He Didn’t Kidnap Me. Not Exactly novel Chapter 218

Chapter 218

“What happened?”

The question hurt far more than I’d expected.

Because he believed me.

He trusted me.

And I was about to betray that trust.

“I…” My voice almost failed me again before I forced myself onward. “I fell. I think…” I glanced helplessly toward Aria. “…I think I

reopened the wound.”

Aria’s eyes narrowed.

The silent order was obvious.

Keep going.

I closed my eyes for the briefest moment.

“I’m bleeding.”

The lie tasted bitter.

“I… I don’t think I can patch it myself.”

The apartment felt unbearably quiet. I could hear my own heartbeat, one of the men breathing behind me, and even Aria’s faint, satisfied exhale.

Then I forced out the last part.

“You…”

I hated myself.

*…you called at the right time.”

The sentence sounded awkward even to my own ears.

Almost rehearsed.

Almost unnatural.

I prayed Adrian would hear it.

I prayed he’d question it.

I prayed he’d stay away.

The silence on the other end lasted barely a second.

Then came two words.

“I’m coming.”

Nothing else.

No hesitation.

No suspicion.

No questions.

Just certainty.

The line disconnected.

The room became silent again.

I lowered the phone slowly, staring at the dark screen while a crushing weight settled over my chest.

He was coming.

Because of me.

Because I’d called him.

Because I’d lied to him.

Because I’d become exactly what Aria wanted me to become.

The bait.

A painful lump rose into my throat. I wanted to call him back. I wanted to scream into the phone.

Don’t come.

Run.

Please.

Instead…

I couldn’t move.

“Good.”

Aria’s voice broke through the silence.

The anger that had consumed her only moments ago had already begun to fade, replaced once more by that disturbingly composed expression.

“Now…”

She gestured lazily toward the couch.

“Set the phone down.”

My fingers tightened around it.

I didn’t move.

She frowned.

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