Desired by the Billionaire Brothers のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 121 - チャプター 130

Max’s POV:The moment awareness settled enough for my body to respond, panic followed.“Where is Veronica?” I demanded, pushing against the bed despite the resistance from my own muscles. My head throbbed immediately, but I ignored it. “Where is she?”A nurse hurried closer, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. “Please stay still. You’re recovering from a head injury.”“I don’t care about that,” I snapped, trying to sit up again. “Tell me where she is.”“She’s fine,” the nurse said.I stared at her. Fine?Because the last thing I remembered was the crash. The impact. The way everything spun out of control. And Veronica... had been unconscious.Her head was tilted, her body was like a log.I clenched my jaw at the memory,“No,” I said. “I saw her. She wasn’t fine. She wasn’t moving.”The image replayed again in my mind, sharper this time.I had failed her. Wasn't I supposed to protect her with my life? Hell, she is my fiancé.And I hadn’t.A doctor entered then, flipping through a chart

Veronica's POV:I was furious at him for ambushing me.How dare he scare me like that, especially when the threat of Chase was high in the air?Even if this was meant to be a prank, it wasn't a bit funny. He was literally rage-baiting me.My right wrist was aching against the metal, as I tried to straighten my spine.I wanted to scream at him, to demand answers about what he and Theo have been up to lately, but the words stuck in my throat as he gripped the hem of his shirt."Let me show you what you have been missing for so long."With a casual tug, he peeled off his shirt, revealing the sculpted planes of his chest and abs that I'd traced with my fingers so many times before.His skin was glowing under the soft lamplight, making his muscles appear like rippling, damn that sexy V-line.God, he was such a charming vision to look at with his broad shoulders.How could I even stay angry with him anymore?My anger disappeared just like that.I became so hot everywhere. It was unfair how

Veronica's POV:He took my free hand, the one not tied to the bed, and held it gently, his thumb brushing across my knuckles."Veronica Whitmore," he said. "You're the most infuriating, brilliant, beautiful woman I've ever met.You make me want to be better. You make me want to actually deserve you, which is probably impossible but I'm going to spend the rest of my life trying anyway.You see through all my bullshit, you call me out when I'm being an idiot, and you make me laugh even when everything is falling apart.I know we started this as something casual, but somewhere along the way it became real for me. You became real for me. And I don't want to pretend anymore. I don't want this to be a performance or a PR move or a way to save your reputation. I want it to be real. I want us to be real."He lifted the ring, holding it up between us."So I'm asking you properly, officially, for real. Will you marry me? Not fake engaged. Not temporarily together until we figure out the mess wi

Veronica's POV:The ceiling of my room had become my entire world.I was done. Done being handled. Done being protected.Done being shut out like I was some fragile thing that would shatter the moment I stepped outside.“I’m going downstairs,” I said, gripping the armrest of my wheelchair as I looked at the nurse. “Take me to the elevator.”"Diane, bring the wheelchair."My nurse looked up from the medication tray in the corner, and I already saw the hesitation forming on her face before she'd even turned fully around.She was a kind woman... and I had nothing against her personally... but right now her kindness was standing directly between me and the elevator, and I had no patience left for it."Miss Veronica," she started carefully, "you really should be resting. Dr. Haines said your blood pressure has been low.""Bring. The wheelchair."She brought it. Slowly, reluctantly, the way someone does when they've already decided they're going to refuse the actual request but want to appe

Veronica's POV:The security guard at the manor gate was a man I had never seen before, which told me they had rotated the staff again.Max did that periodically... shuffled the faces so that no one on the outside could build a reliable pattern.Under normal circumstances I would have appreciated the thoroughness.Standing outside in the evening air in a wheelchair, with Diane hovering anxiously behind me and a surgical blade I had used as a threat still sitting in my coat pocket, I found it considerably less charming."What do you mean I'm not allowed inside?" I asked.The guard was young, broad-shouldered, and wearing the particular expression of someone who had been trained to be immovable and was determined to demonstrate that training regardless of who was standing in front of him. "Mr. Ashford doesn't allow visitors without a prior appointment, ma'am. I'll need to verify clearance before I can open the gate."I stared at him."I am Maximilian Ashford's fiancée," I said, and I li