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Chapter 178
publish date:
2026-09-03 19:11:11
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Ruin me, Gently Chapter 185
ISABELLE Sage appeared at my elbow approximately thirty seconds later.“The Moretti’s,” she said. “Are so warm.”“They really are,” I said.“Like genuinely warm. Almost as though we’ve known each other for decades.”“I know.”She was quiet for a moment. Looking around the room.“Also,” I said. “Claire is taking Mom to France tomorrow.”Sage turned to look at me.“Sorry?”“France,” I said. “With Claire and Aunt Jamie. A friend’s birthday.”Sage stared across the room at our mom — still laughing with Aunt Jamie, entirely unaware of what had just been decided on her behalf.“Our mother,” Sage said slowly. “Is going to France.”“Yes.”“Before either of us.”“Yes.”She pressed her lips together.“Who knew,” she said finally, “that Matteo Moretti would be the reason Marie Thompson went to France.”We both laughed.The kind that arrived from somewhere genuine and stayed a little longer than expected.When it settled, I caught it from the corner of my eye.Hugo.Looking at Sage.Sage — who h
Ruin me, Gently Chapter 184
ISABELLE Midway through dinner, a figure appeared at the entrance.Matt looked up. Something in his expression shifted — warm, easy, the kind of thing I had only seen when someone genuinely mattered to him.“Hugo,” he said.The man crossing toward us was tall — easy-faced, the kind of person whose presence didn’t demand a room but settled into it comfortably. He raised a hand at the table in general greeting as he approached.“Apologies, everyone,” he said. “My meeting had absolutely no respect for the occasion.”Lucia looked up from her conversation. “Hugo.”“Lucia.” He crossed to her first — pressing a brief kiss to her cheek the way people did when they had known each other long enough for formality to be unnecessary. “You look wonderful as always.”“You’re late,” she said pleasantly.“I’m aware.” He moved to Matt — clapping him on the shoulder. “Congratulations, brother.”Then he looked at me.His eyes moved to the seat across from Sage — the only empty one at the table — and he
Ruin me, Gently Chapter 183
ISABELLE Matt kept his hand at my back as we stepped down from the stage and moved through the crowd.He stayed close.Which I was grateful for.Because I recognized less than half the faces around us, and the other half were looking at me with the warm, expectant energy of people who already knew exactly who I was.The woman I had noticed earlier — the one who reminded me of Lucia — reached us first.Matt smiled when he saw her.“My favorite aunt,” he said. “Jamie.”Aunt Jamie.She pulled me in before I could say anything. Both arms. A hug that said everything about the kind of woman she was before she had spoken a single word.She held on for a while.I didn’t mind at all.“I have spent years,” she said against my shoulder — laughing and emotional simultaneously — “settling fights between my sister and this boy.” She pulled back and looked at me with bright eyes. “Years. Claire worrying herself to pieces that he would never settle. That he would grow old alone.” She shook her head.
Ruin me, Gently Chapter 182
ISABELLE On either side of the pathway — gathered quietly, the way guests gather when they’ve been waiting and have agreed not to move until the right moment.My eyes adjusted.A woman on the left.Standing with the particular stillness of someone who had been waiting and was trying not to show how much.I knew that stillness.“Mom?”She smiled.That full, warm, certain smile she only wore when she already knew how something was going to end.My brain scrambled.What was my mom doing here? How did she — when did she — she had never been on a plane in her life—Another woman stepped closer to her.Elegant. Composed. Eyes bright.Claire Moretti.I looked between them.My mother and Matt’s mother. Standing side by side. Smiling at me with the combined warmth of two women who had prayed for the same thing from different directions and were watching it arrive simultaneously.How did they know each other? When had they—A third woman moved to stand with them.I didn’t recognize her. But so
Ruin me, Gently Chapter 181
ISABELLEI was almost asleep.That particular kind of almost—when the day had finally released its hold and the warmth of Matt beside me was doing the rest. His arm around me. The room quiet. The baby settled.Then he shifted.“There’s something I forgot to mention,” he said.I opened one eye. “Matt.”“There’s a shareholder meeting tomorrow.”Both eyes open now.“Sorry?”“A meeting. With the board.” He said it simply, like the information was entirely reasonable. “It’s being held at another branch. We’ll need to take the jet.”I sat up.“Tomorrow,” I said.“Yes.”“As in — the tomorrow that starts in approximately three hours.”“Yes.”I stared at him.“Matt.” I pressed my hand flat on the bed. “You haven’t briefed me on anything. My role. The company. What I’m supposed to say when these people start asking me questions I don’t know the answers to.” I exhaled. “Maybe you should just cancel me from the board.”“I won’t do that.”“Matt—”“I’ll brief you on the jet.” He pulled me back down
Ruin me, Gently Chapter 180
ISABELLE I felt Matt’s arms come around my waist from behind.He pulled me close — his lips finding the side of my head first, then my cheek. Then his hand gently tilted my chin toward him, and he kissed me.“I’ll be right back,” he said against my lips.“Mm.”“You’ll be okay?”“I’ll be fine.”He kissed me again. Slower this time.“Matt—”“One more.”I laughed against his mouth.When he finally pulled back, his hands were still at my waist. He looked at me the way he looked at things he was reluctant to leave.“Sammie will take care of you,” he said.“I know.”“And if you need anything—”“Matt.” I pressed my hand flat against his chest. “Go.”Something moved at the corner of his mouth.Then he released me and followed Claire down the hallway.Sammie appeared at my elbow immediately.“You two,” she said. “In front of his mother. In his mother’s house.”“He started it,” I said.She burst out laughing.“Come,” she said, taking my hand. “Tour. Now.”……….The house was exactly what Claire
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