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CHAPTER 10
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2024-10-29 19:42:56Chance ran his fingers through his hair, letting them slid at the base of his skull before letting go with a grunt. He started to walk fast, as far away from the ‘scene of the crime’ as he possibly could or want. Halfway from his Lamborghini, Chance stilled and turned to face the hotel’s entrance.
She was still there, reading his stupid post-it… The only person willing and ready to help him, received from him a pitiful note after she gave him the most perfect night. But this was the problem, part of the reason why he’d reacted as he did and almost ran away from Melora.
He acted like a jackass of epic proportions, but he needed her to understand how things would go between them from that moment on. Maybe he needed to understand it too. He also needed to forget stuff about the Melora from h
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It was almost 3 pm when the bell rang. Melora had spent the better part of the morning, at least what was left of it once she’d been dropped home, doing her best not to think about Chance and what would happen when they saw each other. Melora was new in this game, she didn’t really understand how to react to all that was happening. Chance told her that she could trust him, that he already did something like this... But was he really worthy of her trust? Was he really going to be careful not to hurt her again? He will have to explain to her how exactly one transitioned from lover to friend. And Melora also needed to understand what it would take for her mind to stop playing out scenarios where she ended up back in his arms, kissing him passionately since all he wanted was friendship from her part
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‘Unsuitable’... That was for damn sure. At least on this one, Chance was agreeing with the bastard! So why hadn’t Brando, the loving and overprotective brother, set her up somewhere more suitable for someone with Melora’s status? Chance knew for a fact Brando just bought some office building downtown. There was money, so why was Melora living like she was being the poor relative? Why was that son of a bitch treating his sister like she was nothing? Maybe dropping in on Brando at work would shed some light on it. He could put the priority of Melora’s security into perspective for the prick… But maybe, on second thought, he shouldn’t. This had ‘bad idea’ written all over the place.&
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Beneath the September sky, Chance cut through the side streets, heading for Belt Parkway Promenade. Melora sat snuggled beside him in the sleek silver convertible, face tipped to catch the warm sunshine washing the city in an amber glow. The cold snap of a few days before coupled with the strong winds had blown half the fall leaves from their trees in one quick drop. The result was a glorious quilt of shades, from bronze to gold. Fall was her favorite season. Al the colors were giving her life. It was beautiful. Chance grinned beside her.“As I can see from the happiness on your face, fall is still your favorite time of year.”“Always and forever. The fall at the villa was always breathtaking… Such a show! Though it isn’t quite the same living in the city as it w
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Her heart stalled in her chest as she imagined a child, a perfect little bit of Chance, new to the world. And a woman that took from her every single hope to win him, to have him in her life forever.“My God, Chance… I… Wow!” What could she say? Congratulations? His expression was far from happy. It hardly seemed as though joyous celebration were the theme of his disclosure considering the lengths to which he was going to shake the press off the scent of his secret. And yet, offering her sympathy seemed equally inappropriate. Questions rose fast and urgent within her, each more desperate to claw free than the one before, but she willed herself silent, waiting for him to go on.“Yeah…”“This is quite the news…” she said and
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The temperature had dropped with the afternoon sun, so Chance decided to pull the car’s roof up and to turn the heat on, while Melora sat bundled in the front seat. Still, she was chilled and he’d wrapped her into a spare blanket he kept in the trunk. She’d looked fragile all tucked in. Like something to shelter. To take into his arms and hold. ‘Damn it!’ he said to himself, ‘these thoughts were nuts.’ Closing the trunk, he rounded to the driver’s side door and levered into his seat. Melora smiled over at him, then nodded back at the darkening sky.“Beautiful, isn’t it?” Melora’s brown curls were wild because of the breeze. Her cheeks were alive with the pink flush of effort.“Yes… Absolutely
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The room was filled with the usual buzzing: glasses clinking, laughter and chit-chatting, and the sweet voice of Nat King Cole all around her like a soothing embrace. Impressed by “Unforgettable” and its apt description of her last week, Melora swayed with each step on her way to the bar. She could feel the looks of the people around her. She could sense the questions multiplying around her. While passing a group of high-society members, Melora heard one woman’s sharp ‘what?’ rising above the noise. That moment she knew she’d been identified, through the process of elimination and then conspicuous absence, as Chance Benson’s bridesmaid from the back hall, and word had been spreading like whispered wildfire for days.&nbs
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Wrapped in Chance’s dinner jacket, Melora was standing before the vast expanse of glass staring out at the light bright cityscape surrounding the penthouse apartment. She was waiting to hear Chance say something, acknowledge what has been said at the party. They’d left the event together, fingers twined, allowing a photographer the opportunity to snap a picture as they walked towards the car, knowing a counterpart would be staked out at Chance’s apartment building as well. He behaved like they were together since forever. Melora’s heart had been racing, her stomach was upside down. Melora was looking in the night, trying to calm down while waiting for Chance to make his move, to tell her what was really going on between them.&nb
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Damn it! Chance was working around her defenses. But she had more to fight for than just some good time. She really needed him in her life. In the few days since they’d reconnected, she had discovered how incredible it was to have someone who really saw her for who she really was. It was nice to be allowed to laugh and joke. To have an opinion that didn’t follow everyday convention. Someone to really talk with. Melora didn’t want to give it up. Couldn’t go back to the awful isolation that had been so much a part of her life for too many years now. It didn’t matter the number of people surrounding her, there was only one person who actually saw her.“Chance, this is serious.” Her lips pressed together in a firm line as she sought a way to make him understand.
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Chance sat at the edge of the bed, feet on the floor, forearms propped over his knees, jaw painfully set. This wasn’t going to work. He looked over his shoulder at Melora’s sleeping form, quietly curled into herself, a tiny furrow pulled between her delicate eyebrows. She didn’t want what he was offering… not really. They’d been in the same book, but on different pages from the start. He’d tried not to hurt her, but he’d been an idiot, and in the end that was all he’d managed to do. Even today, when suddenly all the pieces of his life seemed to be falling into place, one jagged edge didn’t fit and he’d felt it cut through Melora’s vulnerable heart. ‘Just let me love you.’ He shouldn’t have said the words like that.
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He was losing her. He’d been so close. She’d been there, he could feel it. He’d seen her weaken, starting to melt. Felt the hot lick of her eyes over his skin, the current charging the air between them. And then, just that quickly, everything changed. The temperature dropped. The static grounded. And a swarm of angry bees manifested beneath his skin, buzzing in his head, making him itch and sting and want to roar in painful frustration. Why wouldn’t she damned well give in? Fighting the vise around his chest, Chance surged to his feet. Wasn’t surprised when Melora rose with him. She leaned into his space, looking up at him with eyes that were flat and bleak, lacking emotion, and speared through his soul like a blade.“You know what? You’re right… I don
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Melora stood before the closed door to her apartment, hand hovering above the knob. Chance was on his way up. Invariably looking too dangerously good for her peace of mind. He always looked good. And she’d generally been able to handle it. Right up until the night a week ago when she’d gotten her hair stuck in his shirt. Ever since she’d been fighting a losing battle against temptation. It was unsettling. And what made matters worse, Chance had stopped berating talking about marriage. She knew something wasn’t right… This was the relentless, ruthless, single-minded in his unwavering determination to make the world bend to his will, Chance Benson. Now that she’d been on the receiving end of all that intensive focus, Melora didn’t believe for one minute he’d actually given up the fight. Which meant he’d be
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Melora sat at the kitchen table, her gaze fixed on the cooling mug of tea between her palms. She’d left Chance in the living room nearly a half-hour before. After a time, she’d heard his sweet voice as he began making phone calls. Surely, he was trying to find a way out of this mess. The hardwood groaned its quiet protest under the weight of his approach and then Chance’s dark form filled the doorway. Arms braced against the frame like a looming threat, he pressed into the room without entering. “I found out this morning…” she volunteered, figuring it as good a place to start as any. “Are you ok?” he asked visibly concerned. It didn’t surprise her… There’d never been a question of caring. Only of degree. “Yes. It was just my annual check-up. One thing led to another and then…”
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How in the hell was he supposed to make this work when Melora wouldn’t give a damn inch? “Chance, I’m not giving up my job!” Her cheeks were flush, her eyes overbright with shadows beneath as she planted hands on hips and glared at him from across the distance of his living room. “People work because they need the money, Melo,” he answered steadily, unwilling to be baited into a shouting match with this stubborn little demon woman carrying his child. “You don’t need the money.” Chance was the calm one, this time. The reasonable one. Casually sprawled in his chair, smiling his most patient, unfazed smile, his hand, all the while, discreetly flexing the tension from his body behind the arm of the wingback. They’d been going aroun
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The weather outside was so similar to what was going on in her heart and in her mind. So, after she took a nice long bath, Melora decided to make herself a cup of tea and think of the news Dr. Jackson just gave her that morning. Melora knew she had to talk to Chance, that he had to know about the pregnancy. But before doing that, she needed to put some order in her thoughts and come up with a plan that would allow her to take care of the baby without asking anything from him. She won’t put Chance in chains out of fear or desperation. This wasn’t his fault, but all hers. So, Melora Channing is going to take care of her baby without asking for no one’s help. The piercing whistle of steam escaping the kettle was broken by the repet
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Melora’s gown crinkled, gaping in falls of stiff, creased blue paper as she sat atop the padded exam table, legs crossed with as much lady-like decorum as she could muster given the circumstances. While waiting for Dr. Jackson, Melora tried to calm her trembling hands, blocking her every thought about Chance. At least for that day. The last months and a half had been extremely tough on her, she’d almost lost her mind and her will to live. Thank god for her students at school! They literally saved her life, keeping her sane and focused at least a few hours a day. After breaking up with Chance, she had been grumpy, sick, and depressed for a long time. She kept fighting what had become a perpetual state of lethargy for weeks. But one morning, she left her room and decided she wouldn’t
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One look at her and Chance knew something was wrong with Melora. He stood by the exit watching the dinner crowd. The upscale Italian restaurant was one of his favorites and Melora had mentioned it as one of hers as well, but tonight she’d barely had a bite of her food and her glass of wine sat all but untouched on the table. He’d gone to her place straight from the airport, willing to see her, ready to pick up where they’d left off almost a week before. The business trip had been a success and he was in the mood for a celebration. But even before they’d made it to the car, Chance had sensed something off. Usually, they’d talked easily enough, laughed, and caught up, but every few minutes her attention would drift, leaving him to wonder where she’d gone.
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“Mother, Brando’s here,” Melora called, watching from the front window as the black Porsche pulled into the circular drive. It had been weeks since she’d seen Brando and, aside from the one brusque call she’d received about the folly of getting involved with ‘Benson’, he’d been unusually quiet, busy running ‘Channing Industries’ outstandingly well. Heading to the foyer, Melora heard the thud of a car door and then stilled mid-step at the sound of another. A moment later the front door swung open wide and her brother strode in, an insolent grin on his face and Charlton behind him. Melora’s back straightened, her jaw setting hard.“Hey, Mel,” Brando said in a naughty tone as he crossed to take her in a quick hug. “Hope you don’t mind that I’ve
