Chapter 145
Chapter 145
VENUS
D:
61
It had been weeks since that first meeting with Colton. Weeks since the photo of a messy-haired little girl cracked something open inside me. I was still raw, still unsteady, but I wasn’t shattered anymore. The pieces were holding. Shakily, unevenly, but holding.
Life had shifted into a strange rhythm. Aaron still wouldn’t let me move an inch without at least two guards within sight, sometimes four, if he was in one of his more paranoid moods. Gerald was still out there, a shadow in every quiet corner. It unsettled me, yes. But I couldn’t live in fear forever. I refused to.
So I walked the gardens when the sun was soft. I went to therapy twice a week. And always—always-Aaron was there. Protective. Unyielding. Steady. My shadow, my anchor.
Connor had been coming home more often lately. I suspected Aaron was laying the groundwork to take back the CEO seat. And that thought made me glad.
Colton, meanwhile, had become… a presence. A steady drip of warmth I hadn’t expected to need. We didn’t rush. He didn’t push. But he looked at me like I was a star he’d found again after a long, lost night. At first it made me uncomfortable, like I didn’t deserve that kind of devotion. Slowly, though, I started to let it seep in.
I caught myself laughing more around him. Not the polite laugh you give to keep a conversation moving but the kind that startled me when it slipped out. The kind that came from somewhere deeper. It felt new. It felt old. It felt like home and foreign all at once.
But idleness had started to itch beneath my skin. Sitting still, waiting. It grated like sandpaper. Aaron tried to distract me with books, projects, dinners, but I needed more. I needed to feel like my life wasn’t on pause while the world spun on.
The only thing that soothed that restlessness was my circle-Sabine and Gianna. They were relentless in their care, orbiting around me like satellites, refusing to let me drift too far. And in turn, I found myself doing the same for them.
After weeks of gentle pushing, I finally convinced Sabine to stop postponing her clothing brand launch. She’d delayed it because of me, because she didn’t want to celebrate while I was unraveling. But I told her the truth: her light didn’t dim mine. If anything, it gave me something bright to hold onto. She caved after my third speech and a bribe of red velvet cake. Watching her sketch again, eyes glowing with that fire only passion gives, made me proud in a way words couldn’t hold.
Gianna, though…she had her own secret. One she tried desperately to hide. But Sabine and I? We were wolves. We smelled blood in the water weeks before she finally broke.
I remember London, with little barbs. Her and Lucien, circling like rival monarchs forced into the same court. One afternoon I walked in just as Lucien said, ‘deadpan:
“You can’t wear chartreuse. You’d offend the color p>
Gianna shot back without missing a beat: “Bold, coming from someone who smells like overpriced cynicism p>
Lucien’s brow arched, bored and lethal. “At least it’s not desperation and hairspray p>
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Exhausting. And wildly entertaining.
“Are you two sure you don’t just want to make out and get it over with?” I asked, sipping tea like the chaos didn’t scorch the air.
The glares they gave me could have curdled milk. Sabine clapped like it was opening night at the opera. “God, I love hate chemistry p>
By the end of the week, it became a betting game. Who would land the first insult? Would Lucien savage her perfume collection, or would Gianna eviscerate his tragic lack of joy? Sabine and I made charts. Actual charts.
So when Gianna finally dropped the bomb-cheeks flushed, lips bitten raw, eyes wide-we didn’t even let her finish.
Sabine screamed. I shrieked. And then we were on her in an instant, shaking her shoulders, peppering her with questions like schoolgirls.
“Finally!” I laughed so hard I nearly cried. “You’re so predictable p>
Gianna groaned into her hands. “You’re insufferable. Both of you p>
“No, darling,” Sabine purred. “We’re prophets p>
The teasing didn’t stop there. Sabine and I clinked glasses in celebration, crowning Lucien as her match made in sarcastic heaven. I couldn’t stop smiling, watching her fidget, watching her try to mask her joy under that cool veneer. She deserved this, someone who matched her fire with equal flame.
Through all of it-the chaos of revelations, therapy breakthroughs, friends tangled in romance-I couldn’t deny the truth: I was happy. Not whole. Not healed. But happy, in sparks that burned brighter each day.
And yet, a restlessness still simmered beneath my skin. I was tired of being porcelain wrapped in bubble wrap. Life was moving forward-Colton piecing himself into my days, Sabine launching her dreams, Gianna falling in love—but me? I was just… waiting.
Waiting for danger to pass. Waiting for Gerald to be caught. Waiting for my memories to either return or stay gone. Waiting for permission to breathe.
One night, I lay awake in Aaron’s arms, his chest rising steady beneath my cheek. His hand drifted through my hair, lazy strokes down my spine. He thought I was asleep, but I wasn’t. My eyes were wide open in the dark.
“Tell me something,” I whispered.
His hum was deep, a vibration against my skin. “What, princess p>
“Do you think I’m wasting away here? Doing nothing p>
His hand stilled. Silence pressed in. Then his voice-low, controlled: “You’re healing p>
I pulled back to look at him. Even in the dim light, his eyes burned. “Healing doesn’t mean I stop living. I feel like I’m dragging you back with me-wasting you too p>
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Chapter 145
แค
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His jaw tightened. “It means you stop throwing yourself into the line of fire. And no, you’re not. I’m here because I want to be p>
My heart thudded. “So what? We just sit here while everyone else lives their lives p>
He rolled me onto my back, bracing over me, gaze pinning me to the sheets. “You don’t sit. You breathe. You laugh. You take back pieces of yourself. And when you’re ready-when I know this world can’t touch you- then-” His lips brushed my temple, hot and fierce. “Then you’ll burn again. And I’ll be right here, making sure no one puts out the flame p>
My breath caught. His words weren’t soft, they were edged, demanding, possessive. But God, they lit something inside me. I hated that he was right. I loved that he cared enough to be brutal with me.
Maybe that was the aftershock of it all: family, friends, brother, lover-I was learning to let people hold me. To hold myself.
But underneath it, pulsing and insistent, the restlessness remained.
Something had to give. And soon.
“But what about you?” I whispered. “You can’t stay glued to me forever p>
“Watch me,” he smirked.
“Aaron,” I scolded.
“Fine,” he relented, eyes glinting. “I’m planning to take back the CEO chair soon. I’ve been gathering more dirt on Dorian, Caroline, Richard p>
Hope bloomed. “That means I can come back to work too p>
“Venus p>
“Please p>
He sighed, lips twitching. “Fine p>
I lit up instantly.
“So…” I grinned. “What’s the plan p>
20:34 Wed, Jan 14
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.