The Last Time I Cried Your Name novel Chapter 278

After dinner, Franco kept his word and handed Adelaide’s photo album to Petty.

Late at night, Petty sat alone on the corner of the sofa, hugging the album Adelaide used to flip through all the time. She turned the pages slowly, lost in memories.

It was like she’d slipped back in time. She could almost feel her grandmother’s arm around her, the two of them looking at old photos together.

Grandma would start telling stories from her youth—how she’d met Grandpa, how she’d managed to get that stubborn, prideful man to marry her even though he pretended not to care, how Franco’s parents got together. Petty had heard these stories a hundred times, but it never got old.

Grandma used to say Petty reminded her of her own younger self. Maybe that was why she doted on her so much.

The truth was, Petty missed her desperately.

All of a sudden, someone pulled the album from her hands. A familiar, calm voice broke the quiet. “It’s late. You can look at it tomorrow.”

Petty’s arms dropped to her sides, but she didn’t try to get the album back.

She looked away, let her legs down from where she’d curled up, and headed toward her bed. She turned off the light, pulled back the covers, and slipped onto the mattress, settling in the middle of the bed.

For the first time since dinner, she spoke. “Leave.”

The door clicked shut so softly it was barely audible. Petty closed her eyes.

Then, she felt the mattress dip behind her. The blanket lifted. An arm, strong and warm, slid around her waist and drew her back against a broad chest.

In the darkness, Petty didn’t resist. She opened her eyes, staring at nothing. “That morning at the market, when Hans stepped in and took the knife for me… you called, but I didn’t answer. Even then, you knew it was Laura who tried to have me killed, didn’t you?”

The arm around her waist tightened just a little, then a little more.

She didn’t need to ask again—the answer was clear.

Petty gave a soft, humorless laugh. In the dark of the room, no one would see the tears slipping from her eyes. “You never should have saved me out there on the water.”

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