Please Harder, Professor

Chapter 221

Sophie’s POV

A hand on my shoulder, shaking me awake.

"Sophie. Sophie, wake up." Bellamy's voice cuts through sleep. I blink in the darkness, disoriented.

"What… what's wrong?" My voice is thick.

"We need to leave." His tone is urgent. "Now."

"Leave? What are you…"

"Get dressed. Warm clothes. We're leaving in five minutes."

He's already moving, pulling open drawers. I sit up, my mind racing even though I'm still half-asleep. The clock reads 2:47 AM.

"Bellamy, what's happening?"

"Just get dressed, Sophie. Please. We don’t have much time."

There's something in his voice I haven't heard before, not anger or frustration. Something else. Worry, maybe. Or even fear.

I stumble out of bed, pulling on the jeans and sweater I wore yesterday. My hands are shaking—from cold or adrenaline, I'm not sure.

Through the open door, I see Bellamy moving through the cabin like a hurricane. Throwing the house's belongings into bags with barely controlled urgency: clothes, food, Noah's toys.

Something bad must have happened. Some emergency. Maybe a fire warning or a flood or…

I watch as Bellamy enters Noah's room. A moment later he emerges carrying his sleeping son against his chest.

Noah doesn't wake, just shifts slightly and settles his head on his father's shoulder. The tenderness of the gesture contrasts sharply with the controlled panic in Bellamy's movements.

"Come on," he says, jerking his head toward the door. "Car. Hurry, Sophie, hurry."

I follow because what else can I do? Bellamy seems worried—genuinely, truly worried—and that scares me more than anything. Because maybe whatever's happening is dangerous for all of us.

So I don't ask any more questions, not yet, not until we're safe.

The night air is cold. I climb into the back seat while Bellamy secures Noah in his car seat without waking him. Then he's in the driver's seat, engine starting, gravel crunching under tires as we pull away from the cabin.

I watch through the rear window as the cabin disappears into the darkness.

We drive in silence for ten minutes, then fifteen. The only sound is the hum of the engine and Noah's soft breathing from his car seat beside me.

My initial panic starts to fade, replaced by something else: questions, doubts.

"Bellamy." My voice breaks the silence. "What's going on? Why did we leave like that?"

He doesn't answer. His eyes stay fixed on the road ahead, hands tight on the wheel.

"Bellamy. Talk to me. What happened?"

"It's fine," he says shortly. "Everything's fine."

"It's not fine! You woke me up in the middle of the night, threw everything in bags like the place was on fire, and now we're driving god knows where at three in the morning!"

My voice rises despite my attempt to stay calm. "What. Is. Happening?"

"Sophie, I need you to trust me."

"Trust you?" The laugh that comes out of me is slightly hysterical. "You kidnapped me. You're holding me captive. And now you want me to trust you?"

His jaw tightens but he says nothing.

Doubts creep in then, cold and insidious. This isn't about a fire or a flood or any kind of natural disaster. This is about something else. Something Bellamy doesn't want to tell me.

I press harder. "Did someone find us? Is that it? Are the police looking for the cabin?"

"No."

"Then what? What could possibly make you pack up and run in the middle of the night?"

"I said it's fine, Sophie. Everything will be fine. You have nothing to worry about."

"I have nothing to worry about? I've been kidnapped! I have a daughter at home who needs me! And a husband who’s…"

I stop mid-sentence.

Bellamy's phone, sitting in the cup holder between the front seats, has just lit up with a notification. From this angle in the back seat, I can see the screen clearly.

A text message. From a contact saved as just "M."

Groom's already on his way to rescue his princess. Got tipped off about the location. ETA 3 hours from the city. You need to move NOW.

My heart stops. Then starts again, pounding so hard I can feel it in my throat.

Groom. Princess. Location.

Adrian. Adrian found me. Adrian is coming.

I quickly put two and two together. He's found me somehow—traced the cabin, got the location, and he's on his way here right now to save me.

Three hours from the city, which means Bellamy got this text maybe an hour ago. Which means Adrian could be close, could be minutes away, could be…

"Stop the car." My voice comes out steady despite the chaos in my chest.

"Sophie, it’s not the best time."

"Stop the fucking car, Bellamy!"

I'm already moving, reaching for the door handle even though we're doing forty-five on a dark mountain road. If Adrian's coming, if he's close, I need to stay near the cabin. I need to be where he expects to find me.

"Sophie, don't!"

I yank the handle. Child lock. Of course there's a child lock.

"Let me out!" I'm screaming now, past the point of caring about waking Noah or being rational. "Let me out right now!"

Bellamy swerves to the shoulder, slamming on the brakes. The car hasn't even stopped moving before I'm trying to climb over the seat, trying to reach the front door, trying anything to get out.

"Sophie, stop! You need to calm down, it’s hard to drive like that!"

"Calm down? Adrian's coming! He found me and you're running away like a coward, like a criminal!"

I manage to get my hand on the front passenger door handle. Bellamy grabs my wrist, not hard enough to hurt but firm enough to stop me.

I bite him, sink my teeth into his hand hard enough to taste blood.

He jerks back with a curse and I lunge for the door again, fighting with everything I have. My elbow catches him in the ribs. My nails rake across his forearm as he tries to restrain me without actually hurting me.

"Sophie, please, I don't want to…"

"Let me go! Let me—"

"Daddy?" Noah's voice, small and terrified, cuts through the chaos.

I freeze. Turn to see him awake in his car seat, eyes wide with fear, tears already streaming down his face.

"Daddy, why is Miss Sophie fighting? Why are you hurting each other?"

"Noah, buddy, it's okay," Bellamy starts, but Noah is crying now, full-on sobbing, and the sound makes my chest constrict with guilt even through my own panic.

I'm scaring a child. I'm traumatizing a five-year-old because I'm fighting with his father and…

"I'm sorry," Bellamy says. His voice is quiet, sincere. "Sophie, I'm so sorry. You left me no choice."

Before I can even comprehend what he means, before I can process the apology or the resignation in his tone, a cloth is pressed against my mouth and nose from behind.

I smell it immediately. Pungent. Chemical. Wrong.

I try to hold my breath but I've already inhaled, try to pull away. But Bellamy's arm is iron across my chest, holding me back against the seat, the cloth firm over my face.

"Shh. There’s no point in fighting it. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I hope you’ll forgive me eventually. For everything." His voice sounds like it's coming from underwater.

My vision blurs at the edges. The car tilts sideways even though I know we're parked.

Noah is still crying—I can hear him through the fog creeping into my brain. I want to tell him it's okay, that everything will be okay, but my mouth won't work.

My consciousness slowly fades. Thoughts scatter like leaves in wind.

Adrian. He's coming. He's so close…

But I won't be there when he arrives.

My body goes limp. The last thing I feel is Bellamy's hand catching my head as I slump forward.

Then nothing—just darkness and the chemical smell and the distant sound of a child crying.

And then, not even that.

I fall asleep.