Chapter Five

I hardly had time to absorb the dread crawling up my spine before Julius crossed the room in two fast steps, right to where I was standing. His presence devoured the air between us; the room felt so suffocating. It had been so long since we were last alone, just like this.

Before I could step back, his hands were already on me, gripping my waist with a sense of urgency that sent my pulse racing. His scent—chocolate and oud as always—I could smell it all around me, making it impossible for me to think clearly. Then, as he leaned in even closer, his lips brushed against my ear, his breath hot against my skin, sending an involuntary shiver down my spine.

“Bella,” he murmured, his voice heavy with longing. “You don’t know how much I’ve missed you.”

His words filled with suffering and hopelessness, coiled around me like a plea.

“Come back to me. Please.”

His lips wandered around my cheek before eventually finding mine—hot, urgent, and utterly consuming. It was a very demanding kiss… It didn’t take long until I gave in to it… I still wanted him. I still wanted him badly.

I froze. “No.”

This isn’t right. How am I forgetting so quickly all he did to me, every single thing I endured in his hands?

I pushed him away, my hands trembling as I shoved against his chest, breaking free from his hold.

“No, Julius,” I said, my voice barely above a whisper, yet firm. “You lost that right a long time ago.”

But he wasn’t listening.

He held my throat tightly—he remembered I liked being held there whenever we were kissing.

“Bella, please,” he whispered, his voice cracking. “I need you. You belong with me. I can fix this—fix us. I’m sorry about what you went through, but we can still be together.”

I fought harder, my breath coming in sharp, uneven gasps. My mind screamed that I had to get out. And then his hands slid lower, his movements more desperate.

I… I—

Panic flared in my chest. I weakly tried pushing him away.

“Julius…” I gasped, struggling against him.

He deepened the kiss and continued. “You don’t have to do all of this; you don’t need to pretend to be in love with another man. Drop all this facade and be with me again. I’ll treat you better.”

Facade? His words made me remember just the type of person he was.

“Julius, let go now.”

He refused to.

“I said let me go now!”

He still refused.

“Bella, you’re mine. You can never escape me.”

I had to think fast. What would possibly make him let me go?

“I’m pregnant,” I screamed.

Silence.

Julius stopped, his entire body locking up as if the air had been sucked from the room.

His grip loosened slightly, his breathing ragged. “What?” he rasped, his eyes widening in disbelief.

I swallowed hard, forcing myself to meet his gaze. “It’s Jesse’s,” I said, my voice unsteady, but there was no turning back now. “I’m having Jesse’s baby.”

He staggered slightly as if I had physically struck him, his fingers twitching at his sides.

“You’ve gone that far with him?” His voice was hollow, like he was struggling to comprehend the truth. “How could you?”

“You slept with Athena even though we were married! How dare you get angry at me for doing the same thing?”

I didn’t wait for him to respond.

I bolted.

Adrenaline surged through my veins as I broke free, shoving past him and racing out of the room. I had to escape.

The exit was just ahead.

Then—blinding headlights.

A deafening honk.

The roar of an engine.

I barely had time to turn my head before something huge and heavy crashed into me. Pain exploded through my body as I was thrown into the air. My arms flailed, my vision spun, and then—

Boom.

I hit the ground hard. My head smacked against the pavement, and a sharp pain shot through me. I could hear the distant sound of tires screeching and people yelling, but everything was slipping away.

Somewhere in the distance, I heard a voice.

“Bella!”

It was Jesse.

I could hear his voice cracking with something I’d never heard from him before—fear.

“Bella, don’t you dare do this to me.”

Darkness pulled at the edges of my vision, but then—warm hands. Jesse. He was there.

“Please, Bella,” he whispered, his voice raw, desperate. “Please don’t leave me. I can’t lose you again. You hear me?”

I tried to speak, tried to force my lips to form words, but everything felt too heavy, too far away.

“Stay with me,” he begged. “Don’t do this to me.”

In my subconscious haze, I could hear him—his voice breaking through the darkness, through the pain.

Jesse?

My mind barely clung to reality, but one question surfaced.

“What do you mean?” I whispered, my voice barely audible, slipping between us like a ghost. “What do you mean you can’t lose me again?”

His grip tightened, his breath shuddering.

But I couldn’t hold on anymore.

And then, everything went black.