All Chapters of Ruin me, Gently : Chapter 91 - Chapter 100

ISABELLEI pulled up in front of my mom’s house and put the car in park. I sat there for a moment, staring at the familiar front door. My phone rang, bringing me out of my small thoughts. I reached for it in the cupholder, and when I saw his name on the screen, I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face. Or the blush that heated my cheeks.Memories from last night flooded my mind—his hands, his mouth, the way he’d bent me over the kitchen counter, the shower, the bed again—I pressed my thighs together and answered.“Hey.”“Hey.” His voice was low, warm. “How are you feeling?”“I’m good.”“Not too sore?” There was amusement in his tone. “I went pretty hard on you last night.”My face flamed. “What do you mean? I’m strong.”Matt laughed—a genuine sound that made my stomach flip. “Strong. Is that what we’re calling it?”“I’m perfectly fine,” I insisted, even as I shifted in my seat, feeling the pleasant ache between my legs.“Liar.”I bit my lip. “Okay, maybe a little sore. Bu

DAVEThe line went dead.My chest tightened as I stared at my phone. Text me the address.That’s all she’d said before hanging up.Was she actually coming? Or was that just her way of ending the call?A part of me wanted to believe she would show up. That she still cared enough—even after everything- to check on Aurora. To make sure the baby was okay.But why would she?I’d destroyed us. Cheated on her with her best friend. Humiliated her in the worst possible way. And now she’d moved on. She had found someone else.Someone who was apparently willing to go to war for her.The thought twisted something dark and ugly in my gut.I was jealous.God, I hated admitting it, but I was furiously, pathetically jealous.Not just because she’d moved on—I didn’t have the right to be mad about that. But because this guy, whoever he was, was doing what I should have done all along.Protecting her.Standing up for her.Fighting battles on her behalf.I’d never done that. Not once in the two years we

ISABELLE“He’s baffled, you know.”I looked up from my coffee, the spoon pausing mid-stir. Heather was leaning against the counter in the breakroom, her own cup in hand, watching me with that knowing expression she always wore.“Who?” I asked.“Enrico.” She took a sip. “I think he genuinely can’t comprehend how you’re able to just… move on. Like you didn’t just miss what he saw as the opportunity of a lifetime.”I scoffed, going back to stirring my coffee. Wednesday afternoon, and Enrico had been giving me the cold shoulder all week. Honestly? I didn’t even mind. His silence was preferable to the constant pressure, the pointed comments about “opportunities I was missing,” the thinly veiled hints that I should pursue Matteo Moretti for the company’s sake.“I have no hand in Enrico’s heartbreak,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I was honest with him from the beginning. He’s the one who chose to rely on fantasies.”“Still.” Heather’s smile was warm. “I admire you for it.”I frowned. “For what

ISABELLE“You won’t run from me?”The question hung in the air between us, weighted with everything we weren’t saying.I stared at him, seeing the vulnerability he was trying so hard to hide.Matt—confident, controlled, untouchable Matt—was afraid.Afraid I’d decide his world was too much. That the complications weren’t worth it. That when things got hard, I’d choose the easier path and walk away.My throat tightened. “No,” I whispered.His eyes searched mine. “Isabelle—”“I won’t run.” I reached up, my hand cupping his face. “When it gets hard. When the attention comes. When Sheila makes her move.” I took a shaky breath. “I’m scared, Matt. I’m terrified of what’s coming. But I’m not running.”Something shifted in his expression. Relief. Raw and overwhelming.“You promise?” His voice was rough.“I promise.”He pulled me against him so tightly I could barely breathe, his face buried in my hair.We stayed like that for a long moment, neither of us speaking. Just holding each other like

MATTEOThursday Evening. I stared at the contract in front of me, reading the same paragraph for the third time without absorbing a single word.It had been one of those days.Back-to-back meetings. Conference calls that ran long. A merger negotiation that was taking longer than it should. The kind of hectic period where work consumed everything, and there weren’t enough hours in the day.I glanced at my watch. 7:47 PM.I was supposed to see Isabelle tomorrow. Take her away for the weekend like I’d promised.But looking at my schedule—the meetings stacked through Friday morning—I was beginning to doubt whether leaving Friday at six was realistic. Maybe I’d have to push it to Saturday morning. Saturday and Sunday only.The thought of disappointing her made my jaw tighten.“Sir?”I looked up.Charles stood in the doorway, tablet in hand.“Come in,” I said, setting down the contract I wasn’t reading anyway.He entered, his expression neutral but professional as always.“Updates on the S