Semua Bab Dear Ex-Husband, Revenge is Mine!: Bab 131 - Bab 140

IRIS My hands clawed at Maverick’s shirt as I yanked him harder against me, deepening the kiss, moaning when his tongue delved deep into my mouth.There was no talking. I didn’t even want to talk. I didn’t want to explain how every broken piece of me felt like it was shattering. I didn’t want to think about our impending doom, or the fact that Maverick may have been lying when he said “tomorrow.”I just wanted to feel something.Feel him.Maverick’s hands were everywhere. On my waist. In my hair. Gripping my thighs as he backed me toward the bed, lifting me like I weighed nothing.We fell into the sheets, our mouth fused, our bodies tangling in light sweat and desire.Pretty soon, his shirt was tossed aside. I tugged at his belt with shaking fingers and he groaned against my neck. “Not yet.”I didn’t have any time to get my question in before he started to kiss his way down my body, not missing a single inch as he unclasped my bra from the front.Maverick took his precious time with

MAVERICK FIFTEEN YEARS OLD The air in the Sinclair mansion always felt like it had sharp teeth. Even when it was completely silent, you could feel it biting into your skin. And that night, it bit even more than usual. Deeper. My back ached. The fresh lashes still throbbed, and even without turning to look at myself in the mirror, I knew that there were deep, red gashes across my back. They never had time to heal. Ever. Because every few days, my father would take the whip to my skin, lashing me for reasons that would never make sense to anybody. He’d used the wire hanger this time. Said I’d disrespected him by not responding when he called me. But I hadn’t heard him. I was in the basement, fixing the coding on a server that I’d built from scraps. The same basement where he would lock me for days on end, sending the maid to bring me food and water. It used to be Tania, but now, she was with grandfather. He was sick and she needed to be there with him. Blood trickled f

IRIS “Rhoda? Rhoda!”I stared at the screen, my heart beating furiously against my ribcage as dread filled me. Call ended.I called again. Thrice.And they all went to voicemail.Maverick was already moving, pulling his clothes on. “What happened?”I could barely speak as the phone slipped from my hand onto the floor.“I think something’s wrong,” I whispered, my throat closing up. “I think she’s in trouble.”“What?” Maverick pulled on his shirt, walking toward me. “What the hell is going on?”I finally looked at him, barely able to recognize my own voice. “She called me. I—I think she’s hurt, and she wouldn’t tell me where she was. She sounded like—”A sharp breath escaped my mouth as something panged my chest. I didn’t want to finish that sentence. That thought.I ran a frustrated hand through my hair, feeling panic start to grip my chest. I took a deep breath.I couldn’t panic. Not again. Not tonight. I just needed to find where she was staying.“Maverick, I—”“I know where she’s

IRIS I’d forgotten how cold hospitals could feel. Not just in temperature, but in spirit. The kind of cold that settled into your bones even though I was sure that the heating was working just fine.I sat in the waiting room, my pants stained with dried blood. Maverick had made me wash my hands, and to be honest, I had no memory of doing that because of how out of if I’d been. I stared down at them. They wouldn’t stop twitching.And all I could perceive part from the antiseptic in the hospital was the smell of iron. The smell of my mother’s blood.They’d taken her in over thirty minutes ago. Said that they would do everything they could to save her, like those words meant anything when you’ve already seen someone try to die in front of you.I kept replaying it in my head. Her voice on the phone. The way it cracked. The way her voice begged without actually begging for help. The way she said she was sorry.Sorry. I scoffed.Like that one word was going to fix the lifetime of mistakes

IRISI wasn’t asleep.Not really.My body was heavy, though, my limbs still completely drained from the emotional whiplash of last night’s events, but my mind… it just wouldn’t shut off.It wasn’t as easy to do as Maverick had said.I’d curled into Maverick like my life depended on it, letting him wrap his arms around me like a damn armor, letting myself pretend that for just a little while, I was okay. I was safe. Maverick was mine.But even with the warmth of his chest and the steady, calm rhythm of his heartbeat, I couldn’t fall into unconsciousness. Not fully.But I didn’t open my eyes when he left the bed. Even though I felt the way his body tensed before he slid out of bed, I didn't say a word. I didn’t need to. Didn’t even want to.Because if there was something wrong, he was going to let me know… right?And if he was holding something back—which I could tell he was—it was either to protect me…Or to prepare me.Or maybe the night brought back terrible memories for him.Shit.O