Married To My Billionaire Stepbrother

Chapter 202: His Way Of Comforting

Once Natalie was calm, Justin finally moved as he loosened his grip around her. He didn’t say a word and stepped out of the bed, only to get the water for her.

He sat next to her with the glass in his hand, but she didn’t react and continued to sit with her head lowered and her eyes closed. Her long hair covered the sides of her face.

Justin held her hands and made her hold the glass and moved it towards her mouth. She finally reacted, drinking the water in small sips. When she finished, he set the glass aside, picked up a hairband from the nightstand, and turned back to her.

He said no words and started fixing her messy hair with gentle caress of his long fingers, as if coaxing a child. Once her face was clear from all the hair strands around, he tied them at the back of her neck using the headband.

Natalie stayed silent, her head lowered, her lowered gaze looking at nothing in particular. Her eyelashes wet, her cheeks had the faint traces of tears on them.

Justin stood up and went to the bathroom, returning with a soft, damp napkin. He sat beside her once more, dabbing her face gently, wiping away the remnants of tears.

When he was done, he finally spoke. "Are you feeling better now?"

She nodded slightly, still not meeting his gaze. She hadn’t expected him to see her this way, vulnerable and shaken. She braced herself, thinking he might ask about her nightmare, the cause of her distress, but instead...

"Do you want to eat something?" he asked gently.

Surprised, she looked up, her swollen eyes meeting his, trying to understand what he was thinking.

composed demeanor. "I saw

He was coaxing her gently, avoiding questions, so she decided to go along with it,

here, or maybe outside on the deck?" he asked, then added, "The night air has a pleasant chill—winter’s on the way. You might enjoy it more

She nodded again.

the deck. "Wait here," he said softly, before disappearing to get the ice cream for

to let her be alone and brought the entire tub

what must she be thinking about. There were so many questions he wanted to ask, but seeing her so affected, he

would find out and punish the ones who must have hurt her. Whoever it is, they would regret being

he set aside his anger and maintained a calm expression. He placed the ice cream tub on the table and said,

standing beside a chair he’d pulled out for her at the small coffee table on

her a moment alone on the deck, he allowed her the space to calm herself and gather her thoughts in the gentle breeze. It was his quiet way of caring for her, of understanding

he

the railing, staring

too long, this ice cream might start melting," he teased, snapping her

and moved to sit down, hearing him add, "Even if it melts, I

next to her, his gaze fixed on the sky, giving her space to

few bites, she asked, "Aren’t you going to try a little?" She knew he rarely ate sweets, especially ice cream, even when

a bit of ice