Wife by Day, Boss by Night by Thalia Quillspeak

Chapter 189

The last time Natalie slept over at the Morales family was a decade ago, marking the only night she had ever spent there.

Brian couldn’t quite recall what had prompted the occasion, but what stayed with him was the ferocity of that night’s thunderstorm and how Herbert had been called away on some urgent matter, leaving him and Natalie alone in the house.

Natalie was autistic, a condition that didn’t get better overnight. Her particular symptoms included a reluctance to engage with others and a fear of loud noises, remnants of which lingered into her teens.

Brian was tormented by nightmares that night. He woke in a sweat, particularly in one exceedingly damp spot. Natalie’s small, soft form was curled up in his arms, trembling.

As thunder cracked menacingly outside, Natalie clung tightly to his waist, her gentle fragrance wafting into his nose with each breath.

Brian couldn’t pinpoint when his feelings for Natalie had begun to shift, but once he became aware of them, he’d deliberately avoided close contact with her. And yet, under these circumstances, she had found her way into his bed.

The first time he kissed her was on that night, ten years prior.

quivering, she had looked up at him fearfully to see if

it as a comfort, but Brian knew

was a memory etched into

his feelings for her by applying to study abroad. He spent over

return home let him find Natalie blossoming into a stunning young woman and shook him to his core. He left the

entering high school, he steeled his heart and sent her to a boarding school, forbidding her from coming home. He thought out of sight would mean out of mind.

catch a glimpse of her once a week, often turning down social engagements and multimillion–dollar contracts unless it was an

a deep breath and sat up abruptly in

12:53

Chapter 189

soundly, and Herbert’s room across the hall

she heard the sound

the stillness of the night, the sound of the door opening was starkly clear.

recognizing the faint footsteps