All Chapters of The Strong - The Ashford Brothers Series - Book Three: Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Bonnie POVI watch Jude leave, and my heart shrinks a few times. I help Peter to the bathroom. He is drunk and unstable on his feet right now. I grab his glass from his hand and place it on the sink while I help him out of his clothes. I remove his jacket and the smell of alcohol and cheap perfume makes me nauseous, but I keep going. Once all of his clothes are on the romper to be taken by housekeeping to wash, I help him into the shower.“Come with me,” he says and I shake my head.“No thank you,” I tell him and he looks at me and smiles, holding my wrist and trying to pull me inside. But drunk as he is, he doesn’t have the strength. I pull away from him and he pouts like a little child.“Have a shower, you smell,” I say, walking out of the bathroom and resting the back of my head against the wall outside of the bathroom. I walk into the closet area and get one of his pajama pants and t-shirt, putting it ready fo

Bonnie POVI look at my reflection in the mirror, and I smile. Peter arranged for a lady to come get my hair and makeup done in our suite. I can’t complain after a great massage and facial, this is all I need, someone getting my long hair looking good for the red carpet.“Sorry I am late,” Peter says as he walks back into the suite and stops watching me while the lady does the last touch-ups to my hair.“Oh, you look beautiful,” he says as he walks to me and stands next to me. His eyes locked on me and I smile. I have to say I can’t stop thinking about everything that Jude told me today, but is it the right time to ask him about everything now? Is Jude trying to create problems between us?“I’ll go have a quick shower. It was very dusty at the hotel,” he says and I nod as I watch him walk towards the bathroom. He closes the door and I realize I am done. “It looks amazing, thank you,” I say.

Jude POV“Excuse me,” Meredith says as she stands up and walks out. I am not going to chase her. She is a grown woman and I am not her babysitter. I keep watching the movie that let's face it. It’s the worst piece of trash I have ever seen. I don’t particularly enjoy films, and sometimes I need to attend this kind of event because of my jobs and because of books we signed that turn into movies. But this one, I don’t even know how they got the money to make this.The screen turns black, and I finally appreciate the break. I stand up, following everyone out, and I can see everyone whispering and looking for only one place. I frown and when I hear Meredith’s voice, my blood freezes and I excuse myself by pushing some people trying to get to the front of everyone and there she is. Being held by security while she tries to jump at Bonnie.“You’re a slut, you can’t keep your hands away from other people’s man

Jude POVI couldn’t believe my ears when the reception guy told me that Bonnie wanted to talk to me. The way she looked at me when she got out of that elevator broke my heart. And now she is sleeping on my bed, curled up like a baby. Slowly, I move my hand through her hair and I grab her room key from her pocket.I walk out of the room and straight up to the suite where she was with him. I pass the key and the door opens. “Hello? Anyone here?”, I ask, feeling like an idiot. No response comes, so I enter the suite and immediately walk into the bedroom, gathering as many things as I can.I don’t know where everything is and I don’t want to spend too much time here. I look around, finding a laptop and I open it and her name popped up. I put it in the bag and her camera was on the table with her bag. I put that next to the laptop and then I walk into the closet. I open the doors and I find her clothes neatly folded and some hanging. I g

Bonnie POVAfter settling into Benny’s two-bedroom suite, I sit in the small living area as I look out of the window. My brother has made a good life for himself. He has his own business that is getting bigger and bigger. He has two kids and an amazing ex-wife. He was an idiot, and she asked for a divorce, but I know they still love each other.“How are you feeling? Do you need anything?” Benny asks, and I shake my head. I wish I could eat properly and talk as well, but the way I am feeling, I am not really sure I would like to speak, so this is kind of a blessing in disguise.“Bonnie, I want you to know that I will help you with whatever you need, you can move in with me when we get to New York, I will help you align your jobs back, hell I’ll even hire you an assistant to help you if you need,” he tells me and I offer him a half smile. Smiling hurts and I shake my head.“I will be okay, I just need a phone,&rdquo