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Chapter 78
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Contracted Husband Chapter 79
"Miss Ford , can you hear me?" a gentle voice asks. As the fog clears, I glance to my side and see a man wearing blue overalls."My name is Dr. Taylor," he introduces himself. The next few minutes are filled with a series of questions, but I am unsure of when sleep overtakes me once again.When I awaken once more, my heart skips a beat as I spot a familiar figure by my bedside – it’s Nathan . I question if he is merely a figment of my imagination."Nathan , is it really you?" I ask and he smiles."Yes, it’s me, my love." Memories come flooding back, including the realization of my pregnancy."Oh, my baby. Please, tell me she is okay," I implore, my hands instinctively moving to protectively cradle my belly."Yes, the baby is safe, Natalia ," Nathan assures me. Then, it strikes me that he knows about our baby. Memories come rushing back – the news of his engagement, the accident, the pain, and the fear. Panic must be evident on my face because Nathan 's eyes meet mine, and he speaks wi
Contracted Husband Chapter 80
"Why did you send me back home?" I finally ask, voicing the question that has been nagging at me since I left Miami."I overheard you telling Mildred that what we had was only work. I got scared because I love you, Natalia . The hard truth is I never stopped loving you," he says as he gently places a hand on my arm."You mean it?" I ask, hope blossoming inside me."Yes, my love. I fought hard these past few weeks, thinking you didn't love me," he says."Funny, because I also cried every day, believing you didn't love me, either." I reveal, a tear escaping my own eye.Nathan smiles and a tear slips from his eyes."I promise you; you won't have to shed a tear anymore. I'm here for you, for Goerge , and for our baby," he reassures me, and I gasp, realizing I haven’t told him everything. I glance at the two men beside me."I have to tell you everything. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about Goerge ," I say, my voice shaky but determined. His gaze never wavers from mine."You don't have to exp
Contracted Husband Chapter 81
My heart swells as I stare at him. There is no other response to give the love of my life because I can't imagine life without him either."Yes, Nathan . I'll marry you," I say, a smile spreading across my face. He slips the ring onto my finger and leans down to kiss me passionately. In this beautiful moment, I’m barely aware of Aunt Mary Ann's excitement or our son grinning at me. Everything else blurs as I bask in the joy of this perfect moment.EPILOGUENatalia As I stand at the altar, arm linked with Goerge 's, rush of emotions overwhelms me. My fingers tremble, clutching my bouquet tightly, as my gaze remains fixed on the man who holds my heart, Nathan .Bekah 'swarm smile from the front row brings me comfort, and I exchange a reassuring glance with Aunt Mary Ann. Standing beside Goerge is my uncle, both of them wearing smiles that radiates happiness for Nathan and me. This is the day I've long awaited, and it’s surreal to see my dreams becoming a reality.I can’t forget Matilda
Contracted Husband Chapter 82
Natalia Love is the deadliest weapon.It’s sharper than a sword. More precise than a sniper’s rifle. It takes without discrimination of age, gender, or race.If you’re human, you’re defenseless. There is no barrier that can stop it. Once you’ve looked into its shadowed eyes, there’s nothing you can do to arm yourself against something so powerful.My father warned me about love. “Keep your head down,” he always said. “Stay focused on what’s in front of you.”He told me love would only bring me betrayal and deception and pain. That loving someone would put me in a vulnerable place. That it was like handing someone a loaded gun, placing their finger on the trigger, and pressing the barrel right over your heart, daring them not to pull.“Their fingers always twitch, Em,” he’d say. “And a bullet to the heart is impossible to survive.”I’d grin at him in that way I knew melted some of the frost from his expression. “I bet I can find someone on the internet who survived a bullet to the hea
Contracted Husband Chapter 83
It’s true that betrayal can spark to life a bone-deep hatred of someone. But love and hate aren’t natural opposites that cancel each other out. They can reside within the same heart. Bleed into each other. Become so tightly wound around each other that it becomes impossible to tell which is which.Guess I won’t have the time to sort that mess out.“Good night, Natalia .” His deep, warm voice rumbles through me just before the crack of the hammer against the bullet.Pain spears me through the chest and I go down to the floor. White-hot fire blazes from my ribs to my back and I futilely gasp for air .He stands over me, looking at me the way I imagine he has with the dozens of others he’s killed. Then he lifts his arm and aims at my chest once again to deliver the finishing blow.And he shoots.Nathan Four Months Ago…Death.It surrounds me. It’s in everything that I do. Eating. Breathing. Fucking.I wield it like an extension of me, a scythe that forms another limb.I’ve been given th
Contracted Husband Chapter 84
“I know who you are,” I say to Patterson . “You have information for me?”“Yes. But you’re going to need to see this in person. Can you be here between one and two?”“I’ll be there.”Two hours later, I pull my black Aston Martin DBS Superleggera into the parking lot of the morgue where my father’s autopsy was performed.I remain in the car for a few minutes, breathing deeply, my hands clutched to the steering wheel.For as many people as I’ve sent here, I’ve never been to a morgue. Wish I’d come sooner, seen the blue bodies of random strangers to get acclimated.I step out and go into the building, where I’m met by Patterson . We pass the lone receptionist stationed at a curved desk to the right. She doesn’t bother glancing our way, simply keeps her head bowed over a bowl of noodles.“It’s lunchtime,” Patterson informs me. “Arteta is under Andre’s employ. She won’t let anyone disturb us.”I follow him down a wide sterile-looking hallway that reminds me of the ones in hospitals, with p
Contracted Husband Chapter 85
To see him naked now, cut up and stitched back together, helpless… He may not have had my love, but he has my fierce loyalty. As does Katy . I will find out who killed him and give them both peace. I look at his gaunt face, cheeks sunk in and lips blue, and can’t find a hint of the life he once had. There’s nothing but a mask that resembles the man he used to be. “Tell me what you found,” I order through gritted teeth. Patterson slips on latex gloves. From a small tray, he grabs a sharp tool and uses it as a pointer. “There are two gunshot wounds. The first is this graze.” He signals to a gash on his left forearm. “The second here”—he indicates the one low on his chest—“is the point of entry for a nine millimeter bullet which was lodged in his spine. It hit him straight on at close range. Being this far down, it makes me believe the person who shot him was either short or had their elbow bent.” “Someone short,” I repeat, my mind flipping through the catalogue of every short fuck I
Contracted Husband Chapter 86
Either way, it seems a conversation between us is in order. He needs to unfuck this situation so that my father can get justice. That, or he can get out of my way.Sliding into my vehicle, I slam the door shut with enough force to make the windows rattle.It’s rare that I lose control, but I’m so angry that it’s hard to rein in the fury. My stepmother’s distraught face flitters through my mind.“Promise me you’ll make them pay, Nathan ,” she begged. “Whoever took Leonardo from me needs to pay.”Katy may not be my biological mother, but she’s the only one I have. And I promised her.I toss the bag containing the last items my father carried with him onto the passenger seat. When it lands, the contents shift, spreading out inside the plastic.Sunlight streaming through the windshield glints off the gold rings he favored. One for his forefinger, one for his middle, and…Frowning, I grab the bag and bring it in for closer inspection. There are three rings. My father only wore two.I take
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