The Rejected True Heiress (Liora) novel Chapter 102

For a heartbeat we just… stood there. Too close. His breath mingled with mine, the faint murmur of voices from the main rooms a muffled hum somewhere far away.

My pulse was everywhere—ears, fingertips, throat.

Neither of us said a word.

I dropped my gaze first, then met it with a fierce glare.

Callum let out a slow breath, the tension in his shoulders shifting. Then, without thinking twice, he reached for my hand. And before I could decide whether to pull away, he was already tugging me forward, out of the open hallway and down a quieter side corridor.

“Come on,” he muttered under his breath. “We can’t be here.”

I could have pulled back. I didn’t.

We didn’t speak again until the wide doors of the library closed behind us, the murmur of voices replaced by the stillness of hundreds of books.

Only then did he stop, turning to face me.

His hand lingered on mine for just a second before he let go. That tiny pause was enough to leave a faint heat on my palm, like the touch had burned itself there.

He glanced down, realized how long he’d been holding on, and pulled back quickly, as if I were made of fire. “Sorry,” he muttered, straightening his jacket like that could erase it.

“I didn’t know,” I said quietly.

His brow furrowed. “What?”

“I appologize. I didn’t know we were coming here,” I explained, voice steadier now. “If I had, I never would have—”

“It’s fine,” he cut in, sharper than he probably meant to. Then, softer, “It’s fine.”

I nodded once, my hand running my upper arm. “I’m sorry.”

The words came out so quietly I almost didn’t recognize my own voice.

He studied me for a moment, his eyes searching my face, before saying, “It’s not your fault. Zane is… well, Zane. You couldn’t have known.”

I nodded, glancing at the books, the sillness around us.

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