All Chapters of DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG : Chapter 61 - Chapter 69

Moving, it turned out, was a lot more exhausting than I remembered.Not because of the distance—there was barely any.Just across the road.A few steps.A short walk.That was all it took to go from Victor’s house to Brandon’s.And yet—It felt like we were crossing into something much bigger.“Kai, don’t drag that.”“I’m not dragging it, Mama. I’m pulling it.”“That’s the same thing.”“No, it’s not.”I paused mid-step, watching as he struggled with a box that was very clearly too big for him.“It’s different,” he insisted, breathless but determined.I sighed and walked over, taking the box from him before he could prove whatever point he was trying to make.“It’s heavy.”“I can carry it.”“I know,” I said, softer this time. “But you don’t have to.”He frowned slightly but didn’t argue further, his attention already shifting to something else.Children were like that.Quick to move on.I wished it were that easy for me.Behind me, I heard footsteps.Steady.Unhurried.I didn’t need to

BrandonThe second we got on the road, I realized Joan was quiet. Too quiet. Her hands gripped the steering wheel like her life depended on it, though I knew she wasn’t driving. Her chest rose and fell in shallow, rapid bursts, her gaze fixed on nothing at all.“Joan?” I asked softly, reaching over to place my hand lightly on hers.Her fingers twitched beneath mine. “I… I just—” Her voice cracked. She swallowed, sharp and jagged, and I knew immediately what was happening. Panic. Pure, unfiltered panic, blooming inside her like a storm cloud she couldn’t control.“Okay,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady, calm, the anchor she clearly needed. “We’re going to pull over for a second. Breathe with me.”She barely nodded, and I guided the car toward the roadside. The tires crunched over gravel, and I parked. Engine off, silence pressing in around us except for the faint hum of passing cars.“Look at me,” I said gently. She flinched at the sound of my voice but obeyed. “Breathe with me.

~~Joan~~The house was quiet. Not the kind of quiet that felt empty or lonely, but the kind that pressed against your skin, heavy and intimate. Kai was finally asleep, sprawled across his little bed with blankets tangled around him. Even in rest, he looked like a tiny storm contained within sheets, a storm that had demanded every ounce of our energy tonight.Victor was resting in his chair, reclined, his breathing slow and steady. The soft hum of the heater and the faint ticking of the clock were the only sounds accompanying the occasional creak of the old floorboards. I leaned against the doorway, my bag of papers forgotten on the table, and just watched. The evening had gone better than expected—Kai had laughed, Brandon had been patient, and even Victor… though still stern, still distant… hadn’t been impossible.Brandon was in the kitchen, loading dishes into the sink with calm precision, moving in a rhythm that seemed effortless. I wanted to say something, anything, but the words s

By the time I got there, they had already started.Of course, they had.The receptionist barely had time to look up before I walked past her, my heels cutting clean, deliberate sounds against the polished floor. The closer I got to the boardroom, the clearer the muffled voices became—low, tense, controlled. A room full of men and a few women, convincing themselves they were doing something smart. I wondered when they were going to learn they'd just been wasting their time. I didn’t slow down.I pushed the door open without knocking and stepped in.One by one, voices cut off mid-sentence, heads turning, expressions shifting from focus, to confusion, to surprise.Good.Dean was the last to look at me.He stood at the head of the table, one hand braced against the surface, the other holding a file he no longer seemed interested in.For a brief second—just one—his composure slipped, but then it was gone.I didn’t acknowledge it. I didn’t acknowledge any of them.Shoulders squared and c