Chapter 197 197
Everything unfolded in the blink of an eye.
One moment she was standing in the corridor, and the next her body was slammed against a closed door. Her back arched instinctively as pain shot through her, a sharp hiss escaping her lips. Her eyes squeezed shut while she struggled to regain her balance.
A second later, his hand struck the door just above her head with a force that made the wood shudder against her back.
Fear spread through her instantly.
The room behind the door was dark an empty classroom and the sudden absence of light made the situation even more terrifying. Jacqueline blinked rapidly, trying to adjust her vision, but the darkness swallowed everything.
There was barely any light filtering through.
And Damien’s massive form loomed over her like a predator.
Her breathing turned shallow, uneven. She struggled to pull air into her lungs.
Her hands trembled uncontrollably as she tried to steady them, but the shaking only worsened. Panic crept in, tightening its grip around her chest. She was dangerously close to a full panic attack.
Pressing her palms against the door behind her for support, she tried to ground herself. Amid the storm raging inside her, she could still feel the heat of his breath brushing against her forehead.
“I… I c-can’t… b-brea…” she stammered.
Before she could finish, he silenced her by placing a finger gently against her lips.
Despite the darkness cloaking the room, her wide eyes lifted toward him, filled with unmistakable panic. Even in the dimness, Damien could see the fear clearly reflected in her gaze.
“Why?” he rasped.
His voice was deep, cold, and strained with restrained anger. It was obvious he was furious but he was holding it back, if only barely.
Jacqueline barely heard the question.
Her mind had already slipped somewhere else back to the memory she could never escape. The night her mother had died right before her eyes.
Damien noticed the bead of sweat sliding slowly down her temple. Her breathing had become ragged, uneven.
Realizing what was happening, he stepped away from her immediately. Crossing the room in a few quick strides, he flicked the light switch.
Within seconds, the entire classroom flooded with light.
Jacqueline blinked rapidly as her eyes adjusted. Her breathing slowly began to steady, though her heart still pounded wildly in her chest.
That fragile calm shattered the moment she saw him moving toward her again.
Damien advanced slowly, his tall frame closing the distance between them.
She held her breath when he stopped directly in front of her.
Her back remained pressed firmly against the door, and she didn’t dare move. Her brown eyes were fixed on him, unblinking.
Then he stepped closer.
Now he stood squarely within her personal space.
She didn’t react. Her body had gone rigid, frozen in place.
Her heart faltered when her gaze collided with his olive-green eyes. The storm brewing inside them anger, frustration, something deeper twisted her stomach into tight knots.
Unable to bear the intensity, she lowered her gaze.
The moment she did, he took another bold step forward. His chest would have collided with hers if she hadn’t quickly placed both hands against his muscular chest, trying to keep some distance between them.
Her heart stumbled violently.
A startled gasp tore from her lips when his rough hands suddenly seized both of her wrists. With effortless strength, he lifted them and pinned them against the wall above her head.
Her eyes widened in shock.
She struggled instinctively, trying to free her wrists, but the attempt only made his grip tighten.
She didn’t understand why he was acting like this. If he wanted to talk, they could talk normally.
He didn’t need to corner her like this.
The sheer dominance radiating from him made her legs feel weak, almost useless beneath her.
“L… let go,” she whispered in a small, trembling voice. She tried to sound firm, but the fear in her tone betrayed her.
Instead of releasing her, he applied more pressure to her wrists.
Pain shot through them, forcing a wince from her lips. Her eyes flew up to meet his again.
“D-Damien…” she breathed his name softly.
A low, furious growl rumbled in his chest.
Before she could react, he pressed his hard body against hers, making her gasp in shock.
“Don’t,” he snarled.
Her entire body stiffened.
She was trapped pinned between the unyielding door and the solid wall of his body.
“Don’t you dare say my name,” he grated, each word dripping with venom. He pushed her further into the door until there wasn’t a single inch of space left between them.
She trembled in his grasp, desperately trying to keep her composure even though her heart was racing in fear.
“W… what d-do you want?” she managed to ask, forcing calm into her voice.
If he had come here to talk, he would have started with that.
But Damien didn’t look like a man interested in conversation.
He looked like a man who wanted answers.
Or revenge.
“Why?” he hissed, his eyes blazing as they locked onto her face. “Why did you leave?”
Her throat tightened painfully.
She forced herself to stay composed. She had explained everything in the letter she left behind. Apparently, it hadn’t been enough.
“B… because it was the r-right decision,” she murmured, staring down at his chest, unable to face the fire in his eyes.
“Don’t play games with me, Jacq.” His voice turned harsh as he jerked her body roughly. “Why the fck did you leave?”
She squeezed her eyes shut when his grip tightened painfully around her wrists. He was being too rough.
Tears threatened to gather in her eyes, but she bit the inside of her cheek hard to keep them from falling.
“B… because you deserve to be with the love of your life,” she said, her voice trembling despite her effort to control it. “Isn’t that what you want to hear?”
Her chest rose and fell rapidly as the words tumbled out.
“I left because I know I don’t deserve you. I left because I know you’ll never love me. I left because you already love someone else. I left because I couldn’t let you break my heart even more.”
Her voice cracked, but she forced herself to continue.
“You would have told me you regretted sleeping with me just like you said you regretted kissing me. I was scared, dammit. I was scared of having my heart shattered. That’s why I left.”
Her eyes glistened now.
“You deserve to be with Gabrielle”
The words never finished.
Her breath hitched violently when his rough fingers suddenly closed around her throat.
It wasn’t tight enough to choke her but the pressure was unmistakable.
A deadly warning.
His other hand still held both of her wrists pinned above her head, leaving her completely trapped beneath him.