Pampered by my three brothers: the return of the neglected heiress

Chapter 1609: Saving Grace

A Chance or a Closure?

Haines had no idea what kind of relationship he'd thrown himself into.

To be fair, Haines was never perfect. But he usually didn't make decisions purely based on morality. Yet, with Grace, he seemed to have made a lot of them.

It made him wonder-was it truly a mistake? Or simply nature's way of giving him another chance at love? Perhaps even in life, fleeting as it might be.

And in a way, he wanted to believe that. Even if, from another angle, it was questionable in itself.

When morning came, Haines's brow twitched as his eyes flickered beneath his lids.

Soft rays of sunlight filtered through the window, landing on the upper part of his face. Before opening his eyes, he raised a hand to shield himself from the blinding assault. Slowly, he squinted them open, letting them adjust to the light spreading across the room.

Haines quietly moved his gaze, quickly recognizing the room he'd woken up in. Unlike the first time-after getting drugged by Penny-there was no sudden rush of anxiety. Instead, he turned his head to the side.

There, lying on her side, was Grace.

Her temple rested against her knuckles, eyes slightly unfocused, as if lost in deep thought. When he turned toward her, she blinked, and a flicker of awareness sparked in her gaze. But her face didn't brighten like it usually did when she saw him. If anything, her expression remained passive.

"..." He blinked, keeping his mouth shut as he studied her reaction.

After a few seconds, her exasperated voice broke the silence.

"Say..." she began, squinting at him. "...this isn't the part where I wake up, right?"

Haines blinked again, noting the curiosity in her eyes.

"Last night... it wasn't a dream, was it?"

Even though parts of her body—especially the lower half-felt sore, she needed confirmation. There were just too many what-ifs.

was just soreness from her

in her eyes told

the exposed curve of her shoulder above the sheet. "...don't have

sometimes sleep naked. Especially when I can't fall

to say something, then closed it again. "What do you want me to

"Or make sure

on cue, the alarm on the bedside

RINNGGG!

each other. Grace, still trying to process everything, suddenly felt an arm snake around her waist-just as Haines rolled onto his side, pulling her against

he whispered, planting a soft kiss on the side

She flinched, eyes widening.

Blink...

Blink...

she felt

dreaming?" he asked, looking up at

home, watched a movie like usual, chatted casually... and how

calls before. Haines' asking to stay over hadn't immediately seemed like he

The sound of their lips meeting again and again, hands exploring each other like they

pounding, the desperate closeness, the tension that built and released in

gasped and covered

They did it.

wide,

He could practically see her mentally

and leaned over her. She jolted slightly

did it," she blurted, almost in

us having any drinks last night for

even weirder," she said. "I didn't drink

just how often she fantasized about this scenario. Her reaction said

thought, he leaned down and kissed the tip

again,

have plans this morning?" he