Chapter 220
CMWMPB 22
+25 Bonus
CMWMBB 22
VENUS
The world wouldn’t stop tilting.
Maybe it was the sedative wearing off.
Maybe it was the adrenaline spike from confronting Gerald.
Maybe it was the weight of knowing my baby-my baby-was still missing.
Or maybe it was all of it.
But I kept walking anyway.
Dorian hovered beside me as we climbed the last few steps toward Rosemary’s front porch. He kept glancing at me like he expected me to crumble, faint, or evaporate entirely. Normally I’d snap at him for the hovering, but today… I was too tired to pretend I didn’t need it.
My legs felt like wet paper.
My ribs ached with every breath.
My hand throbbed under the hospital bandage.
And yet I couldn’t stop moving. Because stopping meant thinking. And thinking meant remembering. And remembering meant drowning.
I couldn’t drown.
Not now.
Not until Iris was in my arms and alive.
We’d just stepped into the foyer-warm, quiet, smelling faintly of rosemary and honey-when a sound from outside punched through the stillness.
A crack of metal.
A raised voice.
Then another.
Dorian’s head snapped toward the door. “What the hell p>
But I was already turning around.
Already moving and knowing.
Because I’d heard that voice so many times-angry, fierce, protective, breaking on the edges of love.
Aaron.
We stepped back outside.
1/5
CMWMBB 22
Cold air slapped my face.
Wind tugged at my hair.
And there they were.
Aaron.
+25 Bonus
And Richard Sinclair.
Aaron had him slammed so hard against the car the entire frame shook. His fist was twisted in Richard’s collar, knuckles white, jaw locked in an expression that was half-feral, half-devastated.
Richard’s face was red and bruised, his silver hair mussed from the impact.
And my husband-
Looked like a storm given bones.
“Where the hell is Iris?” Aaron roared, his voice ripping through the air.
Richard tried to speak but Aaron shoved him again, the metal groaning under the hit.
Dorian cursed under his breath. “Shit-he’s going to put him through the windshield p>
“Aaron!” I called, my voice scraping.
He didn’t hear me.
Or maybe the rage had drowned everything else out.
He slammed Richard again, venom ripping through every word.
“WHAT DID YOU DO WITH HER p>
“Aaron!” I tried again, louder this time, stumbling forward.
This time-finally-he turned.
His eyes locked onto mine.
Wild. Dark. Terrified. Relieved. All at once.
For a split second, he froze.
And then-he shoved his father again.
“AARON STOP!” My voice cracked. “STOP p>
He didn’t.
He was too far gone, too raw, too scared.
I grabbed Dorian’s arm. “Get him off p>
2/5
CMWMBB 22
+25 Bonus
Dorian didn’t hesitate.
He sprinted forward and wrapped both arms around Aaron’s shoulders, yanking him back with all the force he
had.
The car let out another metallic groan as Richard sagged against it, sucking in air.
Aaron snarled, fighting against Dorian’s hold, muscles rigid, chest heaving like he was burning alive from the inside out.
“You disappear for years,” Aaron spat at his father, twisting against Dorian’s grip, “and the moment my wife steps foot inside a federal detention center you conveniently appear in the parking lot? With your engine still running? Waiting p>
Richard wiped blood from his lip with shaking fingers. “I wasn’t following her. I was called p>
Aaron stilled enough to glare. “By who p>
Richard swallowed.
He didn’t answer.
Not fast enough.
And that told me something.
Something important.
“Aaron…” My voice was soft, too soft, but somehow it cut through the chaos.
He turned toward me again, breathing hard, chest moving in sharp, violent rises.
He looked at me like I was the only thing tethering him to the earth.
“Aaron,” I whispered, “he’s telling the truth p>
He stiffened.
Hard.
“You believe him?” The betrayal in his voice sliced me. “After everything? Venus, don’t you remember what Caroline did to you? What they did to both of us p>
Of course I remembered.
That memory was carved into bone.
“I know,” I whispered. “But he’s not lying. Somebody did text him. I saw the timestamps when I took his phone p>
Aaron’s expression changed-shock, then fury, then something colder under the surface.
A protective instinct so fierce it could kill.
I opened my mouth to say more-
3/5
CMWMBB 22
+25 Bonus
But the world spun beneath me.
Just a slow tilt.
Then another.
My vision fuzzed at the edges, black creeping inward like spilled ink.
I felt my knees buckle.
“Aaron-“I grabbed the air, but it slipped through my fingers.
He was there before I hit the ground.
His arms wrapped around me, lifting me, holding me, lowering me gently against his chest as if my bones were glass. His voice was suddenly right by my ear, rough but terrified.
“Venus. Baby. Look at me p>
I tried.
I really did.
But everything wavered.
“Why did you go there alone?” His voice cracked-not with anger, but with agony. “Do you know how worried I was p>
I swallowed hard. “You… weren’t there p>
“Don’t,” he breathed. “Don’t do that. Don’t make it sound like I wouldn’t have walked through fire for you p>
His hand cupped the back of my head, thumb brushing the edge of the bandage.
“You disappeared,” he whispered, “and I thought-God, Venus, I thought I lost you too.” 1
His words hurt.
Because I had left.
I had walked out.
Broken, desperate, frantic and barely conscious.
Looking for answers in the wrong place.
It was stupid.
Even now, even through the fog, shame pressed against my ribs.
“I just needed…” I breathed. “I needed to know p>
He closed his eyes.
That was when Rosemary stepped out of the house.
4/5
CMWMBB 22
+25 Bonus
She froze on the porch, one hand flying to her mouth.
“What on earth-” Her gaze dropped to Richard’s bruised face. “Oh my God p>
Before she could reach us, Dorian stepped forward and raised a hand.
“I need everyone to calm down p>
His voice was steady, but his eyes were darting between me, Aaron, and the man bleeding against the car.
“I know everyone is scared. I know we’re all thinking the worst.” He looked directly at Aaron. “But we need to hear what he has to say p>
The air tightened-stretched taut like a wire.
Aaron didn’t move.
Didn’t breathe.
Didn’t blink.
He just held me against him, one hand on my waist, the other bracing my cheek, like letting go wasn’t an option.
Dorian continued.
“He received a message,” he said. “Not just coordinates. A warning. A location. A time.” He exhaled slowly.” And it wasn’t sent from anyone we know p>
My heart dropped.
Cold swept my skin.
I felt my fingers tremble against Aaron’s shirt.
The confrontation with Gerald had proven futile.
And now we had no lead-
memory of what Gerald said earlier surfaced.
hink I know who took Iris.
guess the visit wasn’t futile after all.
COIN BUNDLE: get more free bonus
Comments
ப
Support
Share
X
GET IT
3561-5/5
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.