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.

it wasn’t for the violently blue bruise around her nose, I could almost assume it had never

hellhole.

clean now,” I told her gently as she raised her head out of the tub.

letting me help her out of the tub, dry her off, and

she didn’t say

dress in pajamas, not as I begged her to eat a few bites of Mrs.

the edge of the pool, our feet 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 between us I couldn’t

at the stars above us. “If I had never…I didn’t mean anything that I said when I was drunk.”

There was no answer, but I could feel the

you remember when we first met?” I

into my skin, barely audible. “You threw ice cream

after you

the black crayon.”

Even tucked to my side and buried in my

sky. I could see the constellations easily this far

lips

with bright eyes who’d stolen my heart and never given

caressed her cheek, letting the memory come to

in school together,” I whispered to her. “My father had hit me again, and I’d run away

remember that,”

smiled, “It was the first time someone was concerned about me after my mom died. I’ll never forget what you did for me

did I do?” she

me a

“Magic?”

sent me a disbelieving glance, “There’s no such

real spell,” I told her with a

that fiery

wipe the smile off my face if I

pressing a soft and tender kiss to the tip of her nose. I pressed my forehead against hers, closing my eyes as I wished with all my

go away.”

eyes, smiling brightly at

brushed her hand across my cheek, a look of awe

was you?” she whispered. “In the gardens? I thought it

loved you since that day.” I confessed, bearing my heart open for her. “More and more every day. You were the light that gave me a reason to keep moving forward.

at me with shiny eyes. More beautiful than the moon and the

kiss to her palm and waiting

to wait so long for me,” Addie murmured. “You’re already forgiven.

moonlight, our lips met with no other words spoken between us. We didn’t need them. There were no doubts left. She was mine, and I was hers. Forever.

in love with her one-sidedly, I finally knew she

we broke apart, Adelaide frowned.

and…” she shuddered before saying, “Ashton? This

knew she was right.

firmly. “But I will speak to my father in the morning to see