Page 50 of Billionaire's Dangerous Desire

Of course he wasn’t okay. He was in this condition because of me.

“That was stupid of me to ask. I’m sorry. I’m so so sorry. I have no excuse and I’m just sorry. I miss you.” I say looking into his eyes that we’re looking away from mine.

“I thought you and I were getting somewhere. I called and left you notes. I thought you were busy. I thought you needed space.” He winces in pain, while trying to sit up straight on his bed.

“Let me get a nurse.”

“No, I’m fine.”

“You’re in pain Holden let me help.”

“And who’s fault is that.” His tone was venomous, fueled with every intent to hurt. He was right it was my fault.

“Holden, I’m really sorry that this happened but what you walked in on last night isn’t what you thought it was.”

“And what was it then? You two were about to kiss!”

“He was talking about his dead wife!”

“While kissing you? What a shame.” Mockery. That was what it was. He was angry and he clearly wasn’t going to calm down soon.

“Holden…”

“I waited for you. To text me back or call. I was going to be ready whenever you were then you do this and have the guts to lie to me again. I see the way you look at him.”

What was I supposed to say to that? He was right.

“Your lips are sealed now are they?”

I take his hand but he snatches it away from me. There was nothing left for me to say so my welled up eyes did all the talking.

“Please leave.” He says looking away from me.

“Evelyn. Please, just go.”

I stood up slowly taking in the image of him that was beaten and broken down. There was nothing left of us that could be fixed, I could see that now. I had pushed him too far and this was him waving his white flag. We were done. I pushed open the door, walking out with the same hurriedness that I came in with. At the lobby downstairs was Luca. He was at the same nurse who had given me Holden’s room number. If he was here to see him then he had better be ready for an earful. Or worse still he’d better be prepared for silence.

ChapterTwenty

Holden had been at the hospital for over a month, and he was still not getting any better. Every day that went by only made me feel worse. It only made me wonder if I was indeed behind all of it. After all, if he’d never seen me with his brother, if I had followed him much quicker, then he’d not be in the hospital. I could have stopped him from entering his car. I could have explained better. I know how much Holden loved me, and even though I didn’t feel exactly how we he felt, I knew I had done a terrible job at safeguarding his feelings. Even though that was not my job to begin with. But Holden was incredibly delicate, even with how he looked. I should have realized that. I knew I would have to visit him in the hospital again today after work.

But, we still had a huge case at hand. Luca’s social media presence was still failing. I couldn’t be more concerned really. There were a lot of things I didn’t allow myself to be concerned with, but this could not be one of them. This was my job. This was what I had come all the way to prove I could do. And, I was going to do just that.

Going to work without Ryan could’ve not been more boring. But, then, until Luca came, and took my breath away. He always knew how to rock whatever he wore without needing to explain why. Maybe he was a model in his previous life. Or maybe he was just used to being outwardly charming, since he was not all that charming inside. But, the thing is he actually was, too. He knew how to make me smile. He knew how to make me laugh, and boy, did he know how to screw around and set me on fire inside. Even though nothing had really happened between us, the chemistry between us was undeniably fiery, and too strong to ignore. Maybe that was the upside of Ryan not being around. Even though I didn’t always thoroughly enjoy the tension, because it always left me with a tinge of guilt since Holden was still hospitalized.

Today, Luca was draped in suit pants, and a pressed shirt as usual, but he had not worn a tie. He’d kept it casual, and left a few buttons swung open, so his hairy chest was bare, and on full display for my sinful eyes to gaze. I just hoped he had not heard me gasp when he walked in.

“Good morning, Eve.”

I always liked hearing my name shortened from his lips. It didn’t sound like mine. It sounded like it belonged on TV, novels, romance specials, anywhere but in real life. That was how Luca could make me feel. Like this world was beyond us, and we were just going to keep sailing, because, in the end, it would be just us against them all. And, today, it was indeed going to feel that way. We still hadn’t figured out who was behind these pranks, and they were still tarnishing his image on social media, causing a massive dip in his popularity. And, yeah, they may say any publicity is good publicity, but it didn’t feel this way. Luca had already started getting heated, hate comments on his social media page, and even on his daughter's, too. It was getting too far, and at this rate, ir was going to be the end of his political career.

I quit thinking, and returned his greeting. “Evening. Sorry… Good morning, Luca.” Yeah, I called him by his first name now. I was still stuck in my seat. I didn’t know whether to tell him of the discovery I had made the previous night, while I worked late. Something rang in my ears though, and it jerked me up from where I was seated and I decided to go tell him, so we could figure it out together. But, he had already entered his office, and, so, I had to knock and let myself in.

“So, another discovery?”Could this man read minds?

“Ah, yes, how did you know?”

“Just figured, you know? Plus, I had sleepless nights trying to figure out how to make myself less of a mess.”

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