My Bestie's Dad Likes Me Wet-Chapter 72 Is This Love?

NOVA POV

Normalcy was a word long lost in the dictionary of my life.

The first thing I heard was the slow, steady beep of the machine beside me, then the brightness in the room stabbed at my eyes, and the air felt uncomfortably sterile and cold. My throat was sandpaper-dry.

Something brushed against my lips, it felt cool, with a steady pressure and when I forced my eyes open, I saw Grant holding out a cup with a straw like he’d been doing it for hours, his dark eyes never leaving my face.

"You couldn’t leave me even if you tried, princess."

The word princess tugged at my lips, it sounds softer than nymph, less possessive but more human.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, the back of his hand brushing across my forehead, then my neck. His touch was unromantic but protective, and his eyes were wild with relief.

I would’ve found it cute if I didn’t remember what landed me here.

"Grant—" I croaked, my voice barely a whisper.

He shook his head in a negative way. "Don’t say anything, baby. We’ll talk later."

I managed a small smile. If only I could wait till later. "I’m going to my godmother’s house this weekend."

He froze. The cup halfway to the table, his hand stilled mid-air. Seconds stretched before he looked at me again, this time his voice was cool and void of any emotion.

"Let’s talk about this later." 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚

Fine. Let him think that. I nodded, but my mind was already spinning. If Luca wanted to reach me, he wouldn’t use middlemen. He was too proud for that.

Another suspect is Sandy but she’s still bedridden and barely conscious.

So who the hell was it?

Grant had already kidnapped Luca’s cousin an innocent man and if Luca retaliated this time, he’d be right to.

A shudder ran through me. I looked at Grant again, this man who could switch from tender to terrifying without missing a beat.

I reached out, needing to feel him, to anchor myself. He kissed my hand, then pressed his cheek against it.

"You scared me, Nova. Don’t make a habit out of it unless you’re trying to send me to an early grave."

His voice cracked on the word grave, and something in my chest shifted. No one had ever sounded so afraid to lose me.

"I won’t," I whispered.

He smiled faintly and leaned in, giving me a soft chaste kiss like he was scared I’d break again. I wanted more but the time is not now.

"How’s Lena?"

"She’s better," he said, eyes flicking away. "That’s what the doctor said."

"You haven’t gone to check on her?"

He didn’t answer right away. "I couldn’t leave you. Her mother’s with her."

I blinked. "Mother?"

Lena had never mentioned her mother. Not once. Not when we’d talked about family, not when she’d called Sandy "the only mother figure I’ve got." In fact she had always sounded eager and happy to have Sandy as a stepmother like she didn’t have any mother figure in her life. Grant has never mentioned her either, it’s like she’s dead to both of them.

"So your wife—"

"Ex-wife."

The word sliced the air between us and I didn’t bother to hide my disappointment.

"So your ex-wife is in the same building, on the same floor as your daughter, and you’d rather be here? with me?." My voice shook. "You’ve given people a reason to talk."

"Nobody’s saying anything," he said evenly. "And they won’t live to see tomorrow even if they do."

Typical of Grant. So damn ruthless and arrogant like he was untouchable abs maybe he was.

"Go check on your daughter before people start asking questions," I muttered.

He didn’t move rather he focused on smoothing nonexistent wrinkles from my blanket.

Then it hit me. "Wait. If you’ve been here since, and Katie came by, how did you explain this? What did she think?" My heart kicked up, and the monitor beside me beeped faster. "Oh my God, what does she—"

Before I could finish, Grant was beside me. His hand landed gently on my shoulders, firm but soothing.

"Nova, calm down. Don’t overthink. You need to heal."

I shoved his hand off like it burned. "I’ll heal when you explain what the hell is going on."

His expression didn’t change. Just that steady calm that made me both want to slap him and fall into him. His hand came back, this time massaging my shoulders in slow, deliberate circles until my nerves began to melt.

"Katie saw me,hold on before you have another panic attack" he said with a warm air of authority, holding up his hand. "I told her you had no family nearby, and since Lena’s mother was already with her, someone needed to stay with you. She didn’t question it. She was worried about both of you."

I exhaled slowly. His hands were still moving—motherrr, those hands—and words spilled from me before I could stop them.

"Luca isn’t behind this," I said. "Someone else is pulling strings. They want you to believe it’s Luca so you’ll start a war. Whoever it is.... they’re playing both of you."

Grant’s hands stopped and his entire body went still.

"Why do you think that?" His voice dropped an octave. He moved to sit beside me, phone already in hand, typing furiously.

"Someone’s been giving my godmother money, drugs and informations about me. They told her to make me visit this weekend—"

I didn’t get to finish before Grant shot to his feet.

"Fuck that. You’re not allowed to leave this room, not even an inch away from me." That was expected, I hid my smile.

"He said—he said if I don’t come, he’ll kill Lena."

Grant’s laugh was low, dangerous. "Like hell he would. I dare him to try. I’d love to see him try."

"What if that’s the point?" I pressed. "What if this is all a dare, all of this... the attack, the accident, and all to just to make you move?"

"Nova," he warned softly, "stop it. Rest. Feel better. Go back to school. Leave the dark side of things to me."

He bent and kissed my forehead, his voice gentler now. "You’re loved. You’re protected. Same as Lena."

Tears stung my eyes but he brushed them away before they could fall.

"I want you happy, Nova," he whispered, his thumb tracing my jaw. "I want you free. I want to be your calm in the storm. Your home. Let me carry it all for you, all the pain, the danger, the weight and burden of life."

That broke me. His words kind of triggered the tears I’ve been trying to hold at bay and they flowed freely now.

He kept going, his voice steady, his eyes burning through me. "Any trouble that comes for you will go through me first. And even if it’s my own blood behind it, I’ll still burn it all down for you. Don’t mistake what I feel for some watered-down kind of love."

Better than any heart confession I’ve read in the romance novels I’ve devoured in the past. None of them beats this and none of them would ever make me feel the way Grant words makes me feel.

So.. Is this what love sounds like?