?<strong>Chapter 999:</strong>


    “Why did they take you?”


    Aurora swallowed, her thoughts a bit hazy. “I don’t know. They were going to hand me over to someone, but when they heard my parents had called the police, they panicked and left me here.”


    “When did they leave?”


    “Long before you got here.”


    Dunn’s mind raced. The surveince on the mountain was patchy, and finding those men now would be nearly impossible. “Let’s get you checked out at the hospital first.”


    “I’m really fine.”


    Dunn bent down and swept her into his arms. “Whether you’re fine or not isn’t for you to decide.”


    Aurora blushed, feeling his steady heartbeat as she leaned against his chest. Then her eyes fell on his arm, noticing a cut that was bleeding slowly. “You’re hurt?”


    “It’s nothing.”


    Aurora’s concern red, and she squirmed in his arms. “Put me down! I can walk on my own!”


    “Be good.”


    Dunn’s tone carried a weight of seriousness, despite the gentleness in his expression. Even though he had found Aurora moments ago, his heart was still pounding—fast and intense, as if it hadn’t quite caught up with the relief of seeing her safe.


    Aurora stopped moving in his arms, recognizing his genuine concern for her. He cared more about her well-being than his own pain. And it just felt wrong to make him worry further by being stubborn.


    As it was already veryte and Lucas was being treated at the hospital in the city center, Aurora asked Dunn to take her to another hospital. Although their rtionship was bing a little more serious, it still didn’t feel like the right time to tell her family.


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    “Aurora, I don’t think we can keep this a secret much longer,” Dunn said as he fastened her seatbelt. “If your parents ask who found you, you can’t exin what happened without mentioning me.”


    Aurora’s heart raced at the thought. Could she really tell her parents that she had already set her sights on someone—just two months after graduating high school? She had always thought of herself as bold, but the mere thought of facing her parents’ interrogation, not to mention the prying curiosity of other family members, made her falter.


    “I’m not ready for others to know about us yet,” she admitted.


    Dunn looked up and held her gaze. “I am.”


    Aurora froze, her mind going nk at his words and the look in his eyes. She was still processing what he had just said when he continued, “From the moment I was sure of my feelings for you, I prepared myself for everything. We’re not kids anymore. I know and understand what our rtionship will entail—not only for us but also for our families. Whatever happens, I’m ready to face it.”


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