When Family Became a Place I Couldn’t Return To novel Chapter 241

If this really was the end, then in her next life, Nelly hoped she and Brody would never cross paths again.

Click. The sound echoed through the room.

Nelly took a while to snap out of it, finally letting out the breath she’d been holding. A chill crawled down her spine.

Brody took the gun, his hand steady, not even a tremor.

“One last question.” His eyes locked on her, intense and unwavering. His voice was cool, almost unfeeling. “If we make it out of here, can we just leave the past behind us…”

“And start over?” he asked.

Nelly’s heart clenched tight.

Start over? After he had crushed every bit of hope she’d ever had…

“Of course,” she said, barely thinking. “No—”

A cold smirk played at the edge of Brody’s mouth. Before she could finish, the gun went off with a loud bang.

Nelly jumped, convinced for a second she was about to watch him die right in front of her.

But then, almost like fate was toying with them, the gun jammed. Instead of a shot, a thin line of smoke drifted from the barrel.

Everyone froze, wide-eyed, sucking in a sharp breath. The bullet was stuck inside. It hadn’t fired.

Nelly’s mind raced. If Brody had really worked out where the bullet would land, why did it end up on his turn…

The thought made her dizzy.

From the beginning, Brody had insisted on going first.

The dealer frowned, picking up the gun to check it. “Well, that’s a surprise. Looks like luck’s on your side. Want to go again, or switch players?”

He glanced at Nelly, his expression hard to read, and put the gun back on the table.

Before Nelly could even figure out what was happening, Brody spoke up. “No need.”

He said it quietly, almost like he was finally letting go of all his burdens.

Maybe it was better to end things now, before he lost control.

Brody closed his eyes, lifting the gun to his head. In that split second, Nelly sprang into action.

She tackled him with a burst of energy that surprised even her, grabbing the gun before he could pull the trigger. Her body moved before her mind could catch up.

But the trigger had already been squeezed. As they tumbled to the ground, the gun fired, sending a bullet through the card table and splinters flying everywhere.

“Brody, are you out of your mind? Who said you could just decide to die?”

Nelly’s heart raced. When she realized the bullet hadn’t hit him, she almost collapsed from relief, then slapped him across the face, her frustration finally boiling over.

Everyone else was caught off guard by the chaos, stumbling backward to get out of the way.

Only the dealer, standing behind them, managed to keep his cool. “You two are really looking for trouble.”