Contract Marriage with My CEO Boss

Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Kylan was quiet for a while, his hand clenching around hers a bit harder than before. She didn't push him to speak. If he wanted to, he would. If he didn't, she would respect that

"Marseille. It's a port city. She lived there until she was nearly an adult but didn't want to end up there. She always longed for the states, from the tone she was just a girl. She often talked about how she felt like the ocean would look different from here." Kylan spoke softly, timidly, and he kept his eyes on the sand they walked over She willed the surprise to stay off her face, her heart rate increasing senfold. Kylan was talking about his mother, something she never thought he would do like this. She suddenly wanted nothing more than for him to feel both comfortable and safe while talking to her. With the thumb that closed around his hand, she began to draw gentle circles into his palm, recalling how it seemed to subdue him the other times she had done it. She noticed his shoulders seemed to fall slightly, and she continued the motions on his hand. I can imagine how much she loved Rhode Island, then she mused quietly.

The faintest smile graced Kylan's lips, and she watched as he seemed to be called far away again, though his hand remained in hers. "She clad love at 1 didn't. We didn't have much My father, for only the base sake of the word, abandoned my mother when she became pregnant with me. She was young. far too young to be bringing a child into the world, realistically. She was seventeen when she got pregnant with me, and only eighteen when she gave birth." He took a deep breath, seeming to fold in on himself slightly. She only held his hand tighter, continuing to circle her thumb over

his skin

"That must have been unbearably difficult for her. I can't imagine the fear and uncertainty she was probably feeling. Her voice was a mere whisper floating over the sounds of the nearby ocean

It was difficult for her, yeah. She tried to hold down several different jobs. She even attempted college a few times. But ultimately, she found what worked. What sold. She was never the same after all of that, not as I grew up watching her lose more bits and pieces of what made her the mother I knew. I'll never forgive myself for not being able to protect her from that world." Kylan's voice became strained the more he spoke, his grip on her hand becoming more or less a vice. Her heart seized in her chest, her face falling as she stared at Kylan. He looked broken, for lack of a better word. She vaguely ever openly talked about his mother like this with anyone.

Kylan

wondered if Kylan had

You were a child. A child who didn't understand the ways of the world, or why she chose to do what she did. But I can almost guarantee that she only did what she felt she had to, in order to keep you alive and fed." She stopped walking, instead facing Kylan now. He

along his wind-kissed cheeks. "Rylan, give yourself enough grace to recognize your place in your mother's story." She leaned up on the tips

in a breath of air, and she heard it caught in his throat, Suddenly, his arms were around her and he was holding her closer than he ever

overwhelmed her. Kylan didn't look like he could

beautiful day. Kylan. I had a wonderful time with you."

with things she didn't think he knew how to say aloud. But she watched as they softened a fraction while he looked at her. "We should go eat dinner and get to bed," he murmured. She nodded her head against his.

it wasn't lost on her the way Rylan's own thumb

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shower, she sat in front of the roaring fire in her suite, nursing a cup of hot chocolate that Kylan had already scoffed

had showered after she, a fresh pair of black sweatpants resting on his hips, his shirt long forgotten. He was back to wearing his glasses, the lenses coming

people drink hot chocolate," she reminded him yet

a joke

Tea is relined and sophisticated.

is for children.