บททั้งหมดของ DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG : บทที่ 71 - บทที่ 80

~~Brandon~~I didn’t plan to check on them. Not immediately, at least.Living in the same house didn’t mean I had to be everywhere at once, and lately, I’d been trying—unsuccessfully—to give Joan some space. Things had been… tense. Not outwardly. Not in a way anyone else would notice. But I’d started picking up on the small things—the way she went quiet more often, the way she seemed to be thinking ten steps ahead of everyone else, the way something always lingered just beneath the surface.Still, something felt off the moment I stepped into the house that evening.It was too quiet.Not the peaceful kind. The kind that made you pause without meaning to.I loosened my tie as I walked further in, dropping my keys on the console by the door. “Joan?” I called out casually, expecting a response from somewhere nearby.Nothing.But then I heard voices.Low. Soft.From the living room.I followed the sound, my steps slowing just slightly as I approached the doorway, like some part of me alrea

For a moment, I couldn’t move.I stood there, just past the entrance, my fingers still loosely wrapped around my clutch, my mind struggling to catch up with what my eyes had already processed. It wasn’t the hug itself that unsettled me—it wasn’t even particularly intimate, not in a way that should have mattered—but it was the ease of it. The familiarity. The way Brandon’s arms had gone around her without hesitation, like it was something he’d done a hundred times before.I didn’t like how quickly my chest tightened in response.It was ridiculous.Unnecessary.And completely avoidable—if I simply turned around and left.The thought came almost immediately, instinctive and sharp. I could leave. No one had seen me yet. I could walk right back out, get into my car, and pretend this moment hadn’t happened. It wouldn’t change anything. It shouldn’t change anything.So I moved.One step back.Then another.My gaze dropped, my body already turning slightly toward the door when—“Joan.”I froz

~~Brandon~~I didn’t think I’d made a mistake until she went quiet.Not the kind of quiet that meant she was comfortable. Not the kind that came from being tired or relaxed. This one was… heavier. Thicker. Like her thoughts had turned inward and locked the door behind them.And for a second, I wondered if bringing her here had been a bad idea.Then she saw the lights.It was subtle at first. Just a slight shift in her posture, the faintest narrowing of her eyes as the fairgrounds came into full view ahead of us—bright, chaotic, alive in a way that felt completely out of place for someone like Joan. Or at least… the version of her I’d gotten used to.But then—Something else followed.Curiosity.It wasn’t loud. Wasn’t obvious. But it was there, tucked just beneath the surface, peeking through the cracks she didn’t realize she had.And just like that—I knew I hadn’t made a mistake.She didn’t say anything when we got out of the car, but her gaze moved everywhere. The lights, the people

JoanIt was supposed to be simple.That was how the evening had started—unplanned, almost accidental, like most of the things that had begun to involve Brandon lately. Kai had been restless, pacing around the house with a kind of bottled energy that refused to settle, and after watching him bounce from one thing to another for over an hour, Brandon had casually suggested we step out for dinner. Nothing formal. Nothing planned. Just somewhere quiet where Kai could burn off the rest of his energy without tearing through the house like a storm.I should’ve said no.I should’ve stayed in, kept things predictable, safe—kept everything within the small, controlled space I’d built for myself.But I didn’t.And now, standing just a few feet behind a pillar inside a restaurant I hadn’t even intended to walk into, my phone held steady in my hand as the screen recorded everything in front of me, I realized just how quickly “simple” could turn into something else entirely.Because across the room

Sleep didn’t come.It hovered just out of reach, close enough that I could feel the pull of it, but far enough that every time I tried to sink into it, my mind dragged me back up again. Thoughts circled endlessly, refusing to settle—Victor’s silence, Brandon’s expression at the restaurant, the weight of my own decisions pressing heavier the more I tried to ignore them. Even when I turned to my side, then to the other, adjusting the pillows like that would somehow quiet everything in my head, it didn’t help.If anything, the stillness of the room made it worse.Because there was nothing to distract me.No noise. No movement. Just me and my thoughts.I exhaled slowly, staring into the darkness for a long moment before pushing the covers off and sitting up. There was no point forcing it. I knew myself well enough to understand that once my mind got like this, sleep wasn’t going to come easily—not until I gave it something else to focus on.Something simple.Something quiet.Warm milk.Th