared wasn’t just that Curtis might refuse to let Michael return to the Lincolns. What really worried him was this–Curtis had only stayed his hand all these years because Harold was still around, still in control.

But once Harold was old or dead… with Curtis’s ruthless nature and capability, he could very well kill Michael.

“You don’t know Curtis,” Harold said, lowering his voice and fixing his gaze on Denton. “Do you know how your father’s ex–wife, Curtis’s biological mother, died? It was Curtis. He killed her with his own hands. If he could do that to his own mother… what makes you think that just because you’re not fighting him for the Lincoln legacy, he’d spare you after I’m gone?”

Denton froze in place, stunned. His eyes searched Harold’s, completely shaken.

Curtis… killed his own mother?

“I … I don’t understand,” Denton said, his voice trembling.

He needed answers. He needed to know the truth.

Outside the door, Curtis stood stiff, fists clenched so tightly that the veins in his hands were bulging. His eyes had gone cold, sharp, almost predatory.

He had always tolerated Michael’s existence, letting him live quietly outside the family. He’d looked the other way. But if Harold had been guarding against him this whole time, if this was how little he trusted him, then Harold had no right to complain about what would come next.

His palm split open where his own fingernails had dug in too hard, and blood dripped down through his fingers, splattering silently on the floor.

By the time Ernest rushed over, having heard the news, Curtis was already gone. He hadn’t entered the study. He had turned around and left.

On the ground, Ernest saw the small trail of blood Curtis had left behind.

He sighed deeply, heart aching, and shook his head.

Curtis had come back today still holding onto some thread of family loyalty. But after this… that thread may have snapped for good.

Back at the hotel, Adriana had been sleeping for hours.

She was completely drained, knocked out on the bed in deep, heavy rest.

When she finally woke up, she realized Curtis was gone.

She sat up in a panic and quickly got out of bed, about to go look for Curtis.

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10:27 Mon, Jan 12 RO

Chapter 198 Only Each Other

Just then, the hotel room door opened. Curtis had returned.

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He looked worn out, drained, almost hollow. There was a quiet weight to the way he stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame.

It was already getting dark, and the room lights were still off.

Adriana stood there barefoot, frozen in place as she looked at him–his outline dimly lit in the shadows.

His tie was already loosened, and he tugged at it again, his eyes rimmed with red.

She felt her heart ache just looking at him and rushed over, wrapping her arms around him. “Where did you go…? I had a nightmare … ” she whispered.

She’d dreamed that their marriage had fallen apart, that she’d lost him.

“Don’t be scared. I’m here,” Curtis murmured, pulling her tightly into his arms.

Adriana smelled blood on him–faint, but sharp–and strong alcohol. Panicked, she turned on the light. There were bloodstains on his white dress shirt. She frantically ran her hands over him, trying to find where he was hurt, until she saw the deep red marks on his palm, from where he’d dug into his own skin.

“You went back to the Lincoln Estate, didn’t you?” she asked softly, already hurrying to grab the first aid kit.

Curtis didn’t answer. He just sat there in silence, watching her.

After she finished cleaning and bandaging his wound, she looked up at him. “Denton came to Harborton, didn’t he?”

Still, Curtis said nothing. Instead, he reached out and gently pulled her into his lap, holding her close. “Adriana…”

His voice was hoarse. He reeked of alcohol, he must’ve had a lot to drink.

Adriana wrapped her arms around him and held him even tighter. “I’m here,” she whispered.

“I only have you …

”

The words came out in a rough, broken voice, barely more than a whisper as he buried his face into the crook of her neck.

Adriana’s eyes welled with tears. This time, Harold had truly broken Curtis’s heart.

“But… I couldn’t even protect you …

What broke Curtis wasn’t what had happened to him. It was the pain of realizing that, after all these years of scheming and planning, thinking he was in control, he still hadn’t been able to keep Adriana from getting hurt.

No one knew how happy he had been when they found out about their first baby. No one knew just how much hope he’d held for their future.

He’d thought it wouldn’t be long before he could give Adriana a complete home.

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10:27 Mon, Jan 12 RD

Chapter 198 Only Each Other

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