Chapter 323: Fear
Melody felt a shiver of fear creep down her spine. Ever since last night,since the moment she’d opened her eyes and found Adam sitting silently beside her bed, she hadn’t let herself think things through too deeply. She hadn’t dared to. But as the night wore on and the room darkened around her, her thoughts began to settle and slip back into place. Reality returned in fragments, and with it came unease.
She had dozed off briefly, only to be dragged back into consciousness by a nightmare. In it, the nurse had unwrapped the package and inside were the clothes. Her clothes in front of Adam. Who had immediately recognised them to not be Melanie’s and questioned her about her whereabouts.
A full-body jolt had snapped her awake, heart hammering. Thankfully, she hadn’t cried out. She had only jerked, her body stiffening in panic- but even that had been enough to catch Adam’s attention. He had been there, just as before, alert, watching her. The moment her eyes had fluttered open, he was already by her side, calm and composed, gently helping her lie back down. His touch had been careful and reassuring. She shuddered to think what could have happened if she had called out in her sleep.
After that, she hadn’t dared close her eyes again.
Could she really be this lucky? To have escaped Cadence’s people and ended up here, in Adam’s arms? The thought unsettled her because luck like this didn’t come twice. And she was now living through her second stroke of it.
Eventually, exhaustion had taken over, and sleep had crept up on her. But it hadn’t lasted long. She’d barely drifted off when Adam’s voice cut through the fog in her mind, pulling her up from rest once again. He’d told her her parents could come meet her.
That was what had brought the fear rushing back.
She clenched her hands under the blanket, staring at the door like it might swing open any moment. She wanted to bar it. Block it. Keep them out. All of them. But Adam had already gone—off to get breakfast, or so he’d said—and she knew what that meant. He wouldn’t be returning alone. He would be bringing food, yes, but also her parents.
Meeting them would be like walking a tightrope. One wrong step and it would all fall apart.
On the surface, she had little to fear. Her parents were eager to see "Melanie," and because they hadn’t seen her in years, they didn’t know her habits well. It was a gap in knowledge that Melody could use to her advantage.