Chapter 127
Chapter 127
AARON
Hospitals make me feel caged. The walls are too white, the lights too bright, the air too clean in a way that makes you think of endings, not healing. But this room? This was worse.
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Because Venus was in that bed, still and pale, hooked up to more wires than I could stand to look at. And no matter how many times I whispered her name, she didn’t answer.
Two days. Forty-eight hours of me sitting in this chair, gripping her hand like a lifeline, while the world outside kept spinning like nothing had happened. Gerald Marlowe was still breathing, my wife was fighting invisible demons, and I was stuck here, helpless.
I hadn’t left the room once. Didn’t eat. Didn’t sleep. The only thing keeping me upright was sheer will and hatred burning a hole in my chest.
The soft click of the door breaking the silence had me lifting my head. My mother stepped in, quiet but not tentative, tonight she looked… worn. Like my pain was her own and it was dragging her under too.
She glanced at me first, then at Venus on the bed. A shadow passed over her face before she walked in fully, placing a small bag on the table beside me.
“You need to go home, Aaron,” she said gently, pulling a chair closer to mine. “Get a shower, change your clothes, eat something that isn’t out of a vending machine. I’ll stay with her until you come back p>
I didn’t even look at her. My hand tightened on Venus’s as I muttered, “No p>
“Aaron p>
“I said no.” My voice was sharp, final, but underneath it was a tremor I couldn’t hide. I turned my head just enough to meet her gaze, my jaw set like stone. “I’m not leaving her, Mom. Not until she wakes up. Not for one damn second p>
Her lips pressed into a thin line, eyes glassy but determined. “You’re not helping her like this,” she tried again, reaching for my arm. “You can’t pour from an empty cup, sweetheart. You’re running yourself into the ground, and if she wakes up and sees you like this…” She trailed off, shaking her head. “You’ll scare her p>
A bitter laugh scraped its way out of me. “Scare her? Mom, she was buried alive for God knows how long. She begged for her life in her sleep last night.” My throat burned, my grip on Venus’s hand trembling as I forced the words out. “I think I’ve already lost the right to worry about scaring her p>
Her eyes filled, but she stayed steady, “You’re not losing her, Aaron,” she said softly, fiercely. “Not now, not
ever p>
I looked away, staring down at Venus’s hand in mine, tracing my thumb over her knuckles as if memorizing the feel of her. “I almost did,” I whispered hoarsely. “If I’d been one hour later, maybe even less…” My breath hitched, rage and grief a live wire inside me. “She’d have died in that box. And I wasn’t there to stop it p>
My mother reached up, cupping the back of my head like she used to when I was young, forcing me to meet her eyes. “Aaron Sinclair, you stop that right now,” she said sharply, voice cutting through the fog of guilt
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Chapter 127
choking me. “You got to her. You brought her home. Don’t you dare punish yourself for every second that monster stole from you both. That blame belongs to him, not you p>
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I stared at her, my jaw clenched hard enough to crack. The truth of her words didn’t make the weight in my chest any lighter. But it was something. A thread I could hold on to.
“Then don’t ask me to leave her,” I rasped, my voice cracking on the plea I couldn’t swallow. “She needs me here. When she wakes up, I need her to know I never left her again. Not once p>
Rosemary sighed, her expression softening, a quiet surrender in the curve of her shoulders. “Alright,” she murmured, brushing a stray lock of hair off my forehead. “Then I won’t ask again p>
She reached for the bag she’d brought, unpacking it-a container of homemade food, bottled water, a clean shirt. “But you are going to eat, Aaron. I don’t care how angry you are at the world right now, you’re not starving yourself while you sit vigil. She needs you strong when she wakes up p>
I opened my mouth to argue, but her glare-the same one that had shut me up my entire childhood-cut me off. She set the container on my lap, handed me a fork, and crossed her arms expectantly.
With a low curse under my breath, I dug in, mechanical bites I barely tasted. But my mother’s hand on my shoulder stayed there until the last bite was gone, and only then did she ease back, a small, sad smile tugging at her lips.
“Good boy,” she murmured, brushing her palm over my hair.
For the first time in days, my chest loosened just enough to breathe.
It happened so fast, I almost thought I imagined it.
Her fingers twitched first, small and jerky, but it was enough to make my whole body snap to attention. “Venus?” My voice was hoarse, my grip tightening, every nerve in me strung tight.
Then she made a sound, a low whimper like a wounded animal dragging itself back to life. Her eyelids fluttered before cracking open, hazy, unfocused and then everything shattered.
She bolted upright with a strangled scream, eyes wide and wild, breath sawing in and out like she couldn’t get enough air. “No-NO, don’t! Please, don’t put me back p>
My chair scraped back hard as I jumped up, hands reaching for her face, her arms, anything to anchor her. “Baby, hey-hey, it’s me, it’s Aaron. You’re safe now. I’ve got you p>
But it was like my words didn’t touch her. She thrashed weakly, her frail body shaking like a leaf in a storm, sobbing, clawing at the sheets like she was still trapped underground, still fighting for air.
“Venus,” I begged, my own voice breaking as I tried to cup her face. “Look at me, sweetheart. It’s me. I’m right here. He can’t hurt you anymore p>
She wasn’t seeing me. She wasn’t even here. Her terror was so raw, so all-consuming, it felt like she was still there, in that box, in the dark, with his hands on her.
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Chapter 127
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“No, please-I’ll behave, Gerald, I swear,” she sobbed, curling away from me, her voice a jagged whisper that stabbed straight through my ribs. “Please don’t bury me again, I don’t want to die p>
“Jesus Christ,” I choked out, my throat burning, my heart splintering in real time.
The monitor started blaring as her pulse skyrocketed, nurses flooding the room. She flinched at every hand that reached for her, crying, pleading, trying to fight them off despite how weak she was.
“Get away from her!” I roared, stepping between her and everyone else, my voice low and lethal. “She’s scared out of her mind-just give me a second p>
“She’s going into shock,” a nurse snapped, already prepping a syringe. “We need to calm her down before
she hurts herself p>
Venus’s eyes darted around the room, panicked, terrified of every shadow, every movement. “No! Please don’t touch me! Please!” Her voice broke so small I thought my chest would cave in from the sound.
I tried again, my hands cupping her face even as she trembled violently under my touch. “Baby, you’re safe,” I whispered, forehead pressing to hers, desperation clawing through every word. “I swear to you, no one’s ever putting you in the ground again. You’re mine, Venus. You’re safe p>
But she was too far gone, lost in the nightmare Gerald had carved into her mind.
The needle went in before I could stop it, her whimper slicing me open as the sedative began to work. Her sobs quieted, her thrashing slowed, but her terror didn’t fade not until her eyes found me.
And just before the drug dragged her under again, she breathed my name, broken and trembling.
“…Aaron p>
I caught her hand as it slipped from mine, pressing it to my lips, my own tears blurring everything.
I’d dug her out of a grave. But whatever Gerald Marlowe had done to her, whatever hell he’d put her through… she was still trapped there.
And until that man was in the ground where he belonged, she would never really be free.
And neither would I.
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Ruby Walker
Ruby Walker is a rising voice in the world of romance and spicy fiction. With a gift for weaving deep emotions, sizzling chemistry, and unexpected twists, her stories are a blend of passion and drama that captivate readers from start to finish. Ruby’s writing style is bold and irresistible—perfect for those who crave intense, addictive love stories.