A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 431

For a moment, the atmosphere at the dinner table froze.

Elissa understood exactly what he meant, but her mind reeled with a thousand uncertainties. She instinctively looked up at him.

Under the bright dining room lights, his features appeared even more defined and striking, his aura still one of cool detachment. For a split second, she wondered if she had imagined him saying those words. But when his dark, intense eyes met hers without wavering, she knew it was real.

His gaze was so direct it made her heart race. Her eyelashes fluttered as she quickly looked down, avoiding his searing stare. Something was surging inside her, an emotion she couldn't contain.

Maya, completely unfazed by the rejection, lifted her chin with an air of determination. "Then let's make a bet. We'll see who gives in first—you considering me, or that person considering you."

Rex felt his face flush with secondhand embarrassment. "Can't you tell he's not interested?" he said coolly. "Does eating not keep your mouth shut?"

He knew better than anyone that Rowan would never have feelings for Maya. His friend was, and always would be, completely hung up on little Elissa. He had told Maya countless times to stop dreaming, but it only seemed to make her more persistent.

Maya's face fell. "Rex! Are we even family?"

Tristan shot Rex a sharp look. "You're barely ever home, and when you are, you just pick fights with your sister."

"I don't have that many sisters," Rex retorted with a smirk, his tone serious. "I have one sister, Laurel, and one younger sister, Vera."

"Dad!" Maya's eyes turned red. "Did you hear what he just said? It's not just him! Laurel and Jesse are the same. They've never..."

She had been brought into the Wilkinson family at the age of seven and had grown up with them, yet none of them had ever truly treated her as a sister. Besides Tristan, no one took her seriously.

Suzanne's expression hardened, but she held her tongue. Rex raised an eyebrow and glanced at Rowan. "You finished? Let's go check out my dad's collection of antiques."

Tristan's only hobby was collecting rare artifacts.

Rowan raised an eyebrow in agreement.

Once they were gone, Elissa knew it was her cue to leave as well. "Suzanne, Mr. Wilkinson, I'm finished. I'll head upstairs now. Please, enjoy the rest of your meal."

As she walked up the stairs, she could faintly hear the sounds of an argument erupting from the dining room, punctuated by Maya's choked sobs.

Elissa didn't pause, quickening her pace. A guest should know their place.

Just as she reached her room, a hand tapped her shoulder. She turned to see Rex and blinked in surprise. "Rex, what is it?"

Rex gestured toward her room with his chin. "You settling in okay?"

"Yes, very well," she said. It was strange; she was usually a light sleeper in unfamiliar beds, but here, she had slept soundly.

A humorless smile touched Rowan's lips, a mix of resignation and self-mockery. "What if I said yes? Would that make you happy?"

He would do it. He would raise the damn kid. Who the hell cared? As long as she wasn't looking at him with that indifferent, vacant expression, he'd do anything.

A flicker of shock crossed Elissa's eyes. "What did you say?"

Rowan's voice was a low, rough rasp, the words tumbling out as if he'd finally given up. "I said yes. Elissa, goddammit, I can do it. I'll raise the kid."

But for Elissa, who had always longed for him to yield just once, the feeling that washed over her wasn't joy. It was pain.

His words were like sharp hooks, digging into her heart, twisting with a dull ache.

Under the night sky, she looked up and met his exquisite, deep-set eyes.

Just as his lips parted to speak again, a sudden, inexplicable impulse took over. She reached up, her hands finding his shoulders, and pulled herself up on her toes to kiss him.

She didn't know why, but she didn't want him to lower himself like this. A man like him should never have to.