ONE NIGHT STAND WITH HOT DUKE-Chapter 225: You don’t deserve it
Her voice wasn’t loud.
But it was clear enough to reach outside.
The words froze the entire room.
Even Lena and Ethan turned to her in shock.
No one had expected something that extreme.
Outside, Demian stopped instantly.
His hand, ready to push the door, froze in place. His breath caught, as if his body needed a moment to process what he had just heard.
"Don’t joke," he replied at last but his voice was no longer as firm as before. There was a faint crack in it, something rarely heard from a man like him.
"I’m not joking."
This time, Valerie opened her eyes, staring straight at the door even though she knew she couldn’t see him through it.
"If you force me again, I won’t survive. I will not go back with you."
Her words fell heavy but unwavering.
Demian drew in a slow breath, trying to steady something inside him that was slipping out of control.
"Come out," he said again, quieter now, almost restrained. "We’ll talk properly. I won’t do anything as long as you come out." 𝕗𝐫𝐞𝕖𝕨𝐞𝗯𝚗𝕠𝘃𝐞𝚕.𝐜𝗼𝚖
He paused for a moment, then added as if it were reason enough to change everything,
"You’ve already given birth to my child, Valerie."
Inside, Valerie only tightened her hold on Deon.
Those words didn’t calm her they made her chest feel even tighter.
She shook her head slowly, tears falling again without restraint.
"Don’t use that," she said softly, but clearly. "It doesn’t change anything."
The room fell silent again before she continued, her voice firmer now despite its tremble.
"Leave."
One word.
But enough to break something.
"Leave me... leave us."
Demian did not answer.
Outside, he simply stood there, staring at the door without moving.
For the first time since he found Valerie again he didn’t know whether to step forward or step back.
And when the final words reached him,
"You don’t deserve to be with me."
He finally understood that what stood in his way now was no longer the door.
But Valerie’s decision.
And that was the one thing in this world he could not break through by force.
"I will not leave until you come out."
The words fell without raised tone, without loud threat yet because of that, they felt absolute.
Outside, Demian no longer pounded on the door. He stood there for a moment after saying it, staring at the wooden surface as if he could truly see through it. Then, slowly, he stepped back just one step not to retreat, but to give himself enough distance to remain there... longer.
Inside, Valerie did not respond.
She didn’t know how to.
Her body still felt cold despite the small fire burning in the hearth, and her hands, wrapped tightly around Deon, would not stop trembling. Those words echoed in her mind simple, yet suffocating.
Will not leave.
That meant no time.
No pause.
No chance to avoid him like she always had.
After a while, the silence changed.
Not because of Demian’s voice but because of something else.
Footsteps.
Low murmurs.
The dull thud of heavy objects being set down.
Wood dragged across the ground.
Metal clinking softly.
Valerie frowned, then instinctively moved toward the window. She pulled the curtain aside just enough to see without being seen.
And what she saw stole her breath.
People were setting up tents.
One.
Then two.
Then more.
Fires were lit. Equipment unloaded. Several crates carefully placed along the small yard. What had once been a quiet road in front of the house was slowly turning into a small encampment organized, prepared, and clearly not meant to be temporary.
And in the middle of it Demian stood.
He barely moved, only giving short instructions now and then before falling still again. Occasionally, his gaze lifted toward the upper window.
Not forcing.
Not calling.
Yet his mere presence was enough to make anyone inside feel... trapped.
Valerie quickly pulled the curtain shut, as if afraid their eyes might meet.
"He’s... completely insane..." she whispered, more to herself than anyone else.
Behind her, Lena took a brief look as well before letting out a long breath, disbelief written plainly across her face.
"He’s not just waiting," she said sharply. "He’s settling in."
Meanwhile, Ethan stood with his arms crossed, his brows furrowed as he tried to process the situation that had escalated far too quickly. He didn’t need to look outside the sounds alone were enough.
"He’s not leaving," he said quietly, more as a conclusion than a guess.
Valerie turned to him, her expression difficult to read confusion, exhaustion, and a trace of disbelief.
"Why?" she asked softly. "Why does he have to do all this?"
No one answered immediately.
Because the answer was already there just too difficult to say aloud.
Lena finally stepped forward, standing directly in front of Valerie, her gaze firm.
"If you don’t want to go out," she said resolutely, "then don’t. Don’t let him control everything just because he can force it."
Her tone left no room for hesitation. She stood fully on Valerie’s side.
"As long as you stay inside, he has no power over you. Don’t give him that."
But Ethan shook his head slowly. He understood Lena’s point but the situation wasn’t that simple.
"And for how long?" he asked quietly. "He’s out there, with his people. They’re not leaving. If this continues, it won’t just be him trapped outside we’ll be trapped inside too."
He looked at Valerie, more directly this time.
"This won’t end if you keep avoiding it."
Valerie fell silent.
The words struck their mark.
She lowered her gaze to Deon, sleeping peacefully in her arms. That small face looked so calm, so untouched by the chaos and that only made the tightness in her chest worse.
"I just want a quiet life..." she whispered, almost like a confession she had held in for far too long. "I don’t want to go back to all of that..."
No one interrupted.
Lena softened, though she did not waver. Ethan didn’t push either he simply waited, giving Valerie space to think.
Outside, the noise gradually faded.
The encampment was nearly complete.
And just as they feared Demian did not leave.
He stayed.
Waiting.
With a patience that felt unnatural and far more terrifying than any anger.
Valerie glanced toward the window again, this time without pulling the curtain aside. She knew someone was standing out there not for a moment, not just to try, but to endure until she gave in.
And for the first time since she ran away she no longer felt chased.
But surrounded.
Not by soldiers.
Not by power.
But by one man who would not stop until she walked out to him on her own.
