Page 234 of By His Rule

He was. I remember him wrapping his arm around me. I remember snuggling back into his warmth, where I felt safe.

Everything has felt wrong since I walked into my bedroom and then my bathroom.

Someone invaded my personal space. Someone trashed my bedroom, called me a whore…

There is only one person I can think of who would do that. But why?

I’m not the one who fucked everything up. I wasn’t the one lying through my back teeth every single day of our relationship.

But is he capable of something like this?

Yesterday, before walking into my apartment, I’d have said no. Lying is one thing; criminal damage is entirely another. But then, I guess he does have a score to settle after Kian overpowered him. And it’s not like I ever really knew who he was. I figured out that much the day I discovered he had a fiancée.

I kick my legs out in frustration. I was hoping that things would feel easier, make more sense in the cold light of day. But right now, I feel just as numb and disconnected as I did last night.

“Argh,” I scream, thrashing about in the bed in the hope of banishing what I’m feeling. I stop dead when I feel something weighing down the sheets. My cheeks burn as I consider that I was wrong and that he is here and watching me lose my shit.

Risking it, I crack one eye open, expecting to find Kian staring down at me with an amused expression on his face. But he’s not there, and I quickly banish the wave of disappointment I feel.

But while Kian might be absent, I do find a box waiting for me.

It’s the same as the box that was waiting for me at The Regency.

I sit up, opening my sore eyes fully, staring at it as if it’s nothing more than a figment of my imagination and it’s going to disappear any moment.

But it doesn’t, and I shuffle closer with my brows drawn together.

Surely, he hasn’t chosen a new outfit for me today? The one he bought me in Charleston was nice and all, but he has to know by now that buying me designer clothes isn’t the way to my heart. Not that he wants my heart, of course. Just full access to my pussy.

Shaking the thoughts from my head, I knock the top of the box off and reach for the tissue paper covering the contents.

The second what’s inside is revealed, I gasp, my hand coming up to cover my mouth.

Staring back at me is a whole box of all my favorite hair products.

A sob rips from my throat.

How did he know?

My fingers graze over all the bottles. Some I haven’t used for a while; others have been my go-to recently.

Honestly, my curly hair is a fucking nightmare. But at the same time, I love the challenge. And when it goes right and a product just works for me…well, there isn’t much else in this world that feels that good.

Unable to stay in here, hidden away from him, I throw the covers off and swing my legs out of bed. After freshening up in his luxurious en suite, I go in search of my boss.

The living area and kitchen are quiet, but the scent of freshly brewed coffee lingers in the air, letting me know that he isn’t too far away.

I search every room I find, learning more about the man who’s welcomed me into his home.

I discover old family photos, along with memories from his time at school, and a handful from more recently. Seeing him grow up, seeing some of the things he experienced in his former years, weirdly makes me feel that little bit closer to him.

It’s not helpful seeing as I should be pulling away, but I can’t help the squeeze of my heart every time I see his smiling face.

A few of the photos are unbelievable. The things he’s experienced are so vastly different from what I have. There are photos of him clay pigeon shooting, playing polo, vacationing on lavish yachts and luxury islands.

There were times in my childhood when just escaping the house felt like a vacation. I can’t even begin to imagine what it would have been like to live this life.

When I get to the final door at the end of the hallway, I find it ajar.

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