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2026-03-07 16:26:55
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DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 108
The sunlight filtering through the curtains was what woke me up. For a few seconds, I stayed still, blinking slowly at the unfamiliar ceiling while sleep clung stubbornly to the edges of my mind. Then awareness crept in little by little, and with it came the realization that I wasn't at home, that I wasn't in Chicago, and that there was a warm, solid weight beneath my hand.My eyes widened.My palm was resting against Brandon's chest.Not just resting there casually, either. My fingers were curled slightly into the fabric of his shirt like I'd grabbed onto him in my sleep and refused to let go.Heat rushed into my face so quickly it almost hurt.For one horrifying second, I stopped breathing entirely as I stared at my own hand against him. Brandon was still asleep, lying on his back beside me, one arm bent beneath his head while the other rested loosely over his stomach. His chest rose and fell steadily beneath my palm, slow and calm and completely unaware of the internal crisis curre
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 107
The music softened around us after a while, transitioning from the loud celebratory rhythm that had people laughing and spinning around the dance floor into something slower, gentler. The kind of music that made people move closer without even realizing they were doing it. Brandon’s hand remained steady against my waist as we swayed together, and my cheek stayed pressed lightly against his chest, mostly because I hadn’t trusted myself to look up at him again after he’d called me beautiful in that quiet voice of his.I could still hear the words in my head.Not because no one had ever called me beautiful before. Dean had. Random men had. Even women sometimes did. But Brandon said things like he meant them in a way that made them settle under my skin instead of just brushing over it. There was something dangerous about sincerity. Especially when it came from someone like him.The strange thing was that I didn’t even realize how closely I’d drifted into him until his thumb brushed absent
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 106
The reception felt like something out of a movie I would have sworn I’d never care about, not until I found myself standing in the middle of it with a glass in my hand and my attention nowhere near the laughter, the music, or the speeches going on around me. The church ceremony earlier that morning had been… beautiful. There wasn’t another word for it. Everything from the flowers lining the aisle to the way Julia had looked walking down it had felt almost unreal. I had caught myself smiling more times than I could count, and somewhere in the middle of it, my attention had drifted to Joan. I hadn’t meant for it to, but it did anyway. And I could have sworn I saw her discreetly wipe at her eyes at one point, like she didn’t want anyone to notice. The image stuck with me longer than the vows themselves. I made a quiet mental note to tell Victor about it. He would have liked that. Or at least pretended not to, in his usual way.Now, at the reception, the energy had shifted into something
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 105
The next morning did not come gently.It came with sound.Not soft, polite sounds like the distant hum of conversation or the clinking of cutlery from breakfast downstairs. No. It came loud, abrupt, and entirely inconsiderate of the fact that some people had gone to bed far too late and woken up far too early the day before. It came in the form of voices, footsteps, doors opening and closing down the hallway, and somewhere, unmistakably, laughter that felt just a little too bright for the hour.My eyes fluttered open slowly, reluctantly, my body heavy beneath the sheets as if sleep still had a firm grip on me and refused to let go. For a moment, I simply stared at the ceiling, unmoving, trying to gather myself and figure out where I was, because waking up somewhere unfamiliar always came with that brief, disorienting pause. Then it settled in. Miami. The hotel. The wedding.Brandon.That thought alone was enough to make my awareness sharpen, my gaze shifting slightly to the side witho
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 104
The rehearsal dinner started the way everything in Julia’s world seemed to start, which was with urgency disguised as enthusiasm.I had expected something structured, maybe even slightly formal. Instead, I found myself standing in the middle of a shifting crowd of relatives, event planners, and family friends, all being guided into a ballroom that had already been transformed into something soft and overly intentional. Flowers everywhere. Warm lighting that made everything look slightly unreal. Chairs arranged in a way that suggested more thought had gone into aesthetics than actual comfort.Brandon stayed close to me as we moved inside, not in a way that felt deliberate enough for anyone else to notice, but close enough that I noticed it.I did not say anything about it.Julia was everywhere at once. One moment she was correcting a seating chart, the next she was laughing with someone near the entrance, then suddenly she was beside me again, taking the card from my hand like she had
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 103
The next morning started faster than I expected it to.There was already movement in the hotel when I stepped out of the room, the kind of organized chaos that came with wedding preparations. Voices echoed faintly down the hallway, doors opening and closing, footsteps that never seemed to settle. I paused for a moment, adjusting to it, then slowly made my way toward the main area where breakfast had been arranged for the family.Brandon was already there.Of course he was.He sat at one of the longer tables, a cup in hand, speaking with someone I recognized from yesterday but could not immediately place. He looked calmer than he had any right to be after the night before, like nothing about bonfires, root beer, or late-night quiet conversations had followed him into the morning.His gaze lifted before I could fully decide whether to approach or retreat.It landed on me and stayed there.I hesitated for a fraction of a second too long before walking over.“Morning,” I said when I reach
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 027
~~Joan~~As the study door clicked shut behind me, I took a deep, grounding breath.For a moment, I stood there in the hallway staring at the wall, as if something might rearrange itself if I waited long enough.Paternity test. Leukemia.Marriage.Five months.Moving. All the major events of the
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 024
~~Brandon~~When Victor asked to see me, this morning, he didn’t explain why. And although I wanted to, I didn't ask why either. He rarely requested my presence outside of our usual Thursday evening meetings, and I already understood that whatever the reason was, I was going to learn when I got th
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 023
~~Dean~~Today confirmed it. That boy was hers. I didn't have any proof, but after finally seeing them so close together, it was undeniable. My instinct had never failed me before.I came to that conclusion, not only from the way she shielded him, but from the resemblance. He looked like her too m
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 022
I liked silence most of the time. But today, the silence in my office wasn’t peaceful.The city stretched wide beyond my glass walls, sunlight bouncing off buildings like nothing in the world was complicated. But my mind kept spinning.I was stressed. Not just by the constant scheming and plannin
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