CHAPTER 53
BELLA'S POV
Kaden seized my arm and yanked me to my feet. I stumbled, struggling to balance myself with my hands still bound tightly behind my back, the unbearable discomfort making it nearly impossible. I jerked back instinctively, repulsed by the very thought of his touch.
He sighed, and for a fleeting moment, I noticed how his face had changed, subtly but still different. He looked handsome, not that it was anything new. I loathed myself for even acknowledging it.
There was something else in his gaze, something buried beneath the smug expression on his face. It was almost as if he wanted to say something but held himself back.
"What do you want from me, Kaden?" I asked, my voice laced with contempt.
There it was again—that insufferable smirk, a glimpse of the vile natu
