The Messenger( Iva) novel Chapter 101

The Kiss-2

Then asked the question that had been haunting her since morning

“Am I being paranoid…”

She opened her eyes slowly, staring at the ceiling.

“…or was Caleb unusually cold today?”

Silence lingered for a moment.

Then Avalon answered.

“You’re not imagining it.”

Iva’s chest tightened.

Her wolf continued quietly.

“Especially after everything that happened between you two.”

Images from the night before flickered through Iva’s mind again.

How many times he had taken her.

How intensely he had looked at her.

How possessive he had been.

How impossible it had felt to breathe when he was near.

Yet this morning…

Avalon finished the thought Iva couldn’t bring herself to say aloud.

“His attitude today morning…”

A small pause followed.

“Felt like a cold shower.”

The words hit harder than Iva expected.

Her throat tightened.

She sank slightly deeper into the warm water, hugging her knees to her chest.

Because deep down…

She had felt it too, the doubt, the suspicion.

And she couldn’t stop the painful question forming in her mind.

“Did he regret it?”

Claim

14

The Kiss 2

Claim

Caleb closed the final ancient volume with a quiet but decisive thud.

The sound echoed through the nearly empty royal library, the high stone walls swallowing the noise as evening shadows stretched long across the wooden floor.

Hours.

He had spent hours buried in scrolls and records.

Yet the answer he sought still refused to appear… just pieces of information here and there.

He rubbed his temples slowly, feeling the dull ache forming behind his eyes.

Someone was lying.

Of that he was absolutely certain.

But the truth remained buried somewhere beyond his reach.

With a quiet exhale, Caleb pushed back his chair and stood.

It was late.

Too late.

And suddenly his thoughts drifted somewhere far away from the castle.

To the penthouse.

To the girl waiting there.

Iva.

The memory of her exhausted body resting against his chest the night before surfaced vividly in his mind, followed by the way her hazel eyes had looked at him that morning.

Confused.

Hopeful.

Hurt.

A strange weight settled in his chest.

He had left without explanation.

Without reassurance.

Without even a proper goodbye.

Just great.

He grabbed his coat and made his way out of the library, moving quickly through the quiet corridors of the palace.

2/4

The Kiss 2

His mind had already decided.

He was going back to the city.

Back to the penthouse

Back to-

“Caleb.”

His steps stopped instantly.

His father stood at the end of the hallway, watching him carefully.

King William Adama rarely appeared anywhere by coincidence.

“Where are you going?” the king asked calmly.

Caleb slipped his hands into his coat pockets.

“I’m heading back to the city.”

William frowned slightly.

“At this hour?”

“Yes.”

His father stepped closer.

“You intend to spend the night there?”

Caleb nodded once.

The king sighed.

“I truly do not understand you.”

Caleb raised an eyebrow.

“Understand what?”

William gestured vaguely.

“This… habit of yours.”

“What habit?”

“Living alone in that… apartment.”

Caleb’s jaw tightened slightly.

“My penthouse.”

“Yes,” William replied dryly. “Your penthouse in the city.”

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