President's Daughter's Bodyguard-Chapter 78: The One Who Chooses

Chapter 78: The One Who Chooses

Theo limped across the wide halls, ignoring every voice that tried to hold him back.

There was this pressure in his chest that felt stronger than his injuries.

Danielle was out there...Somewhere...Alone or with monsters he knew too well. Three lives were missing from the explosion that never happened.

Danielle’s, Jackson’s and Ethan’s.

No bodies were found and no surveillance or signal could be detected.

It was like the world swallowed them whole.

Zack kept Theo locked inside the mansion like a prisoner wearing silk. Zack claimed it was for his recovery, but Theo knew it was control. They always controlled him ever since the beginning.

Theo walked outside through the sliding glass doors and entered the garden. A cold breath of wind brushed past him. The grass felt too peaceful beneath his feet.

It was genuinely mocking him.

He dragged his hand along the tall iron fence, eyes narrowed at the distant city skyline.

Every tower glowed like indifferent stars. Somewhere inside that maze, Danielle was either breathing or turning cold.

The thought made Theo feel like his blood was going to explode as well.

He needed a plan and most importantly, Theo had to get his freedom.

But every path out of this place required power. And Zack owned every key and too many decisions.

Theo stood there, thinking of the night Ethan disappeared. Thinking of Danielle’s terrified eyes.

’Hold on, bunny. Just hold on a little longer.’

He shoved away the ache in his ribs and kept walking. He did not care if the fresh stitches ripped. Pain meant he was still alive. Pain meant he could still fight for her.

A guard by the gate stiffened when Theo approached. The guard raised a hand.

"Master Theo, you cannot leave without permission."

Theo didn’t bother answering and just stared like he was promising violence.

The guard looked away.

Theo smirked for a moment, then turned back toward the mansion. He needed to think. To find a way. Rushing into death would not save her.

He wandered deeper into the garden, past the trimmed hedges and marble fountains. His breath slowed and anger twisted into a quieter burn.

He reached the old stone corner where sunlight barely reached. Vines crawled up the wall, choking the bricks like memories choking his sanity.

This corner...

He remembered it.

He remembered the first week he arrived here as a child.

Theo was so cold, afraid and hungry for safety he thought Zack could give.

However, Ethan found him first. The half- brother that Theo didn’t even know he had was his nightmare.

Theo had been six years old and small...way too small to defend himself. Ethan shoved him into this very wall and beat him until blood filled his mouth.

Ethan told him that weakness would get him killed. That he needed to learn his real place.

Theo learned something different. He learned what hatred tasted like...

He leaned his head against the same rough stone and eyes started burning like they were the flames.

Oh, how tired Theo was...so tired of being someone’s weapon.

Tired of hurting and being hurt.

All his life, they decided and used him. They shaped him into a blade that others swung.

Danielle was the first person who looked at him and didn’t see a blade, but a man. A broken one, yes. A dangerous one, yes. But a man she believed was capable of love...And she was right.

Theo placed a hand over his own heartbeat.

This heart... it never belonged to him. Not until she touched it.

Frank entered the garden then and stayed several steps away, keeping his hands behind his back...

Theo turned to face him. "Where is she?"

Frank said nothing, of course, he wouldn’t...after all, Frank was also a coward.

Theo stepped closer, making his tone more clearer. "Frank. Tell me what you know."

Frank’s jaw tightened and he looked away.

"I know that the explosion malfunctioned and that is the only reason anyone survived. But when the team entered, all they found were bodies... No Danielle or Ethan or Jackson."

Theo swallowed hard but his voice stayed strong. "Then she is alive."

Frank hesitated. "You do not know that."

"I feel it," Theo replied. "And I am going to find her."

Frank sighed and lines on his face deepened. "You are not in any condition to leave. Zack will not allow it. We can’t have you dying again."

Theo’s fists clenched. "I would rather die trying than live here doing nothing."

Frank shook his head. "You love her too much. That is dangerous..what did I tell you in the beginning before assigning you to her?"

Theo closed the distance and chose to ignore the second part. "Love is not my weakness. It’s my reason."

Frank looked directly into his eyes then. And something inside Frank’s expression changed.

It was like he agreed, showing respect or maybe feared for Theo’s safety...or maybe both.

"You are not ready..."

Theo gave a humorless laugh. "No one was ready for Ethan. And yet here we are."

Frank didn’t argue further. He only turned around and walked away, leaving Theo alone with his pulse punching hard inside him.

Theo looked up at the sky and grey clouds. They were so big and unmoving. The same way his life had always been. Waiting for someone else to decide the weather.

Not anymore.

He breathed slowly, letting the cold air fill his lungs.

Theo stared at the house where every choice had been stolen from him. The mansion felt like a cage made of gold. Zack thought he was protecting him. But Zack was just another version of the same prison.

Theo whispered to himself. "I am done obeying."

Maybe Danielle was the first to ever believe he could choose.

Theo turned away from the corner and walked deeper into the garden again. Everything inside him was changing direction. Fear was gone, and so was his doubt.

He placed a hand over his stitches and tried to stabilise himself.

Ethan thought he won by taking her.

Zack thought he controlled him by locking him away.

But they underestimated one truth.

Theo might have been born into a nightmare. He might have been shaped into a weapon. But now he chose the target.

He chose his war...He chose his heart...He chose Danielle.

Theo was breathing strongly through the pain.

He would tear through walls and rip apart borders, destroy countries.

Because Danielle was his choice...And no one would take her from him again.