Chapter 100
Chapter 100
AARON
The silence after she walked out wasn’t just heavy.
It was a goddamn black hole.
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I stood frozen in the middle of my office, hands still braced on the edge of my desk, as if I were holding myself back from tearing the whole fucking place apart. Her scent still lingered in the air-floral, soft, haunting. The echo of her voice clung to the walls. But she was gone.
And every second that passed just tightened the noose of regret around my throat.
I replayed it. Every word. Every reaction. Every flicker of expression on her face.
She hadn’t screamed. She hadn’t fought. She hadn’t clawed back with that razor-sharp wit or that fire she wore like armor.
She had looked at me like I’d shattered something sacred.
And fuck me, maybe I had.
I turned away from the desk, pacing like a man losing his grip on something important. Because I was. I knew it in my bones. I could feel it like a tectonic shift in the ground under my feet.
Maybe she hadn’t given Dorian the contract. Maybe she didn’t even know it had gone missing. Maybe all that confusion, all that devastation in her voice when I accused her-maybe it was real.
And maybe I was too fucking damaged to see it in the moment.
I ran both hands through my hair and exhaled sharply. “Alright, Sinclair. Pull your head out of your ass p>
The damage might already be done.
But I wasn’t going to let it stay that way.
I left the office, heading straight for her room. My steps were fast, purposeful, but my gut was twisted with uncertainty. I reached her door and knocked twice.
No response.
I waited a beat longer, my chest tightening. Then I knocked again. Softer. Slower.
“Venus,” I called, voice low, cautious. “Open up. Please p>
Nothing.
A prickle of unease crept up my spine. I twisted the knob.
The door opened.
Her room was dark. Empty.
The air was still, stale-like it hadn’t been touched since she left. I stepped inside, my eyes adjusting to the dim light seeping in through the window. My heart thudded as I scanned the space.
The bed was untouched. No sign of her. But the drawers… the closet…
12:19 Mon, Jan 5 G Maj·
Chapter 100
Ransacked.
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Every compartment of her dresser was yanked open, clothes thrown out of their usual tidy arrangement. The closet doors were wide, hangers swinging from movement long past. It was like a hurricane had ripped through it.
And she was gone.
My pulse picked up. Fast. Angry.
Where the fuck did she go?
I spun on my heel and swept through the rest of the penthouse. Kitchen? Empty. Living room? Dark. Guest room? Still pristine. No trace of her.
I made my way to the key rack. Hers were gone.
Her car? Not in the garage.
I reached for my phone and opened the tracking app we both agreed to install months ago, for safety. I wasn’t proud of needing it now but this wasn’t about control. This was about her.
The blinking dot showed up in under two seconds.
Active.
Location: Her old apartment.
My jaw tensed.
She hadn’t been there in months. Not since she moved in here.
She only went there for her mom.
I stared at the address like it could offer me more than just coordinates. Like it could tell me why.
Then it hit me. Her mother-if you could call her that.
The one person she’d always run to when things got too heavy.
Even when it didn’t make sense. Even when that woman didn’t deserve it. Venus still clung to her as a comfort. A constant. A familiarity that probably helped her breathe when everything else was suffocating.
And me?
Tonight, I was the suffocation.
I rubbed the heel of my hand against my chest. The guilt sat there like a stone. I hadn’t meant to make her feel unsafe. Unseen. Unloved,
But intent didn’t erase impact.
I should’ve handled it differently. Sat her down. Asked the right questions instead of jumping to the worst conclusion. Trusted her like I swore I would.
But I didn’t.
And now she was gone.
Out in the city. Alone.
12:19 Mon, Jan 5 GM
Chapter 100
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She knew she was being stalked. I hadn’t even told her the latest discovery. Hadn’t gotten the chance to tell her about her brother. Colton Ashford.
And now she was out there, maybe not thinking straight, maybe hurting enough to not care.
Fuck.
I paced the hallway, fingers drumming restlessly against my thigh. The part of me that wanted to jump in the car and chase her down was at war with the part that knew her better.
She needed space.
She needed a moment to gather herself without my shadow looming over her.
So I took a breath.
You give her tonight, I told myself. Just tonight. If she wants space, you give it. If she wants time, you give it. But come morning, you find her. You explain. You tell her the whole goddamn truth. Not just about the contract. About Colton. About everything.
Because she needed more than apologies.
She needed to know she could trust me again.
I stood by the window as the city buzzed on below, the lights casting shadows across the floor. My reflection stared back at me-and for once I didn’t recognize the man in the glass.
He looked haunted.
And he should be.
Because if anything happened to her tonight…
There wouldn’t be a piece of me left to salvage.
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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.