Obedience No More He's the One I Deserved novel Chapter 224

Dawn's eyes widened in shock and terror. She tried to twist her head to see who held her, but the grip was iron, unyielding, leaving her body locked in place.

Her gaze dropped, and she caught sight of a pair of legs clad in school uniform pants.

Those shoes ...

Her cry broke out in a muffled gasp as the hand against her mouth pressed harder.

The boy's breath came heavy and uneven, veins bulging across his hand like ropes, as though he was holding back something violent deep inside.

Recognition crashed over Dawn. For a fleeting second her panic softened, but what happened next hurled her deeper into despair.

He lowered his head and sank his teeth into her neck, hard and merciless. She could not tell if it was a kiss or a bite meant to break skin.

Her chest seized, and the air stuck in her lungs. Her eyes stung red, and tears slid quietly down her face.

He was young, but his strength was staggering. One hand sealed her mouth while the other moved behind her with disturbing steadiness. His harsh breaths rattled in her ear like the groan of something monstrous. Her body stiffened, every muscle locked, and she didn't dare flinch.

The minutes dragged like chains across the floor, each one stretching into eternity. Nearly 20 minutes crawled by before the sound of rustling finally died out.

By then Dawn was drowning in fear, her cheeks wet with tears, her mind emptied of thought.

"Dawn."

The voice rasped low and broken. She turned her head, slow as stone, and met a face drenched in sweat, pale and strained.

Jonathan's eyes burned crimson, his sharp features pulled tight with heat and hunger. For once he looked alive, not the cold, unreachable figure she had always known. But Dawn didn't care. She stared blankly, her mind frozen, her body trembling.

Jonathan did this.

Why?

He had not crossed every line, yet he had crossed them all.

Ethan had told her Jonathan was someone she could treat like a brother. A brother did not do this. A brother could never.

"Dawn, don't look at me like that." Jonathan sucked in two rough breaths, then lifted his hand to block her gaze. Pulling her against him, his voice shook with a deep vibration. "I'm sorry."

He didn't truly hold her.

It was as if the motion was only meant to shield her eyes.

Her lips parted, but before words could escape, nausea surged up and ripped through her. She shoved him away, lurched to the sink, and heaved until her stomach was bare.

She scooped cold water into her hands and splashed it onto her face.

The freezing shock jolted her mind back into sharp clarity.

Her breath rasped as she turned back.

He stood there in his neat school uniform, every line crisp, every button fastened. No one would believe the same boy had looked like a criminal only moments before.

"Dawn ... "

She didn't wait for him to answer. She turned and ran.

She never looked back, and whatever expression he wore was lost to her.

After that night Jonathan vanished from her world. She never had to avoid him, because he was simply gone. She told no one, burying the secret deep.

Much later, she whispered pieces of it to Ethan. Her head lowered, her voice small. "All he did today was say sorry again. Nothing else."

And judging from the way he seemed ...

His illness might have healed.

Ethan said nothing. His eyes darkened, a storm flashing in their depths.

Dawn spoke as if the matter was light, but her voice carried a strain that betrayed her.

And still ...

If it was only an episode, why had he chosen her?

The thought dug into Ethan's mind. His eyes narrowed, suspicion sharp.

In another room, silence lingered heavy after the couple's departure. Three men sat with cigarettes burning, smoke curling around them.

Alex, sobering bit by bit, kept stealing glances at Jonathan before shifting his gaze toward Brogan, a silent question forming in his look.