Library

Maghanap

Home / MM Romance / Rival's Contract Marriage / Kabanata 201 - Kabanata 210

Lahat ng Kabanata ng Rival's Contract Marriage : Kabanata 201 - Kabanata 210

225 Kabanata

Chapter 202

Cameron POVMorning came like a slap I didn’t see coming.I’d spent the night in a stiff hospital chair beside Brandon’s bed, half-asleep and half-scared out of my mind. Every beep of the heart monitor had drilled into me like a countdown. The cops outside the door had swapped shifts twice. Brandon’s parents had gone home to shower and rest, but I couldn’t leave. Not when Drake was still out there.I rubbed my eyes and tried to stretch the kink out of my neck. Brandon was still asleep, his face pale against the pillow. He looked a little better—less gray, more like himself—but the IV bag hanging next to him kept reminding me how close I’d come to losing him.The door cracked open. I shot up so fast the chair screeched against the floor.It was Hilda.She slipped inside like she owned the place, wearing a black hoodie and jeans, her hair tied back. Her eyes were sharp, scanning the room before landing on me. “You look like death,” she said quietly.“Thanks,” I muttered. My voice came o

Chapter 203

Brandon POVGoing home felt weird.Not the oh-this-is-familiar kind of weird, but the everything-looks-the-same-but-nothing-feels-the-same kind.The car ride from the hospital was too quiet, except for the hum of the engine and the occasional cough from Dad when he tried to pretend he wasn’t watching me through the rearview mirror. Mom kept sneaking glances too, like she expected me to vanish if she blinked.The city outside the window looked normal—kids on bikes, people walking dogs, neon signs blinking in late afternoon light. I wondered how many of them had any idea that a guy like Drake existed. Someone who could smile like a brother one day and hire thugs to kidnap you the next.“Almost there,” Dad said, his voice careful. Like he was afraid of scaring me.I nodded but didn’t answer. My chest tightened the closer we got. The house came into view—a wide driveway, clean windows, the same welcome mat we’d had since forever. But when the car stopped, my stomach twisted. Last time I’d

Chapter 204

Brandon POVHe stood there for a second, damp hair sticking to his forehead, chest rising and falling like he’d run the whole way here.His eyes were wild, like he hadn’t slept, like he’d been carrying a storm in his chest and finally let it break at my door.I didn’t even think. I just moved.The second he reached the couch, I reached for him, and then we were holding each other so tight it almost hurt. His jacket smelled like rain and sweat and everything I’d been trying not to fall apart about since I left the hospital.For a heartbeat neither of us said anything.And then it all cracked.“I thought—” Cameron’s voice broke. He pulled back just enough to look at me, eyes wet and furious and terrified all at once. “Bran, I thought you were gone. I thought I was too late. Do you even get what that felt like?”My chest clenched. “I thought so too,” I admitted, and the words came out like a sob. “I kept thinking… this can’t be it. I can’t leave you like this. Not when—” My throat closed

Chapter 205

Cameron’s POVBrandon had fallen asleep against me on the couch, his head heavy on my shoulder. The TV was still on but muted, blue light flickering across the room like ghost water. I kept tracing lazy circles over the back of his hand, more to convince myself he was here than anything else. Every time he shifted, every soft exhale, it felt like proof that he was alive.For a few minutes I actually let myself think we’d made it. That maybe—just maybe—the world would give us one night where nobody tried to break it apart.Then the phone buzzed.The sound was small, but it cracked through the room like a gunshot. Brandon jerked awake, eyes still hazy. “What…?”My phone lit up on the coffee table. Unknown Number.A spike of cold shot straight through my chest.Nobody good calls after midnight from an unknown number.I grabbed it before the second buzz.“Hello?” My voice came out rough, shaky.“Is this Cameron Wade?”A man’s voice. Deep, clipped. Police.My stomach dropped so fast I swea

Chapter 206

Brandon’s POV)The flashing red-and-blue glow outside the window made my stomach twist.I’d been holding onto Cameron’s hand like it was the only thing anchoring me to Earth, but the moment I saw the patrol car roll up to the curb, I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I’d been holding. Safety. Or at least the closest thing to it since that phone call.“Cops are here,” I whispered.Cameron didn’t answer right away. He was still staring at the dark window, like maybe if he looked hard enough, Drake’s reflection would suddenly appear on the glass. Finally, he nodded, slow, his fingers tightening around mine.Two officers stepped out of the car, flashlights in hand, scanning the street like it was a battlefield. The neighborhood was so quiet it almost made the lights feel louder. One of them—tall, shaved head, serious face—walked up the driveway while the other circled the yard.A knock rattled the front door.Cameron flinched. “God.”“It’s them,” I murmured quickly. “It’s okay.”Stil

Chapter 207

Cameron’s POV)The sun wasn’t even all the way up when I decided I couldn’t take it anymore.Sitting in the living room all night with flashing patrol lights bleeding through the curtains made me feel like I was in some kind of fish tank—just trapped, waiting for the glass to crack. Brandon had dozed off on the couch, curled up in a blanket like he was trying to fold himself small enough to vanish.And me? I was pacing. Back and forth. Over and over until my legs itched.“Cam,” Bran mumbled without even opening his eyes, “you’re gonna wear a hole in the carpet.”“Better than wearing a hole in my skull,” I shot back, too sharp. Then I caught myself and sighed. “Sorry.”He cracked one eye open and gave me a lopsided grin. “You know what you need? A distraction.”“Yeah?” I muttered, crossing my arms. “Got any of those lying around?”He pushed himself up, blanket sliding off his shoulders. His hair was sticking up in like four different directions, and he looked half-dead but somehow stil

Chapter 208

Cameron’s POVThe movie credits were still rolling when I realized Brandon had knocked out. His head was heavy against my shoulder, his breathing slow and uneven like his body was still fighting to heal itself. I didn’t dare move. Not because I was scared of waking him—though, yeah, I was—but because I couldn’t. Not when he was here, warm and alive, leaning on me like I was something solid.My chest ached in this weird, complicated way. Relief mixed with fear. Like part of me was still stuck in that warehouse, watching him bleed out, waiting for him to stop breathing.He shifted suddenly, a soft groan slipping out. His face pinched, and his hand twitched against the blanket.“Bran,” I whispered, squeezing his arm gently. “Hey. It’s okay. You’re safe.”His eyes fluttered open, hazy. For a second, he didn’t look at me—he looked past me, like he was back there again. My heart cracked clean in two.“Cameron,” he muttered, voice raspy.“I’m here,” I said quickly. “I’m right here.”He blink

Chapter 209

Brandon POVThe good thing about laughter is that it makes you forget.The bad thing? You don’t get to forget forever.By the next night, reality came crashing back in.Cameron and I were sprawled on the couch, a bowl of popcorn between us, the TV playing some dumb action movie neither of us were paying attention to. His arm was thrown across the back of the couch, his fingers brushing against my shoulder every now and then like he couldn’t help himself.And just when I was starting to think maybe, just maybe, we could hold onto this fragile bubble of normal—his phone buzzed.Not the casual buzz.Not the “hey, check out this meme” buzz.The sharp, insistent one he had set for unknown numbers.He sat up immediately, eyes darkening. “It’s them.”“The police?” My stomach dropped.He nodded once, already swiping to answer. “Hello? …Yeah, it’s me.”The silence on his end stretched, his face tightening with every word they said. I could only hear muffled voices bleeding through the receiver

Chapter 210

Brandon POvWe didn’t sleep.Not even a little.Cameron kept his phone on the coffee table, screen face-up, like it was a bomb that could go off at any second. Every time it lit up, my chest squeezed. Even the dumb spam notifications made me flinch.By three in the morning, the house was silent except for the clock on the wall and our breathing. I was curled against him, my head on his shoulder, but neither of us was relaxed. His arm tightened around me every time I shifted, like if he let go, I’d vanish.“Cam,” I whispered into the dark. “What if he’s already outside?”He didn’t even hesitate. “Then I’ll make sure he doesn’t get inside.”I tilted my head to look at him. The moonlight through the blinds cut across his face, sharp lines, sharp jaw, sharp determination. He looked like someone ready for war.“Don’t,” I said softly. “Don’t make it sound easy.”His throat worked, but he didn’t answer.The knock came at four.Three sharp raps.We both froze.Cameron was on his feet in a sec

Chapter 210

Cameron POvThe sun rose, but it didn’t matter. The world still felt gray.I hadn’t slept. Brandon hadn’t either, though he pretended for a while—eyes closed, breaths slow—but I could feel him twitch against me, restless. Every car that passed outside, every creak in the house, had both of us stiffening like it could be him.By the time morning actually hit, I couldn’t take it anymore. Sitting around, waiting for Drake to show up and ruin everything—it felt like drowning.I pushed myself off the couch, raking a hand through my hair. “I can’t just sit here.”Brandon looked up at me from where he was curled in the blanket, eyes tired and red but still so damn stubborn. “Cam, don’t. You heard Hayes. We’re supposed to stay put.”“Stay put while he stalks you? While he leaves pictures in some motel like a sick scavenger hunt?” My voice was sharp, too sharp, but I couldn’t help it. The anger burned hotter than the fear now. “No. He wants me to sit here scared. I’m not giving him that.”Bran

PREV

...

18 19 20 21 22 23

NEXT

I-scan ang code para mabasa sa App

DMCA.com Protection Status