Page 352 of In Love with a Cruel Billionaire

His arms tightened around her even more, and he said fiercely, "I love you."

She started to struggle in his arms, wanting to look up, but she was no match for his strength, and she eventually subsided, her head falling back against her chest.

"I love you, too," she finally whispered. "Always. You know that, right?"

He closed his eyes.

"Please, Matthijs. Can't you tell me what's wrong?"

"Nothing." Because they would get through this. "Nothing's wrong." But no matter how much the professor willed this to be true, he had a feeling he was fighting against what was already destined.

Together

DIANA HAD NEVER BEENthe type to believe in omens.

If she had been, maybe things would've been different and she would've been better prepared. Maybe, if she had been the type to believe, she wouldn't have so quickly disregarded the notification on her phone, popping up from nowhere with a Verse of the Day from her bible app.

1 Peter 5:8

Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour.

Maybe.

So many maybes.

But because all of these maybes could only occur with hindsight, she had been clueless as a newborn babe on the day she was fated to lose everything. And it had started innocuously enough, with Diana at the university's parking lot, making a call to the professor's office while she waited for Magnolia to pick her up.

"Hello, darling."

Her toes curled, like it always did, and she couldn't help smiling like a silly infatuated fool. "Hello, Professor."

"Are you on your way back?"

"Actually, that's the thing..." She told him about her planned visit to St. Therese's Shelter for the Sick and Homeless with Magnolia, adding afterwards, "It's in St. Valentine's, so it should be safe."

Crime-wise perhaps, the professor thought,but that wasn’t the only kind of danger they had to worry about.

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