Chapter 229
CMWMBB 31
AARON
For a heartbeat, I couldn’t move.
She was shaking in my arms-my Venus, my firestorm, my impossible woman-and yet the moment her body collapsed against mine, something primal surged through me. Not anger. Not confusion. Just the instinctive, bone-deep need to keep her standing.
I tightened my hold.
“Venus-hey-sweetheart, I’ve got you p>
But the second my hands settled on her, she jerked.
Like I burned her.
Like my arms were knives and she’d rather fall than let me steady her.
She shoved at my chest with clumsy, drunken force, stumbling so hard her knees buckled.
“Don’t-” Her breath hitched, half sob, half slur. “Don’t touch me p>
My heart didn’t just drop.
It crumbled.
“Venus-hey-slow down,” I murmured, trying again.
Mistake.
Again she slapped my hands away as if they offended her.
She staggered sideways into a tall ceramic vase. The thing wobbled, toppled, and shattered against the tiles in a violent spray of fragments.
Her breathing was ragged.
Mine stopped completely.
“Don’t touch me!” she snapped, voice splintering through the cold night.
Something inside me twisted-slow, ugly, and disbelieving.
“Venus,” I said softly, forcing calm into the chaos in my chest. “Talk to me. What happened? Where did you go p>
She lifted her face.
And I swear to God, I’d rather take a bullet to the sternum again than see that expression on her.
Hollow.
Haunted.
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Empty.
Like somebody had scooped out the woman I loved and left a trembling shadow in her place.
She looked straight into me-right into the marrow–and whispered, clear as ice:
“Maybe I shouldn’t have married you p>
I didn’t react at first.
I couldn’t.
No part of me knew how to register those words. They didn’t fit her voice. They didn’t fit our marriage. They didn’t belong anywhere in this reality.
My lips parted, but nothing came out.
Then the words sank in.
Not like a punch.
Like a blade hammered straight between the ribs.
“Venus…” My voice cracked. “You’re drunk. You don’t mean that p>
But she wasn’t finished.
Of course she wasn’t.
Whatever darkness had a hold on her wanted to drive the knife deeper.
“It’s all your fault,” she said, dragging her hands through her tangled hair. “She’s gone. Because of you. Only your fault p>
My lungs seized.
“Iris-? Angel, what are you talking about? That’s not p>
“Sometimes,” she whispered, “sometimes I think I’d be happier if you weren’t around. You suffocate everything p>
Everything stilled.
Every instinct.
Every thought.
Every defense I’d ever built.
She had never-
Not once-
Not even when life dragged her through hell-
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spoken to me like that.
This wasn’t her.
This wasn’t my wife.
My partner.
My Venus.
This was someone drowning in something I couldn’t see or reach.
She swayed again.
Then laughed-broken, cracked, wrong.
Then choked on a sob.
And even after every knife she had shoved between my ribs-
I still caught her before she hit the ground.
I gathered her gently, carefully, holding her like she was made of glass. Her head dropped against my shoulder, her tears warm on my collar.
God.
I would’ve carried her through fire.
Even now.
Especially now.
I wiped her face with my thumb.
“Let’s go to the room, sweetheart,” I whispered. “You’re freezing p>
This time, she didn’t fight.
Not physically.
Her body sagged-heavy, exhausted—but her words were still cutting through me like she meant every syllable.
Footsteps echoed behind us.
The shattered vase must’ve woken the house.
Rosemary’s sharp gasp cut the air.
Silas murmured something calm, something useless, trying to soothe her.
I ignored them completely.
Venus was all I saw.
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All I cared about.
All I ever would.
She sagged again, and I adjusted my grip-keeping her close, keeping her safe, even though I was bleeding out internally.
“Sweetheart?” I cupped her cheek. She flinched. “You don’t mean that. You’d never say those things p>
She didn’t answer.
Her eyes were glassy. Her lashes wet. Her mouth trembling like she was fighting something too big for words.
“Aaron?” Rosemary tried. “What on earth p>
“Not now,” I said without looking at her.
My voice came out low. Controlled, but frayed at the edges.
Because something inside me was shaking, and if anyone touched the wrong part of my restraint, I’d snap.
An engine rumbled up the drive.
Headlights swept across the house.
Connor’s SUV came skidding to a stop just as I stepped off the porch with Venus in my arms.
He jumped out immediately.
“Jesus Christ,” he muttered, taking in the scene. “What the hell happened? Why is she p>
“I don’t know,” I said, voice tight and thin. “She drugged me. Then she disappeared. Now she’s like this p>
Connor’s face flickered through confusion, alarm, fury.
“Forced drunk or did she do this to herself?” he asked quietly.
I looked down at her.
Cheeks flushed.
Pupils blown.
Speech frayed beyond recognition.
Voluntary.
And that terrified me more than anything.
“She did it to herself,” I whispered.
Venus stirred in my arms, a small whimper escaping her-fragile and lost.
Her fingers curled weakly against my shirt.
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CMWMBB 31
But she still wouldn’t look at me.
As if seeing me hurt.
Or as if she believed she was supposed to hurt me.
Cold air sliced through her bare legs. I tightened my grip.
“We’re going inside,” I said.
Connor took a step toward us. “Aaron p>
“I said we’re going inside,” I repeated, steel slipping into my voice. “She’s freezing p>
I didn’t wait for him.
Didn’t wait for explanations or theories or comfort.
I carried her-slow, steady-into the house, refusing to let her fall again.
The bedroom light was soft, warm, quiet-the complete opposite of the chaos tearing through me.
I laid her gently on the bed.
She immediately curled onto her side, pulling her knees up as though protecting herself.
I knelt beside her.
Brushed the hair from her face.
“Why did you drink like this?” I whispered, voice breaking. “You never do this. Not ever. Why now? Why tonight? What happened to you p>
No answer.
Her breathing slowed.
Her lashes fluttered.
Sleep dragged at her like a tide.
I pulled the blanket over her, hands trembling.
“Venus.” I touched her cheek-a whisper of contact. “Look at me p>
Her eyes cracked open.
Barely.
Unfocused.
But she heard me.
“I love you,” I murmured. “Whatever this is… we’ll fix it. Tomorrow. Just talk to me. Please p>
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Her lips parted.
Her breath hitched.
And then-
Barely a mumble, slurred and drifting on the edge of unconsciousness:
“You ruin everything… Aaron p>
My fingers froze where they rested against her cheek.
She slipped fully under-breathing slow, soft, peaceful.
Unaware of the wreckage she left behind.
Connor appeared in the doorway.
“Aaron,” he whispered, voice thick. “What the hell happened p>
I didn’t look at him.
Couldn’t.
I just watched the steady rise and fall of her breathing.
The way her hand twitched in sleep.
The dried tear tracks on her skin.
Very quietly, like the truth itself hurt:
“I don’t know, Connor,” I murmured.
“I don’t know why she needed me unconscious p>
“I don’t know where she went p>
“I don’t know why she came back like this p>
“And I don’t know why she looked me in the eye and said those things p>
Then another thought stabbed through me.
“She started acting strange after the hospital,” I whispered. “Staring at her phone for hours. Deflecting when I asked p>
My chest tightened. “Her phone. Where’s her phone p>
I spotted her clutch on the floor.
Picked it up.
Found her phone inside.
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I unlocked it-no suspicion, just desperation.
Nothing.
No strange numbers.
No warnings.
No calls.
A clean slate.
Too clean.
“I need to know where she went after she drugged me,” I said, rising to my feet. “The car she took has a tracker. Tell Rick to pull the history p>
Connor nodded. “Did she drive back herself p>
“I don’t know. I only saw her when she staggered onto the porch p>
He left the room without another word.
I remained.
Watching her sleep.
Watching the woman who loved me yesterday and destroyed me tonight.
“What are you hiding, sweetheart?” I whispered into the quiet.
“Is it Iris? Is it something worse? What did you walk into alone p>
Whatever it was-
I was going to uncover it.
And I was going to bring our daughter home.
No matter what it cost.
D
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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.