Chapter 125
Chapter 125:
The bedroom glowed with a soft amber light, twin lamps along the wall casting a suggestive warmth that clung to the air like breath.
Gracie lay still beneath the covers, her lashes resting against her skin. She looked utterly tranquil, almost asleep—if not for the faint furrow between her brows, betraying silent tension.
Then a delicate sound escaped her lips—a faint groan, broken and uneven, the kind of breath that hovered between reality and dream, laced with a strange, languid heat.
Aiden stood beside the bed, his eyes dark with avarice, his pulse quickening at the sight.
He reached up, tugging at his tie with a slow, deliberate motion, his voice low and drenched in arrogance. “So much for your intelligence, Gracie. In the end, you still ended up right where I wanted you p>
He leaned down, his lips dangerously close to her ear, his whisper dripping with malicious triumph. “After tonight, you’ll belong to me. You’ll do exactly as I say p>
As the words slid through the air, his hand moved toward her collar, fingers trembling slightly with anticipation.
But before his touch could reach her skin, Gracie’s eyes snapped open. They were cold and lucid, gleaming like blades in the dim light—utterly sober.
Aiden froze, his face draining of color. He instinctively stepped back, but the reaction came too late.
Gracie’s hand cut through the air with startling precision. The slap landed with a sharp, echoing crack.
Aiden’s head jerked violently to the side, the force of the blow painting a red streak across his cheek. Blood welled faintly at the corner of his mouth.
Before he could recover, Gracie surged upright in one swift motion. Her body coiled with fierce energy as she lunged at him, toppling him backward onto the bed. Her knees pinned him down as her fists began to rain mercilessly against his chest and face.
“You really dared to drug me?” she hissed between blows, each word a whip of fury. “Did you think I’d fall for something so pathetic? You’re nothing but a fool p>
Aiden grunted under the assault, dazed and panicked. The shock of it paralyzed him; the situation had reversed too fast to comprehend. He had been certain the drug would leave her helpless—Ellie had guaranteed it.
“You… you weren’t drugged?” he gasped, curling his arms to shield himself. “But Ellie said p>
Gracie’s laugh was low and sharp, the sound colder than steel. Her next strike landed in his abdomen, knocking the air from his lungs. “She told you I’d be easy prey? Then you’re even more ignorant than I thought p>
Aiden groaned, clutching his stomach.
Then the door burst open with a violent crash.
Brayden stood framed in the doorway, his tall form rigid, his expression as dark as thunder.
The rage that had driven him there simmered still, but the sight before him halted it at once.
“Gracie, how could you—” Ellie’s voice faltered behind him as she entered, only for her words to die midway. Her eyes widened in disbelief.
The scene was nothing like what she had intended Brayden to see. Gracie sat astride Aiden, her face set in steely calm, while Aiden cowered beneath her, bruised and disheveled, his lip bloodied. The entire tableau screamed violence, not intimacy. Ellie’s stomach turned. Aiden—useless as ever—had failed spectacularly.
Brayden’s anger eased by degrees. The tension in his shoulders loosened; relief glimmered faintly beneath his stern composure. He exhaled slowly, then spoke in a low, even voice. “If you’re finished here, let’s go p>
Gracie rose smoothly, her movements unhurried, and before leaving, she landed one last punch to Aiden’s gut. The man’s pained cry filled the room.
Gracie dusted her hands together, her tone cool. “Try this again, and I’ll make sure you regret being born.” Her words hung like frost in the air.
Just then, Alan came rushing up the stairs, his expression panicked. He froze when he saw the disarray—the disheveled man, the overturned bedding, Gracie and Brayden standing near the door. His gaze darted to Aiden, horror creeping into his features. “Who—who is this man? What is he doing here p>