A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 470

"Rowan," she thought, "it turns out I don't have a mother or a father." No, that wasn't right. It was more like, "I've been living someone else's life all these years. Even the name 'Elissa' isn't mine. I don't even know who I am."

Rowan looked down and met her dazed, wounded gaze. His heart softened. Resisting the urge to kiss her, he slid one hand around her lower back for support while the other gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He leaned in slightly, his voice a low, soothing murmur. "What is it? Are you upset about what they're saying online?"

Anyone else seeing him like this would have thought they were seeing a ghost. But for Elissa, it was a familiar sight. In all the times she had been sad in the past, he had always been this patient, this attentive. He had never dismissed her feelings as overly dramatic; before their falling out, he had always respected and accepted every one of her emotions.

So now, Elissa wasn't surprised. She just stared at the man before her and asked softly, "Rowan, who am I, really?"

It was the first time Rowan had ever seen such a lost expression on her face. Growing up, apart from the times she was playfully demanding with him, she had always been acutely aware of what she wanted, what she could do, and what she should do. Her question caught him completely off guard.

The hand stroking her hair paused. He raised an eyebrow, his tone half-teasing, half-serious. "You're my sister."

“...” Elissa was speechless for a second, then struggled to get up.

Rowan's grip didn't loosen. He held her firmly, his dark, bottomless eyes fixed on hers. "It doesn't matter who you are. What matters is that you're you."

Elissa froze. She stopped struggling and looked up at him, her eyes welling with tears. "That I'm me… is that enough?" she asked, her voice thick with emotion.

In all her turmoil over the past few days, that was an answer she had never considered. She had been so trapped in the question of her identity that she never thought it might not matter.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify