You Hit My Heart by Kylie Stanford

Chapter 2066: Almost Killed Her by Mistake An apartment in a remote area of Eastern Capital.

Darrin was trying to contact the outside world, but he found that all satellite channels had been blocked. Even the encrypted satellite phone channels he used before were all jammed. The streets outside were on high alert, with armored vehicles patrolling. He guessed the emperor must have died, and civil war had already begun. This was worse than he had anticipated.

Now, the only way left was to send a coded message, but he dared not try it lightly. If Rohomes intercepted the signal, he would be exposed. Moreover, he had not yet found the whereabouts of the young marshal. Extrmeasures could only be used for critical information. All exit routes were sealed; they were trapped here.

His thoughts were chaotic.

Suddenly, Darrin sensed something wrong. The faint sound of footsteps, very light, but he could feel it. Someone was approaching his apartment.

He checked the time; it was midnight, and this was a secret contact point that no outsider should know about. Other military personnel had already gradually withdrawn from Rohomes before the internal conflict began; it was impossible for them to clooking for him now.

Who could it be? The visitor must have ill intentions.

He got up, fully alert, and quietly approached the door. He listened carefully; the intruder used special tools and placed a decoder on the electronic keypad outside the door. After a few seconds, his door was pulled open from the outside, initially just a crack, then a shadow slipped inside.

Darrin hid behind the door and took only a second to subdue the intruder. His hand gripped the person's throat tightly, cutting off their air supply. Being in a foreign country, in the dead of night, with someone breaking in, Darrin naturally didn't hold back and used lethal force.

Another half-minute of choking would surely result in death.

Darrin felt the person struggle a few times before being subdued in front of him. He could feel the intruder's height and body shape, including the width of their neck-it was clearly a woman. Although he couldn't see her face in the dark, there was a familiar scent on her that seemed recognizable.

The woman made a distressed whimpering sound and gradually stopped struggling. The voice also seemed familiar.

Darrin was puzzled and used his shoulder to gently nudge on the hallway light switch. As dim light filled the room, he finally saw who it was-Grizela.

He was shocked and quickly released his grip.

Grizela almost fainted from being choked and now lay weakly in his arms.

"Grizela? Why are you here?" Darrin never expected it to be her.

Damn it, he had used too much force. Seeing Grizela's flushed cheeks and struggling breath as she was about to pass out, he instinctively leaned down to give her mouth-to-mouth resuscitation-the quickest way to wake her up.

After one breath, Darrin took another deep breath and covered her lips again for a longer breath.

Grizela finally regained consciousness and took a deep breath.

As she cto her senses and felt something wet on her lips, realizing what had happened, she slapped him without thinking. "Pervert," she scolded.

Darrin didn't dodge but complained, "You cinto my room in the middle of the night; I was just protecting myself. How could I know it was you? It was dangerous; I almost killed you by mistake. How could you recklessly barge in like this?" "You seemed out of breath just now; I just..." He stammered.

He almost killed whoever entered without knowing their identity. Luckily he recognized something familiar and checked first. Now he felt scared after realizing what could have happened.

"If I didn't cin like this, should I shout your nat the door? Do you want everyone to know you're here?" Grizela touched her neck angrily. "You attackedand took advantage of me; if that's not being a pervert, what is?" "I..." Darrin was at a loss for words again.

Grizela pushed him away forcefully. "Stay away from me." "My fault, I'm sorry. But how did you know I was here? Who told you?" Darrin pulled Grizela inside again after confirming the door was locked and checked around for- safety Seeing the red and purple marks on her neck made him feel more guilty; instinctively, he reached out to touch them gently?"Does it hurt? I'm sorry." "Forget it; I won't argue with you." Grizela avoided his touch. "Elder Hajfrom the Imperial Household has sconnections with the Heath family and knew we recognized each other, so heea hint to find you. Luckily we contacted earlier; if we were half a day late, we wouldn't have been able to reach anyone." Darrin paused for a moment; clearly both sides were at their wits' end using such primitive means of contact.

"So Prince Reuben will inherit the throne?" he asked.

"Of course, we have already secured the decree," Grizela replied.

"But you've seen how bad things are outside; it's not optimistic. The former crown prince won't give up easily; civil war is imminent." Darrin frowned. "Why did you risk coming here at such a time?" "I know it's not your concern now. I cto confirm something with you: Is your young marshal missing? Is Clint's woman really Joyce?" Grizela asked. "Prince Reuben is anxious to contact Joyce." Darrin looked at her for a moment.

"I wasn't sure before, but since you're asking this way, I'm more certain now. Yes, the young marshal is missing and must be in Clint's hands." "If that's true, things are more complicated," Grizela's face turned grim.

Then Grizela and Darrin exchanged information to sort out recent events clearly.

"So you don't know where Joyce is either?" Grizela concluded. "Did I chere for nothing? How will I explain this to Prince Reuben when I return?" "I have an ideą; I know there's acontact point here for our young marshal. We can try contacting them first. If he can reach out externally, those at the contact point will know." Darrin pondered aloud. "Given the chaotic situation now, we can't afford to hesitate anymore. Can you reach Prince Reuben?" "Yes," Grizela nodded.

"Good. We'll act separately and contact each other if both sides can establish communication; we'll arrange a safe meeting place." Darrin said as he walked over to look out of the window downstairs.

"The location has already been decided by Prince Reuben before I chere-a secret underground place within the Imperial Household where everyone will meet," Grizela whispered into Darrin's ear as she stood beside him and shared the address.

After speaking, she also glanced outside through the window.

"I'll leave first and wait for your group at our meeting point. Remember if you're captured-even if it costs your life-you must not reveal this secret location. Understood? I'll do likewise-I won't disclose your location even if it means my death." Darrin hesitated briefly before responding silently-thinking how unlucky it sounded for a girl always talking about life or death matters so casually.

A sliver of moonlight fell on her glistening red lips as she spoke softly but firmly-making him momentarily lose focus-recalling their earlier touch... He quickly turned away upon realizing his lapse in composure.

Finally catching himself before she left-he expressed genuine concern: "Be careful." Without turning back once more-Grizela disappeared into darkness beyond sightlines.