There Is No Paradise Where I Ran Away To (14 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 19

Drying his wet body, Theo stepped out of the bathroom and picked up the lantern he had left on the shelf. After parting ways with Vivian today, he’d spent time at his tailor shop and returned home late—only to find his entire family already asleep. Despite having finished his bath, an unpleasant, sticky discomfort lingered stubbornly.

Whenever he thought back to the moment he couldn’t bring Vivian away from that mansion, he felt disgusted with his own helplessness.

Now, he was certain—absolutely certain—that he had to find a way to get Vivian out of that mansion, away from Duke Beitnes’s grasp. Until then, all he could do was pray desperately that nothing would happen, that Vivian wouldn’t suffer any harm.

With every step, the creaking friction of wooden floorboards cut through the deep silence of the late night. The moment Theo reached his bedroom door and touched the doorknob, a chill draft stealthily swept over him. Pausing, he glanced down at the faint glow seeping from under the door, then slowly turned to scan the hallway.

Darkness prevailed, and a thick, profound stillness had settled everywhere. Yet, alongside his family’s breathing—something that shouldn’t exist here—he sensed an unfamiliar presence.

Slowly, Theo turned the doorknob. Leaning on the dim light of the lantern left burning inside, he gently pushed the door open—and saw a strange shadow flickering against the lamplight by the desk. What filled Theo’s widened eyes was the locket necklace, a gift from Mr. Ebelline, now held in the stranger’s hand.

Each time it opened and closed, Vivian’s face appeared and vanished again.

“What—Who are y—?”

Just as Theo began to speak, someone else roughly clamped a hand over his mouth. He struggled against the unexpected assault, but resistance proved futile against that overwhelming strength.

“Evans.”

The locket in the man’s hand snapped shut with a dull click. When Theo recognized the calm, blue eyes of the man who turned leisurely toward him, his fierce resistance gradually subsided.

“Don’t you think making so much noise might wake your family?”

Despite his reputation throughout Newway, he wore a spotless smile even while committing an act fit for common thugs.

To the Duke—who, without a shred of guilt, startled birds for sport or shot down fledglings purely for amusement—this was nothing unusual, something he could do several times a day without a second thought.

Though Theo couldn’t speak with his mouth covered, he strained desperately to make some sound. The harder he tried, the more tightly that immense grip tightened around him.

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