Vengeance in His Bed

Without another word, Dorrent stepped into the driver’s seat, slammed the door shut, and started the engine. He violently spun the steering wheel, turning the sports car around on the road and accelerating back toward the city.

"What a completely ruined date," Dorrent grumbled low under his breath, leaning back against the seat.

Silence hung heavily inside the vehicle for several long minutes, broken only by the steady hum of the engine. Jannah sat tightly curled in her seat, her mind racing in chaos as she processed Damian’s words.

"What evidence does Damian actually have that proves your innocence?" Jannah asked softly, her voice breaking the quiet cabin. "How do I know he wasn’t just lying?"

At that exact moment, a sharp chime echoed through the car as Dorrent’s phone rang on the dashboard mount. A incoming file notification popped up on the center console screen—a video file sent from Damian’s line.

Dorrent tapped the screen, playing the footage.

The clear video showed an internal security feed from nine years ago inside the Boren manor’s kitchen. It clearly captured Enock surreptitiously emptying a glass bottle of white powder directly into a steaming bowl of soup meant for a young Dorrent Grefo.

Jannah stared at the glowing screen, her breath hitching in her throat as the final piece of the terrifying puzzle locked into place. Her parents hadn’t been targeted by a random monster—they had been murdered as collateral damage in a sickening, calculated war engineered by Bellero Boren.

Yet, despite the truth, an unbearable ache tore through her chest. Tears overflowed, cascading down her cheeks as she looked at Dorrent’s sharp side profile.

"It still doesn’t change the fact..." Jannah whispered, her voice choking on a heavy sob, "...that you were the one who physically took their lives. You were still the murderer."

Dorrent didn’t turn his head. He kept his silver eyes locked dead onto the dark ahead, his grip on the steering wheel tightening until his knuckles turned white.

"I know," Dorrent answered softly.

Dorrent’s voice stayed quiet, but it carried a heavy, unshakeable weight that seemed to vibrate straight into the seats. "I know it will take time for you to heal and accept me, Jannah," he said, keeping his eyes on the stretch of empty asphalt ahead. "I am not trying to hurry you up. You can take all the time you need."

Jannah squeezed her eyes shut, a fresh tear cutting a burning path down her damp cheek. "I wish it were that simple," she choked out, her voice barely audible over the purr of the engine. "I’m just... so confused."

Dorrent’s gaze flicked toward her, his jaw tightening slightly. "What are you confused about?"

Jannah didn’t answer. She pulled her knees slightly inward, burying her face into her trembling hands. The silence inside the car stretched out with unspoken agony.

"Talk to me, little physician," Dorrent commanded softly, though the usual sharpness in his tone was completely gone, replaced by a low, almost desperate patience. "You can say anything to me. Just don’t shut down."

"I am terrified of my own heart betraying me!" Jannah burst out, her chest heaving as she finally snapped under the weight of her own thoughts. She wiped her face frantically with the back of her sleeves, but the tears wouldn’t stop. "As much as I’ve been trying to avoid it—as much as I swore I would keep my distance—it feels like my heart is so weak! It’s so easy to bend!"

The sports car smoothly veered off toward the side of the quiet road once more, coming to a complete, sudden halt.

Dorrent unbuckled his seatbelt in a single fluid motion and shifted his frame toward her side. Reaching over, he cupped both sides of her face with his broad, warm palms. Jannah immediately tried to pull away, turning her head downward to hide her broken expression from him, but his grip was firm, holding her gently yet unyieldingly in place.

"Tell me," Dorrent purred low, his eyes burning into hers with a fierce, magnetic intensity. "Say it, Jannah. What happened to your heart?"

Jannah refused to meet his gaze. She looked down at his collarbone, her breath coming in ragged, erratic gasps as the internal war raging inside her soul finally spilled over.

"I just... I just realized how much I actually care for you!" she sobbed out, the confession tearing out of her throat like a jagged shard of glass. "I hated seeing you walk into that hail of bullets back at the cemetery! I hated the thought of you bleeding out, and tonight... tonight when they held their guns, I felt like my whole world was collapsing! I worry about whether you’re hurt, I feel this sickening flutter in my chest whenever you touch me, and I find myself looking for you the second you leave the room!"

She shook her head in his palms, her voice cracking under the weight of her own self-loathing.

"I catch myself wanting to rely on you... wanting to believe every dangerous, sweet promise that spills out of your mouth! And I hate it! I blame my weak, pathetic heart! It just couldn’t work together with my mind!"

Dorrent’s thumb moved gently across her tear-stained cheekbone, wiping away a stray drop. His expression wasn’t mocking or triumphant—it was filled with an overwhelming, profound reverence.

"There is nothing wrong with your heart, Jannah," Dorrent delivered softly, his voice dropping into a deep, grounding murmur. "If you’ve fallen for me... just say it. Stop fighting yourself and just let go."

With a sudden surge of panicked pride, Jannah violently jerked her face out of his hands, tearing herself back against the passenger door.

"If I could reach inside my chest and physically rip my own heart out to stop loving you, I would!" she spat bitterly, her eyes flashing through her tears with a desperate, reckless defiance.

Dorrent didn’t get angry. Instead, a slow, breathtaking smile spread across his handsome face—a look of triumph and possessive joy that illuminated his sharp features.

"You have no idea how ridiculously happy I am right now..." Dorrent purred, his voice thick with emotion, "...to hear you finally confess your love for me."

"Don’t you dare celebrate so fast!" Jannah yelled, her voice trembling as she pressed her palm against her aching chest. "I will do anything to stop this feeling! I will pirce my heart into a thousand bloody fragments before I ever let you win completely!"

Dorrent didn’t give her another second to spiral into her panicked defenses.

He leaned across the center console, his arm reaching out to wrap tightly around her waist, dragging her delicate frame effortlessly across the leather interior until she was pulled flush against his broad chest.

Before another protest could spill from her lips, Dorrent captured her mouth in a passionate, completely consuming kiss.

It was a deep, fierce, and breathless claim—his lips taking hers with an overwhelming warmth that instantly melted her remaining strength, effectively drowning all her bitter curses in a surge of intoxicating heat.

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