Obedience No More He's the One I Deserved novel Chapter 319

"The subway entrance?"

Dawn repeated softly. "Why would he take that way?"

"He said he overslept, so going from there would be faster."

At first, it sounded perfectly reasonable. But the more she thought about it, the more suspicious it felt—too much of a coincidence.

Dawn pressed her lips together and said after a moment, "Without proof, there's nothing we can do."

"Yeah."

Austin's deep gaze fixed on her. "Dawn, aren't you going to tell me what's really going on with you?"

Her hand, hanging loosely at her side, suddenly clenched.

She gave him a faint smile. "There's nothing to tell."

Austin's brow furrowed even more, but he didn't push it.

It wasn't that Dawn couldn't talk about it—she just didn't see the point anymore. They'd already drawn a clear line between them, and she didn't want to drag him back into her mess.

Besides, this had nothing to do with him.

When Austin realized she really wasn't going to open up, he let out a cold laugh.

"Dawn, you really disappoint me."

His heavy footsteps faded into the distance. When Dawn finally lifted her head, all she could see was his stiff back disappearing down the hall, carrying a kind of lonely bitterness she couldn't describe.

She exhaled softly and lowered her eyes to hide the emotions flickering there.

The next morning, Dawn started packing her things.

"Dawn."

Sandra caught her hand, hesitating. "Can't you stay a little longer? Do you really have to leave so soon?"

"Mom, I ... have something to take care of back home." Dawn forced a small smile. "I'll come visit again when I have time, okay?"

Sandra could tell she was troubled, but some lessons had to be learned alone.

She pulled Dawn into a gentle hug and said softly, "If anything happens, you call me, alright? Don't carry everything on your own."

Dawn's nose stung. She nodded hard.

When she was ready to leave, she still didn't see Austin.

Not that she planned to say goodbye anyway. She asked Sandra to pass along the message for her, then turned and got into the car.

The bodyguard glanced at her in the rearview mirror, hesitated, then said, "Ms. Dawn, Mr. Osborne's work here isn't done yet. You could stay a bit longer if you wanted."

Dawn looked out the window. The wind blew her hair across her face.

After a long silence, she said quietly, "Why stay just to make things harder for everyone?"

Jessica's accident had hit her like a hammer.

She didn't know who was behind it, but her instincts screamed that it wasn't over—that runaway tricycle hadn't been an accident. Someone had been watching.

"I'm in the room next door. Knock if you need anything."

"Okay."

She noticed the dark circles under his eyes—he looked like he hadn't slept in days. Something tugged at her chest, and she said softly, "Go get some rest. I'll go eat later."

Jonathan didn't think much of it. He gave her a quick look, then turned back to his room.

Dawn closed her door and scanned the room until she spotted the phone on the desk. She hurried over and dialed Alex's number.

It connected.

When she heard his voice, it felt like finding a lifeline. Her whole body relaxed. "Hey, it's Dawn."

Alex froze. "Dawn ... wait, why are you calling me from a landline?"

"That's not important."

She glanced toward the door. "Did you manage to handle what I asked you to do?"

"I was just wondering how to tell you," Alex said. His voice sounded normal, calm. "I sent people to find those two, but they came up empty. Lucas is already talking about dropping the case."

"What?"

That couldn't be right.

Dawn's brows knitted tight, her voice low and heavy. "I see ... Thanks, Alex."