Chapter 233 The Urge For Comfort

Chapter 233 The Urge For Comfort
>>Riona
I sat in the back garden of Demos’s house, the warm light of the fading afternoon sun casting long shadows across the grass. The garden was peaceful, almost serene, with the quiet hum of nature surrounding me—the rustling leaves, the faint chirp of birds, the sound of distant footsteps from the house. I almost felt content, a fleeting sense of calm after everything that had happened between me and Ava.
Ava.
I’m so glad she didn’t hate me. No. I realized that now. She was angry. So much anger, built up over the incident. And maybe I had been scared too. But looking at her again, sitting next to me, having that conversation, something in both of us softened. She was my sister. She could never truly hate me. I couldn’t.
But that didn't fix anything.
I wasn’t out of the woods yet.
My fingers tightened around the edge of the stone bench I was sitting on, as the creeping anxiety began to settle in. Niall had found me. He now knew. There was suspicion in his eyes, a quiet certainty that made my stomach twist into tight knots.
He also saw me in the casino. I know he’ll connect the dots easily and will know I’m working for Demos.
He was a detective. He knew how to investigate, how to put pieces together, how to dig into people's lives without them even realizing. And now he had me. He had me in his sights.
What if he told the police? What if he told them I was confirmed alive and where to find me?
I squeezed my eyes shut for a moment, taking a shaky breath. The worst part was that he didn’t have to do much. Just a few hints, a few carefully placed words, and they’d come for me. I’d be arrested. I’d be charged.
If I tried to run, they might just kill me since I’ve already been declared dead.
The thought of being locked away, of losing everything, of the freedom slipping through my fingers, sent a cold shiver through my body.
What was I supposed to do now?
I couldn’t sit here and wait for him to do what he had to do. I couldn’t just hope he wouldn’t tell anyone. I couldn’t trust that he’d keep quiet.
He wanted to talk, he ran after me to talk.
I shouldn’t have run
Maybe I should have tried to talk to him
I felt suffocated, the weight of everything pressing down on me. The accusation. The fear. The guilt. It all twisted together into a knot I couldn’t unravel, a feeling that dug into me deeper and deeper the more I thought about it.
What if he tells? What if it’s over for me? I still have no proof to present to anyone that I didn’t kill my parents. Moreover, Niall is Milo’s brother, he will never believe me if I told him it was Milo who actually did it.
My breath came in shallow gasps, the anxiety starting to swell in my chest. I couldn’t stay calm. I couldn’t think straight. Every idea I had felt like it was slipping through my fingers.
I felt my breathing get uneven as my heart began to pound in fear.
I had to do something. I needed to do something, anything.
And then, almost as if the thought had been waiting in the back of my mind, the solution hit me.
The pet wolf!!
I couldn’t explain why, but something about it settled in me as the only thing that could give me some peace right now. Maybe it was the fact that it wasn’t human, that it didn’t understand anything about guilt or suspicion, that it didn’t know who I was or what I had done. It was just an animal, pure and simple. And right now, I needed to feel something simple.
I stood up quickly, my hands trembling as I pushed myself to my feet. My chest was tight, a band of pressure around my ribs. I couldn’t sit there anymore, not with that gnawing, suffocating feeling growing inside me. The panic, the anxiety—it was eating away at me. I needed something, anything, to distract me from the spiraling thoughts racing through my mind.
The wolf. I’ll go see the wolf.
It made no sense. Maybe it was stupid, a childish hope that being around the animal would calm me down, but right now I wasn’t thinking logically. I just needed a moment of peace, and the wolf, with its simple presence, seemed like the only thing that could offer it.
I darted inside the house, my heart hammering in my chest as I made my way through the familiar hallways, trying to ignore the unsettling silence. My footsteps were louder than usual, echoing through the house in the stillness. I didn’t care who saw me; I just needed to find the wolf. I barely even registered the interior of the house as I passed through it, my mind focused entirely on one thing: finding it.
I reached the back door and threw it open, the cool air rushing in to greet me. But I saw no sign of the wolf.
Where is it?
I froze for a moment, a cold chill creeping up my spine. My eyes scanned the area quickly, and then I moved forward, walking in quick, sharp steps around the yard. I wanted to call its name, thinking it might help me find him, but then I realized I never asked for its name.
Damn it!!
Nothing.
Where is it?
I walked farther, my heart pounding harder now. My breath was coming quicker, the air suddenly thick and suffocating around me. I moved toward the far side of the house, checking the small garden and the tree line, but still, there was no sign of the wolf. The same eerie silence pressed against my ears, and with each passing second, my anxiety grew.
I began to circle the house, my footsteps growing frantic as I searched in every corner, every shadow.
Where are you?
The knot in my stomach tightened, my mind spinning with irrational thoughts. What if it’s not here? What if something happened to it?
I stopped for a moment, my breath coming in short, shallow gasps. The darkness pressed in around me, and the house felt too big, too empty, like it was swallowing me whole. I tried to push down the feeling rising in my chest, but it wouldn’t go away. It only got worse, gnawing at my insides.
I walked faster now, my body moving on autopilot, checking every nook and cranny.
It was so quiet, I could hear the sound of my own heartbeat pounding in my ears.
I couldn’t breathe.
What’s happening?
I started to question everything—everything I thought I knew. Maybe the wolf wasn’t here. Maybe I had imagined it, or worse, maybe it wasn’t meant to be here tonight. The thought sent a jolt of panic through me.
What if everything was falling apart? What if this—this small, simple thing—was just another lie I’d built for myself to hide behind? The wolf had always been there for me, like a reminder that I wasn’t completely alone in this strange world. And now it was gone.
I froze again, my hands shaking as I looked out into the darkness, my pulse racing, each breath shallow. The house felt enormous, oppressive. The weight of everything, of Niall’s suspicions, of the guilt, of everything coming back to haunt me—it crashed down on me, and for a second, I thought I might crumble under it.
I had to find the wolf.
I had to.
My feet carried me toward the side of the house again, but my mind was clouded with doubt, my thoughts spiraling into chaos. The fear and anxiety gnawed at me, eating away at the last vestiges of control I had.
Where is it?
I felt my chest tighten again, the knot of panic so tight I thought I might suffocate under the pressure.I had no idea why, but this overwhelming need to find the wolf wouldn’t leave me. I couldn’t understand it. There was no logical reason for why I needed to see the wolf so badly. It wasn’t like it had ever been a source of comfort to me in the way humans could be. It was just... there.
I didn’t even know why I needed it. But I just needed it.
The thought of being without the wolf made my heart race even faster, and the panic grew until I could barely think straight. My body felt numb, like I wasn’t even in control of my movements anymore. I was desperate. Desperate to hold on to something, anything, that could make this suffocating feeling go away.
Suddenly, I heard a voice call my name.
“Riona?”
I froze, a shiver running down my spine. I whipped my head toward the sound, and there, standing in the doorway of the house, was Demos. His figure was half-shadowed by the light behind him, but I could see his broad frame clearly.
!
The moment our eyes met, something inside me shifted. The storm of anxiety that had been raging within me suddenly slowed, like the calming of turbulent waves on the sea. There was this warmth—this unexpected calmness—that flooded my chest, and before I could even process it, a wave of longing washed over me.
It was almost... a need.
An overwhelming urge to go to him.
Without thinking, I took a step forward, my body moving before my mind could catch up. His gaze was intense, his eyes sharp with concern. It was as if he could see right through me, read every emotion and fear I had hidden beneath the surface.
But it wasn’t just that. It was something else, something deep, something that made me ache to be close to him. To be held by him.
I didn’t know why it felt like this, but the pull was so strong, so irresistible.
I was already moving toward him before I realized it. My heart was pounding in my chest, my breaths shallow. Every part of me screamed for him, for his arms, for the security that his presence could bring. Without a word, I crossed the distance between us and before he could say anything, I was throwing myself into his arms.
His body was warm, solid, and steady as I wrapped my arms around him tightly, burying my face against his chest. I could feel the tension in my shoulders slowly ebbing away, my racing heartbeat starting to slow, as his presence engulfed me, anchoring me in a way I hadn’t known I needed. The world around me felt less pressing, less overwhelming, when I was this close to him.
Demos was silent for a moment, his hands hovering at his sides as if unsure of how to respond to my sudden, desperate need. He was still for a heartbeat, but then I felt his arms come around me, pulling me closer. His embrace was firm, reassuring, and it was the only thing keeping me from falling apart entirely.
I felt the slight tension in his body—he was surprised, of course. I hadn’t done anything like this before, not with him. But I wasn’t thinking about that. I wasn’t thinking about anything except the safety that came from his arms, the comfort that settled in my chest the moment I was near him.
His voice was low when he spoke, filled with quiet concern. “Riona… what’s going on? What’s happening?”
I buried my face deeper into his chest, trying to steady my breath, feeling the rise and fall of his heartbeat under my cheek. It was grounding. It was calming. I couldn’t explain it, but I knew I needed him. Desperately.
“I don’t know…” My voice was barely above a whisper, the words muffled by the fabric of his shirt. “I—I just couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I was... so scared, Demos. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”
He didn’t speak right away, but I could feel his body relax around me. Slowly, he started rubbing circles on my back, the pressure of his touch a soothing balm to the anxiety that still clung to me like a dark cloud.
“Shhh... it’s okay,” he murmured softly, his voice like a lullaby, low and smooth. “You’re okay. You’re safe here.”
I clung to him tighter, as if afraid that if I let go for even a second, I might fall apart completely. His warmth seeped into my bones, and slowly, I could feel the fear loosening its grip on me.
But even as I stood there in his arms, I couldn’t shake the lingering question from my mind.
Why did I need this? Why him?
I didn’t know the answer. But for now, it didn’t matter. All that mattered was the feeling of his presence, the undeniable sense of security that came from being held by him.
But as the minutes passed, my racing thoughts slowly began to return, and reality crept back in. The whirlwind of emotions and fears I’d been fighting off crashed into me all over again.
What did I just do?
I could feel my breath slowing, the frantic pulse in my chest calming as I pulled back slightly, just enough to gather my thoughts. My head was clearer now, and in that clarity, a wave of self-consciousness rushed over me. What had possessed me to cling to him like that?
I had been so desperate, so lost in my own anxiety, that I hadn't thought. I shouldn’t have done that.
I stepped back from Demos, my hands pushing gently against his chest as I distanced myself, my eyes refusing to meet his. A flush of embarrassment spread across my cheeks, and I could feel the heat rising in my face.