A Caged Songbird's Escape: Into the Arms of a Predator novel Chapter 562

Given their current relationship, he had the right to know her background.

Even though she still didn't know who her real parents were.

From her simple sentence, Rowan caught the main point and asked sharply, "So, if it really did become a burden to me, you planned to just walk away?"

"..."

Meeting his piercing gaze, Elissa felt a pang of guilt. She instinctively looked away, trying to change the subject. "Do you remember Sean Cross, the man I asked you to investigate last time? It seems he's figured out my background."

She had confirmed time and again that her biological parents couldn't be drug dealers.

Watching her carefully explain herself, Rowan felt a mix of amusement and frustration. He kept his tone as gentle as possible. "Answer my question first."

Elissa knew him well.

At times like this, the calmer he sounded, the more upset he was on the inside.

She licked her lips, took a silent breath, and looked up at him again. "When I went back to Cresthaven, my aunt told me that my parents found me while on a mission... in a drug den."

"Rowan, if my biological parents were drug dealers, I might drag you down. All your hard work over the years would go down the drain..."

Everything he had risked his life for would be handed over to someone else.

Elissa could accept being of no help to him, but she could not bear to drag him down.

She knew exactly what it took for him to reach his current position. How could she bear to personally drag him down from the top of the pyramid?

Meeting her clear eyes and listening to her soft voice, Rowan felt a heavy blow to his chest.

No wonder.

No wonder she had looked so helpless and lost when she first returned from Cresthaven.

She had curled up in his arms and asked who she really was.

But because she was afraid of being a burden, she hadn't breathed a single word of this until today.

She had lived in constant fear while asking others to investigate for her.

Only when she was absolutely certain did she finally tell him the truth.

Looking at her delicate face, an indescribable heartache surged from Rowan's chest to his throat, making it impossible for him to speak for a moment.

He had raised her himself, so he knew that beneath her sweet, kind, and delicate exterior lay a fiercely independent, rational, and enduring spirit.

For the first time, he wished she wasn't so independent and enduring.

Things were different now.

He could stand openly by her side and protect her.

He cupped the back of her head, leaning in to press his forehead against hers. His throat bobbed before he finally spoke. "But Elissa, have you ever thought about why I risked my life to take over the Murphy family?"

Janice was watching TV in the nearby living room, and the staff could walk by at any moment.

Being in such an intimate position made Elissa's face flush. "Because you wanted to avenge your parents..."

"And because of you."

Rowan's dark eyes locked onto hers as he emphasized every word. "Now, it's only because of you."

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