Chapter 181: There Is No Going Back

The morning after should have been different.

Bella should have woken up panicked, ashamed, desperate to escape.

But she didn't.

She lay beneath Dante's heavy warmth, his arm draped over her waist, his breath slow and steady against her skin.

She should have moved.

Should have slipped out of his grasp, dressed in silence, disappeared into the woods before he could stop her.

That was the plan.

That had always been the plan.

But now?

Now she was tired.

Tired of running.

Tired of pretending.

Tired of fighting a war she had already lost.

Dante shifted beside her, his grip tightening, pulling her closer like he could sense her thoughts.

"If you try to leave again, Bella…"

His voice was rough, laced with sleep but still edged with warning.

"I won't be gentle next time."

Bella swallowed hard.

Because they both knew—

She wasn't leaving.

Not this time.