Page 99 of The Billionaire's Bride
It seems he made my choice for me… Which is fine. I had told him that I loved Edward, after all; and I do. I am happy to be coming home with him, right?
But why couldn’t he have told me that face-to-face? Why did he have to leave without a word? I had tried calling him, but had only gotten his voice mail. I'd tried texting him, but he hadn't replied.
None of the Seven had heard from him either.
He had disappeared on his friends once before… And apparently, he is doing it again now. Does he just want to lay low for the moment? Away from me…and his friends. He had returned to his life and now, thanks to me, he had decided to go quiet on them again. Shit, I curl my fingers around the wheel.
"You, okay?" Edward turns to me. He’s wearing a black T-shirt, a jacket on top, and jeans with his usual shit-kicker boots. I am still getting used to seeing him in such normal clothes, I guess. With his hair long enough to brush his collar and the makings of a beard clinging to his chin… He looks so different… So rough. So not like the sleek, powerful man I saw slicing through the pool that day. He’s the same…yet not. And I know I caused the change in him… And it's thrilling, but also…a little bit overwhelming. Does anyone want to take on the onus of changing someone else’s life that completely? Had meeting me caused him more harm than good?
"Don’t," he mutters. He reaches out, places his palm against my cheek, "Don’t overthink it."
"Yeah." I glance away and he pulls his hand back.
"It’s safe for you to go back home, if that’s what you are worried about."
Ed had told me that the man he’d almost killed—Anton was his name—had given them more information on the men who were behind the attacks and my abduction. With Archer’s help, they had tracked down the men as they had been about to board a flight to Sicily. The men had confessed to all the attacks on me, including kidnapping me then setting the building on fire before leaving. They said that they were only following instructions. Their goal had been to send a message to the Seven, to stop enquiring after the Mafia.
They should have known that everything they did would only strengthen the resolve of the Seven to go after whoever was behind the attacks.
In this case, the Seven had made the decision to hand the two men over to the police, along with the third man, who is still unconscious. While the Seven prefer to stay away from the cops on most occasion, this time, they felt it was the best way to put the men behind bars long enough for them to not be a threat to us anymore. Of course, Ed mentioned, they have a contact in the police force who helped them to put the men away with the least fuss possible.
Of course, they do. The Seven are nothing, if not powerful and resourceful. They take care of their own. Which is why I don’t understand why they’ve decided to allow Baron this time away? I mean, aren’t they concerned that he might be upset enough to do something that he shouldn’t?
I turn to Edward. "I am not worried about my safety," I murmur, "I know you guys have dealt with my…" I swallow, "my attackers."
Yeah, it is still difficult to say that aloud. Given a choice, I’d prefer to forget about how they’d ambushed me, then broken into my studio, and ultimately, kidnapped me and left me, restrained, in a burning building. Thankfully, there are no other lasting injuries, though the last two nights I still haven’t slept properly. Which is to be expected. It had been an emotionally traumatic experience. And this, despite the fact that I had been so sure that the guys would get to me.
I can only imagine how difficult it must have been for them after the incident. I had been kidnapped and held for a few hours. They had been kidnapped and held for closer to a month. The kind of scars they both carry… Are, clearly, so much more intense.
"Then what is it…?" he murmurs. "You can tell me, babe."
"It’s..." I close my eyes, "It’s nothing."
"It’s something."
How can I tell him, that while I am happy to be with him, a part of me misses Baron? Somehow, I had not thought that he would leave. While I’d chosen Edward…technically... I hadn’t realized that’s what I was doing, and I hadn’t completely comprehended that it meant losing Baron. Shit, why do I feel so...forlorn? Like I lost something vital, something I didn’t know had ended, until it was gone.
"It’s Baron, isn’t it?" Edward blows out a breath, "You’re thinking of him."
"No," I lie, "it’s just…everything over the last few days has been so much to take in."
I sense him peruse my features and I turn my face away. If I meet his gaze now, he’ll see exactly how little truth there is in what I am telling him.
I push open the car door and walk around to the curb. Edward steps out. His ankle is bandaged, and he has a cane to help him walk. It’s just a sprain. The burns on his back are more serious and will require daily visits to the burn unit for debridement.
I tuck my handbag under my arm—a new handbag that Isla had gotten for me. She’d also helped with packing my clothes at Edward’s house. Archer had packed up some of Edward’s things and helped transfer everything to my place.
I’d asked him about Baron, but Archer had confessed that he didn’t know where Baron was. He’d told me that he was moving Baron's things into storage. That's when I'd asked him for Baron’s home address—and he’d revealed that Baron had left the city. Temporarily, at any rate.
Which is good. It's good that he’s away, that there is no temptation to go check on him.
No, I have Edward. The man I had fallen in love with first. This…is everything I had hoped for. So, why am I not happier?
I reach for Edward’s backpack and he scowls at me. "No woman’s carrying my load."
"Of course, not," I mutter. "God forbid, you admit to actually needing someone’s help."
"Eve," he scowls, "that’s not what I mean."
