Page 139 of Prized Possession

I may not have told her yet, but it’s strikingly obvious to me that I’m falling in love with her. I probably have been for a while.

I knew when we started having sex that it’d be a slippery slope, but there’s a good chance I was in too deep before I even touched her.

She’s all I want, and now that I’ve had her, I don’t want to let her go—I can’t. So now I just need to find a way to stop the world from going to shit.

I managed to get us both out of going to the next two family dinners. After the stress of the last one, I didn’t want to put Chloe, or myself, through that again.

Naturally, her parents were pissed, and her father tried to argue with me, stating I was breaking the rules of the bet. I was quick to point out he didn’tcare much for the rules when he whisked his wife away on holiday and missed two weeks.

I made up a lie that I was extra busy with work, since I am doing the job of two while Jake is in rehab.

Pulling on his guilt helped, though I did feel bad about using Jake as an excuse. But it worked as I intended, and they reluctantly agreed to us missing the lunches.

However, since I’m not that lucky, I had to agree to Chloe doing two short check-ins via video call. Chloe wasn’t happy about this, but since she knew she could hang up on them if things got to be too much, she agreed.

I made sure to stress that the check-ins would be with her parents only. If I got word of Scott trying to use them to contact Chloe—which is in breach of the bet, I reminded them—I would end the call. They agreed, and we didn’t hear from the shit-stain for two blissful weeks.

As the weekend of our seventh week approached, I could tell Chloe was becoming more anxious. I’ve stopped looking at us as being on the clock, as I know when the sixty days are up, I won’t be giving her back. I’ve told Chloe as much, and even though she smiles and tells me she believes me, I can see her hesitancy.

It’s not that she doesn’t trust me, it’s that she believes something will go wrong. She wants to stay here with me, and she’s said as much, but there’s a part of her that’s waiting for everything to go to shit, forcing her back to her old life.

I’ve stopped telling her that won’t happen, I’m just going to show her. There’s no way I’m letting her go without a fight, and nobody will want to take me on. A man fighting for the only important thing in his life is the most dangerous of all, as he knows what he’s got to lose.

When Miles strolls in on Saturday morning with a strange look on his face, I’m on edge. He sits down with us for breakfast, and we both know something is off, he’s being far too quiet.

I take the approach that always seems to work—I wait.

After about ten minutes, Miles lets out a long dramatic sigh.

“Are you both busy today?”

Chloe looks at me, trying to see if I know what’s wrong with Miles, and I shrug my shoulders.

“I’ve got some work to catch up on, and Chloe’s practising her cake decorating. Why?”

His face scrunches into a wince. “It’s family day at Jacob’s rehab, and he’s allowed visitors. He initially said he didn’t want to see anyone just yet, but now he’s changed his mind, and he’d like to see you both.”

Chloe and I have matching looks of shock on our faces, and I’m the one to voice what I’m sure we’re both thinking. “You’ve stayed in contact with Jake?”

Miles nods his head, refusing to make eye contact.

“When I dropped him off, the doctor said he would be cut off from the outside world, as that’s usually the best way to handle the initial detox. But they always ask for a family contact person. Initially, it’s just the doctor who keeps them updated, but when the patient is well enough, they can call their contact too, but only them.

“Jacob wasn’t sure who to put as his contact person. He thought of you, Chloe, but he didn’t want you to see him at his worst. Same goes for you, Marcus. He couldn’t bear the thought of talking to his parents, for obvious reasons. So, in the end, he asked if he could put me down.”

“And you said yes?”

Obviously he did, but I can’t help phrasing it as a question.

Miles nods, the hint of a smile on his face now. “I didn’t want to at first, but Jacob can be quite insistent. He wanted someone he knew could handle seeing him at his worst, but who wouldn’t cave to his demands, and he had a lot of them,” Miles laughs, before continuing.

“When he was going through his roughest patch, he’d call me several times a day. Mostly begging me to break him out, or to bring him things he was sure he needed. When I refused, he’d call just to shout, swear, and get angry at me, but then things changed. I could hear him starting to get better.”

A rogue tear slides down Chloe’s cheek and she tries to swipe it away, but I saw it.

“He’s better?” she asks, her voice thick with emotion.

Miles raises his gaze to meet hers, giving her a small smile. “He’s better than he was. He still has a way to go, but he’s over the worst of it. He could come home and start a community program, but he’s volunteered to stay there a little longer. Just until he feels strong enough to deal with the real world.”

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