Secret Billionaire’s Contract Bride: Marrying My Enemy’s Lover

Chapter 44

“I’m sorry.”

My continued whispered apologies meant nothing to the dark purple splotches blooming across her bare back but I said them anyway.

I brushed her hair away from her shaking shoulders, kneeling on the floor of the bathroom as the soapy bathwater spilled over the edge of the tub and onto my pants. I didn’t care one bit. I only saw how much she was still trembling.

Her whole body shook like a leaf in a windstorm even as we were miles away from where I’d left him, unconscious and bleeding on the floor of her old apartment.

“I don’t want to go back.” was the only thing she had whispered to me when we got home. Her voice was hoarse from the tears she had run out of hours ago.

“Okay.” I agreed, easily. I never would’ve let her anyway. “I’ll hire someone to get your stuff out, move everything over here. Okay, baby?”

She nodded, silent as a mouse, and didn’t speak another word.

I dipped my hand into the warm water, washing her back. The bruises against her pale skin were a reminder of the violence he had used against her. Her wrists were the same color, and I carefully parted her hair, avoiding the massive lump on the

back of her head.

The pinkish water was warm, but it wouldn’t be for much longer.

I was lucky Mrs. Rivas was a retired nurse. She’d been shocked to be called out of bed this late at night, but there wasn’t any choice.

She assured me that Addie was okay, just a mild concussion. Her nose wasn’t broken, but I was still careful not to splash any water around her face.

She’d insisted on me staying with her for her bath, and despite my reservations, I could never deny her anything she wanted. On some level, it felt good to be needed by her but not like this.

Never like this.

The scene of what had happened lingered in my mind, an ever-reminder of how late I almost was. If I hadn’t gotten there in time…

I wanted to kill him.

I wanted to pound my fists into his face until he didn’t have a face left. Until there was nothing left of him but dust.

He deserved the worst, and I was going to do whatever I had to do to make sure he got it.

I nearly did. Until I heard her soft sobs through my bloody fists, my pounding fury, and my reckless hatred for my brother. Never before had I wanted someone dead but Ashton…..

I wouldn’t have lost a wink of sleep over him.

But Addie came first. She always came first.

I poured the strawberry-scented shampoo into my hands, rubbing it into her hair in soft circles. She leaned her head back, allowing me better access to her hair. I was gentle, especially around the large lump.

“Okay, dip your head for me,” I told her gently, as soft as I could be. She scooted forward in the tub, laying back until her hair was under the water. As I rinsed it out, I glanced at her face.

closed, and if it wasn’t for the violently blue bruise around her nose, I could almost assume it had never happened. Her arms were wrapped around herself tightly, still curled up like she

hellhole.

head out of the tub. “Better get out before the water gets cold.”

nodded obediently, letting me help her out of the tub, dry her off, and get her into the

she didn’t say

dress in pajamas, not as I begged her to eat a few bites of Mrs. Rivas’s dinner, not even as I took her outside to sit by

in the cool water as I held her hand tightly, holding her close to me. The smell of the warm tea Mrs. Rivas had brewed for us was nice company but there was still a distance

confessed, staring up at the stars above us. “If I had never…I didn’t mean anything that I said when I

There was no answer, but I could feel the

remember when we first met?” I

my skin, barely audible. “You threw ice

remembering the memory. “Only after you punched me in the

the

down at her. Even tucked to my side and buried in my

I was talking about, though.” I said, my heart thumping as I gazed back up at the sky. I could see the constellations easily this far away from the

lips as she gazed at

could only see the little girl with bright eyes who’d stolen my heart and never

her cheek, letting the

long time ago, before we were in school together,” I whispered to her. “My father had hit me again, and I’d run away into the gardens. You snuck over the

don’t remember that,” she

concerned about me after my mom died. I’ll never forget what you did for me

did I do?”

me a

“Magic?”

nose wrinkled up as she sent me a disbelieving glance, “There’s no

taught me a real spell,” I told her

challenged, that fiery glint

the smile off my face if I wanted

nose. I pressed my forehead

pain, go away.”

eyes, smiling brightly at

at me in shock. She brushed her hand across

whispered. “In the gardens? I thought it

were the light that gave me a reason to keep moving forward. I’m sorry for being an *sshole to you when we

More beautiful than the moon and the

a kiss to her palm and waiting patiently for her answer.

had to wait so long for me,” Addie murmured.

words spoken between us. We didn’t need them. There were no doubts left. She was mine, and I was

years of being in love with her one-sidedly, I finally knew

apart,

we going to do about Corinna and…” she shuddered before saying, “Ashton? This whole thing

sighed. I knew she was right.

priority.” I told her firmly. “But I will speak to my father in the morning to see what can