CHAPTER 185: THE UNIVERSE IN MY ARMS: TELL ME

The light filtering through the curtains was gentle, almost forgiving. I stirred beneath the soft weight of the blanket, my body still humming with the remnants of exhaustion and something else — a strange mixture of relief and lingering heat that clung to my skin like a second layer.

I blinked slowly, taking in the quiet comfort of the room. The last thing I remembered was Adrien carrying me, warm water cradling my limbs as the world slipped away beneath the surface. I didn’t know when I’d fallen asleep, but the memory still felt vivid, like a fragile thread holding me tethered to safety.

The mattress shifted beneath me as he moved, his hands tracing slow, small circles on my lap. The intimacy of the gesture made my throat tighten in a way I couldn’t explain. My fingers curled around his wrist without thinking.

"Breakfast is ready," his voice was low, rough with sleep, but steady. I turned to see him watching me, a softness in his eyes that made my chest ache.

I nodded, managing a weak smile as I pushed myself up. The warmth of the morning was a balm, but the knot of dread tightened with the knowledge that we had to face what happened last night.

After breakfast, once the dishes were cleared and silence settled comfortably between us, Adrien resumed drawing circles on my lap."Are you ready to talk about last night?" he asked, voice low and careful. He didn’t look at me, eyes fixed on the circles his thumb traced. "I won’t push. But if you are, I need to know what happened. Just some details."

I swallowed, the phantom sting of that vile liquid still ghosting in my throat. But looking at him—the tense set of his jaw, the protective curve of his shoulders—I felt a surge of resolve."Yes," I whispered, voice steadier than I expected. "I’m ready. I can talk about it."

He finally turned to me, his honey-brown eyes searching mine. He gave my leg a gentle squeeze of encouragement."Okay. Explain it to me. What happened? What did those men do? In detail. Don’t leave anything out."

I took a deep breath, fixing my gaze on a point on the duvet, unable to meet his eyes as the memories began to surface.

"It started with a drink...it was called ’The Temptress.’ A server handed it to me, and it tasted... light, sweet. Champagne and something else. Elderflower, I think?" I glanced at him, trying to gauge if he knew what I was talking about. "It felt harmless at first. I didn’t think twice."

I sucked in a breath, forcing myself to continue. "Fifteen minutes later, I started feeling dizzy. Like everything was too bright, too loud. I couldn’t focus. Clara came to check on me and... she offered to take me upstairs to a private room." I swallowed hard, the memory clawing at me. "But then she left to grab her purse. She told me she’d be back, but she never came. I waited... and that’s when they showed up."

Adrien’s fingers tightened around my lap, his jaw ticking in barely restrained fury. He didn’t interrupt, but his eyes were fire, searching for every detail.

"Two men," I continued, my voice barely above a whisper now. "They cornered me. I... I told them to leave. One of them said the party was just getting started. I felt... foggy. Like the air was thick."

Adrien’s hand stilled on my lap. The circles stopped.

"I tried to fight," I continued, the words coming faster now, tumbling over each other. "I threw a lamp. But they... they had this little device. A box with a light. They said it would stop me from screaming. That they didn’t want to wake the neighbors." The absurdity of their politeness sent a shiver of revulsion through me.

"I scratched one of them. I felt it... tear his skin." I remembered the roar of his voice, the shock of the blow. My hand instinctively crept to my own cheek. "He hit me. And then... then they pushed me onto the bed."

I paused, forcing myself to breathe. Adrien remained silent, his stillness a heavy weight beside me, giving me the space to continue.

"They had rope," I whispered, the words tasting like ash. "They said... they said someone sent them. That they were told not to kill me, just to... ’Warm me up’."

At that, Adrien’s entire body went rigid. A low, guttural sound, barely audible, escaped his throat. It was the sound of a predator catching a scent.

"They tied my wrists to the headboard," I choked out. "I couldn’t move. They... they had a knife. They cut my dress. And I just kept trying to fight back, hoping someone would come. Hoping Clara would come back for me." My chest tightened, my breath hitching. "But she never did. I wonder if she is okay."

His expression hardened. He took a slow, deliberate breath before speaking. "You don’t need to worry about Clara right now." His voice was low, controlled. "Focus on what happened in that room."

I nodded, trying to stay calm. "They made me drink something, Adrien. It was some kind of liquid. They poured it into my mouth—something slick and cold. It burned as it went down. The moment it hit my stomach, everything... intensified. The dizziness, the heat... it all turned into pain. Like a fire that I couldn’t put out."

He stiffened, his lips parting slightly in shock.

"Liquid?" he repeated, his voice a strained whisper.

"Yes," I whispered back, nodding. "It’s like it opened up something inside me. Made me feel things I couldn’t control."

Adrien’s grip on my lap became almost painful, but I didn’t pull away. "And then... what did they do?"

I closed my eyes, pressing my hands to my temples. I could still feel the heat on my skin, the roughness of their touch, the fear curling inside me like smoke. "They... they touched me, Adrien," I said, my voice cracking. "One of them... he was leaning over me. His pants were down. I saw him... touching himself." I could feel his presence beside me like a storm gathering. "The other one just kept... talking about what they were going to do. How they’d make me scream for them."

Adrien’s jaw tightened, and his breathing slowed, as if he was trying to restrain a storm inside himself. I could feel the tension radiating from him, the rage that was barely held in check.

"And then?" he asked, his voice low, the calm before a breaking point. "Did they get physical with you?"

"Yes," I whispered. "After the liquid... they started. They... I couldn’t fight anymore. The pain was too much. I was too weak." My breath came in shallow, sharp gasps. "I couldn’t even scream... They were just... getting ready. And then—"

I stopped. The words caught in my throat. I couldn’t keep going.

Adrien’s face was stone, but there was something flickering beneath it—a darkness, a hunger to find out everything.

"Don’t leave anything out, Isabella," he said, his voice low, thick with something that might’ve been fury, but also something more dangerous. "I need to know everything they did."

I nodded. "They were about to do... more, but that’s when you showed up."

Adrien’s arms enveloped me in an instant, pulling me close. His embrace was strong, comforting, but there was a tremor beneath it that told me how deeply this had affected him. I could feel the weight of his apology even without words. His body was taut with restrained anger, his breath ragged against my hair as he murmured into it.

"I’m so sorry you went through that," he whispered, his voice thick with emotion. "You were so brave. You fought them. You told me everything. Thank you."

then a beat.

"Are you okay now?"

I nodded against his shoulder, the knot in my chest loosening just a little. "Yeah. I’m... okay."

He pulled back gently, tilting my chin up so our eyes met. His gaze was intense but soft, searching for the right words.

"If you were given some kind of... extreme power," he said quietly, voice low and careful, "like, whatever you think or say happens—no one can stop you or question what you do... how would you punish them?"