love notes

chapter 16

Matthew POV

The room felt suffocatingly empty without Addy's presence, her absence a gaping hole in my heart. My mind raced with a million scenarios, each one more terrifying than the last. Who had taken her? And why? I clenched my fists, frustration boiling beneath the surface as I struggled against the restraints that bound me to the chair. The ropes dug into my skin, a painful reminder of my helplessness in the face of this nightmare. My gaze flickered to the closed door, dread coiling in the pit of my stomach as I wondered what horrors lay beyond. Every moment that passed without word from Addy felt like an eternity, each second stretching into infinity.

I cursed my own weakness, the guilt weighing heavily on my conscience. If only I had been more vigilant, more protective—maybe then I could have prevented this tragedy from unfolding.

But dwelling on the past would get me nowhere. I had to focus on the present, on finding a way to escape this hellish prison and rescue Addy from whatever fate awaited her. With a grim determination, I began to search the room for any sign of weakness, any opportunity to break free from my bonds. But the room offered no solace, no glimmer of hope—only darkness and despair. As the hours stretched on, my desperation grew, a gnawing ache in the pit of my stomach. I couldn't bear the thought of Addy suffering alone, of facing whatever horrors awaited her without me by her side.

But even in the depths of despair, a flicker of hope remained—a stubborn refusal to surrender to the darkness. No matter what obstacles stood in my way, I would find a way to save her. I owed her that much.

And so, with that resolve burning bright within me, I braced myself for the battle ahead. Addy may have been taken from me, but I refused to let her be lost forever. She was my light in the darkness, my reason to keep fighting, and I would move heaven and earth to bring her home safely.