Chapter 500-The Familiar Tune

Chapter 500: 500-The Familiar Tune

Verity:

I’d long ago ruled out the possibility of having a husband, children, or any of the things people usually dreamed of when they imagined their future.

There had only ever been one goal in my life.

Revenge.

I wanted to get my revenge, and once it was over, I planned to quietly return to my own life and finally find some peace.

But that didn’t mean I intended to live a normal life.

I had already accepted that I would spend the rest of my days alone, missing my brother and holding on to the memories that remained.

As those thoughts overwhelmed me, a sudden ache shot through my head.

I winced and pressed a hand against my temple, trying to ease the pain.

"Are you okay?"

Ragnar’s voice pulled me out of my thoughts.

I gave him a small nod.

"You should get some rest," he suggested.

I would have closed my eyes even if he hadn’t said anything.

But I knew sleep wouldn’t come easily, not when I still had no idea where my plans for revenge were heading or what would become of them now.

I closed my eyes for a little while, and before I knew it, I’d fallen asleep.

When I woke up, the car was slowing to a stop.

I rubbed both eyes with my hands before blinking them open, realizing that Ragnar had already pulled into the mansion’s parking lot.

He stepped out of the vehicle, and before I could even reach for the door handle, he came around to my side and opened it for me.

Leaning inside, he unfastened my seat belt before straightening and offering me his hand.

I stared at it for a moment before placing my hand in his.

That was when I noticed how unusually warm his skin felt, almost as though he were burning up.

I immediately lifted my gaze, and our eyes met.

"What?" he asked, looking genuinely confused by my reaction.

I shook my head and carefully stepped out of the car.

Before leaving the cabin, I’d put my oversized jacket back on, but I’d taken it off during the drive and left it on the seat.

"Nervous?" Ragnar asked.

He rested one hand against the car beside me, tapping his fingers lightly against its surface while the other settled on his hip.

He wasn’t looking at me. Instead, his gaze remained fixed on the mansion, visible over the roof of the car.

"Are you?" I asked in return.

He lowered his eyes to mine.

"Not really. For the first time, I’m not afraid of stealing something that belongs to someone else."

His comment left me confused.

Because if I allowed myself to think about it too much, I might actually believe he was talking about me.

"You’re not worried about hurting your brothers?" I questioned.

Ragnar tilted his head slightly, and a surprisingly sweet smile appeared on his face.

It lasted barely a second, but it was enough to catch me off guard.

"I’m protecting my brothers. You know that."

His expression settled as he continued.

"Under our agreement, we’ll punish Gigi once we get the truth out of her, assuming there’s actually something to uncover. And in the meantime, you’ll stop torturing my brothers."

There it was.

He was finally getting to the point.

Of course, he could afford to be so comfortable with the idea of betraying his brothers.

In the long run, he could simply tell them that he’d saved their lives by marrying me himself.

That was probably how he intended to justify everything.

"So you’re not afraid I might ruin your life by marrying you?" I asked.

The moment those words left my mouth, something changed in his expression.

It was almost as though he’d been waiting for me to ask that very question.

Ragnar leaned down toward me, making me immediately move backward until my back pressed firmly against the car door.

His face came closer to mine, his gaze briefly dropping to my lips.

My breathing quickened at his such actions.

He leaned in farther, close enough that I could feel the warmth of his breath against my cheek, before bringing his mouth beside my ear.

"I want to be ruined by you," he murmured, his deep, rough voice barely above a whisper.

That was all he said.

And somehow, those few words were enough to make my knees nearly give way.

Thankfully, he pulled back before I could embarrass myself.

I immediately straightened my posture, trying to look perfectly composed, as though that one little sentence hadn’t affected me in the slightest.

"Come on, let’s go," Ragnar said, stepping away from the car before taking my hand in his.

He began leading me toward the mansion, and I couldn’t help feeling strange about the whole situation.

This was the same man who had once thrown me out of this house, and now he was the one bringing me back.

I didn’t even know what he was planning to say once we got inside.

He hadn’t bothered explaining anything to me.

But as we approached the entrance, Ragnar suddenly began humming a melody.

I wasn’t sure why, but the tune sounded strangely familiar, almost as though I’d heard it somewhere before.

Perhaps it was a song or an old lullaby. I couldn’t quite place it, but I was certain I recognized it.

Then, halfway through the melody, he stopped humming.

Strangely enough, I seemed to know exactly how the rest of it went.

I could have easily picked up where he’d left off and finished the tune myself.

But I didn’t.

It would’ve been incredibly awkward to correct him or help him finish a melody when he was practically dragging me inside to face his brothers.

For all I knew, he was about to reveal everything I’d done and announce that he intended to marry me.

And I still had no idea how the hell he planned to handle their reactions.

Ragnar held my hand so tightly that when we finally entered the mansion, I genuinely felt as though I was stepping into the second phase of my life.