Lahat ng Kabanata ng Falling For My Ex’s Dying Billionaire Dad: Kabanata 141 - Kabanata 150

••CORIAN••We fucked through breakfast. Slept through lunch. By the time we woke up, the sun was setting. Orange light streaming through the windows. My body ached. In the best way. Maddison was curled against my side. Her hair spread across my chest. Her breathing soft and even.I didn't want to move. Didn't want to break this moment. But my stomach growled. Loud enough to wake her. She stirred. Lifted her head. Blinked sleepy eyes at me."Hungry?" she asked. Her voice rough from sleep and screaming."Starving."She smiled. Pressed a kiss to my chest. Right over one of the scars."I'll make us dinner.""You don't have to.""I want to."She slipped out of bed. Grabbed one of my shirts. The same white one from this morning. I watched her pad out of the room. Bare feet on hardwood floors. And I just laid there. Staring at the ceiling. Trying to remember the last time I felt this... content.I couldn't.By the time I made it downstairs, she had music playing again

••MADDISON••I called Angelique, and it wasn't for coffee or some casual meet up or anything remotely friendly like that at all.My hands shook as I dialed the number on the card she'd given me. It was crumpled from how hard I'd been gripping it while I paced around trying to decide if I was really going to do this.She answered on the second ring, like she'd been waiting for my call all along."Maddison?" Her voice was smooth and pleased, like she knew exactly why I was calling and had been expecting this moment. "I was wondering when I'd hear from you, darling.""Are you... still interested?" I went straight to the point because I didn't want to give myself time to think about what I was doing or why I was really doing it or if this was the right decision."In you being my model for the painting?" Her tone brightened even more. "Absolutely, I've been thinking about you ever since that day at your store.""Good, so when can we do this?" I tried to sound confi

••MADDISON••I felt awfully guilty now that I had left the studio... it's like the anger had started to wear off and I regret letting Nathan paint me in almost nothing.I regret wanting to hurt Corian that way. Why did I do that?Why did I let my anger get the better of me?No, I just can't. I'll have to call Angelique and tell her to stop. I can't let her publish that painting.I probably shouldn't have walked out on Corian like I did also... and calling him pathetic? that was wrong too. I should have just had a conversation like normal people do but there is nothing normal about growing up with an alcoholic mother who walks out of every real conversation we've ever had.Oh, I messed up. I have to fix it.But I was already in Nick's office.He was on the phone when I entered his office. Signaled me to sit. I did. Tapping my foot. Impatient. When he was done, I went straight to the point."What happened?"Nick leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Would y

••CORIAN••I snuck out of bed. Left Maddison sleeping. She looked peaceful. Finally. Her face was so soft and her breathing was even so I know she wasn’t having any nightmares.But I wasn't peaceful. Not even close.I headed to the warehouse. Where Rocky had Nick tied.The drive felt long. But also too short. My hands gripped the steering wheel with a rage I couldn’t contain. I kept seeing her face. Her tears. Her ripped shirt. Her jeans pulled down. And I wanted to kill him. I wanted to kill him so bad.When I walked in, he was sweaty and bloody. Tied to a chair in the middle of the room. Clearly Rocky had already started working on him.Good.I stared at him. And I wasn't Corian anymore. It was Trojan. And he wanted blood."Leave," I told Rocky.Rocky was leaning against the wall. Arms crossed. He looked at me, hesitating."Are you sure?"He knew what I was about to do. He knew what happened when Trojan came out."Leave, Rock."Rocky pushed off the wall.

••MADDISON••I walked into class late again. Professor Daniels gave me a look and I mouthed sorry before sliding into my seat next to Sydney.She didn't look at me, just kept sketching in her notebook with her pencil moving fast across the page in sharp, angry strokes.I pulled out my own sketchbook and opened it, staring at the blank page while I waited for her to say something like she always does. Some tantrum about family drama or her sex-obsessed neighbor, something, anything Sydney-coded, but there was only silence. It felt wrong, like a log pressing down on my chest.Sydney and I didn't do silence. We talked about everything. I watched her from the corner of my eye and noticed her jaw was locked and her shoulders stiff."Syd," I whispered.She kept drawing, pretending she didn't hear me."Sydney."Her pencil stopped for just a second, then kept going."What?" Just that."Why are you being like this?"She put her pencil down slowly and finally turned