Their Secret Obsession by Pippa Moon

Chapter 0257

Lottie POV

Suddenly, the atmosphere in the room shifted, growing heavier and darker. I sensed the change before I saw it, feeling the presence of others who had come to watch the debacle unfold. I felt a wave of embarrassment and sadness wash over me, realising this scene was being laid bare before an audience, something I hadn't anticipated. The essence of anger and disapproval seemed to emanate from somewhere behind them-I knew it was Adam, his silent fury palpable even without seeing his face.

"Neither scares me, but I get the sense Havoc would step on my toes in a foxtrot," Chase announced, his voice cutting through the tension with a mix of humour and defiance. My stomach jolted with confirmation of their arrival; I had hoped for more time to sort this mess before they appeared. Yet, his attempt to lighten the mood with humour signalled his effort to defuse his own anger.

Havoc responded with a deep, pained rumble, a sound that drew my focus back to him before I had a chance to fully process Chase's arrival and gauge Adam's reaction, which I knew was simmering with anger just out of sight.

"He is not ok." Havoc confessed, his voice rough like gravel. "He is hurting. He misses Kitty." Each word was laden with a raw, almost brutal honesty.

"I reckon I can take him." Sage mused just as one of the pups kicked at my bladder, making me smile and frown all in the space of a second. Because she couldn't take him, no one could if Havoc truly decided to go; my pups prevented that, and the bitter irony that the only person in the room with the power to keep Havoc in check was being benched was not lost on me.

"Kitty, he needs you; he misses you." Havoc tried again, his eyes meeting mine and pleading with me to listen. The reality and reminder had me sucking in a sharp breath, trying to push down the pain that surged up at his words. If he truly missed me, then why had he shattered my heart into pieces? The irony of his longing twisted inside me like a knife-wanting me now when it was possibly too late for any reconciliation. The complexity of my feelings tangled up inside, mixing sorrow with lingering affection and a profound sense of betrayal.

There was a charged silence, the kind that precedes a storm, and at that moment, I wished I had never walked into that room all those

within. I nodded to him, then my hand. "Let's get you out of here before you hurt somebody, huh?" I asked, mustering a slight smile that barely masked the pain in my heart. A heavy realisation settled upon me: my life would not return to the way it was, and for that, I wished I had never met them.

his voice tinged with hope that tugged at my heartstrings painfully. The excitement in his voice made the situation even more

am going home

knew it was what he needed to hear, and in truth, it was not a lie; I was going home just with my brothers, not him. Because that life was no longer mine, and neither was that home. As this truth sank in, a sense of finality washed over me. The months of clinging to hope felt like a wasted effort, a

nodded, his eyes softening as they met mine, filled with a mixture of understanding and sadness. He seemed to sense the finality of our exchange, the unspoken goodbye that lingered between us, even if he could not admit

of this bollocks..."

l.ne

knife Turning, I winced as I saw Adam by my side, his hand sliding under my elbow to lift me gently to my feet. His touch

care for us and our well-being." Sage taunted into my head, and although it was not great timing, she was right,

and care. It was evident how difficult it was for him to see me like this,

fact his

make the overprotective big brother act somewhat tolerable. I smiled weakly, watching him bend down to inspect my knees; only then, when I followed his line of sight, did I realise I was still in my PJ