บททั้งหมดของ Contractually Yours: บทที่ 41 - บทที่ 50

Jem's POV And in that silence, something shifted between us—unspoken, but clearly felt. I suddenly became very aware of how small I looked sitting there. Dante stood over me like a wall. Tall. Broad-shouldered. Unmoving. Of course, he had just come out of the shower so his hair was still slightly wet, strands falling carelessly across his forehead. Water slid slowly down his skin, tracing over his chest and abdomen before disappearing into the towel wrapped low around his waist. God this man is hot. Like what the fuck! He wasn’t trying to look intimidating. But he was. Everything about him filled the space too easily—his height, his presence, the quiet control in the way he stood there. And I… I just sat there. Too small. Too exposed. Too aware of him. My chest tightened. Then suddenly, he moved. Without a word, Dante stepped closer. I tensed immediately. He stopped right in front of me, so close I had to tilt my head back just to keep looking at him as he stood t

Dante's POV The room was quiet.I was still sitting on the edge of the bed, phone in hand, staring at the screen.JJ hadn’t replied in a while.I had no idea what he was running from that made him ask me such a question, but it didn’t really matter. As long as I could help him, I wouldn’t hesitate—even if it meant doing something reckless.I'd sent my last message—’Give me an address. I'll come find you’—and since then, nothing. No response. No typing notification. Just silence on the other end, and I found myself staring at the screen longer than I intended to, waiting for something that wasn't coming.I exhaled slowly and leaned back slightly.It wasn't like JJ to go quiet after reaching out.Usually when he messaged, there was an energy to it—something restless and quick, responses tumbling in one after the other before I could even finish reading the first one.This stillness was different.As if I was slowly growing more impatient, I typed again, my fingers flying fast across

Dante's POV Jem looked up fast, shaking his head too quickly. “No. No, never. I’m not hiding anything from you.” His voice wavered. “I’m just… I’m just sorry. I don’t want you to be mad at me.”I studied him for a moment, not fully convinced.“You already said sorry,” I said, letting out a slow breath.“I know,” he said immediately, swallowing. “I know, but I just… I needed you to actually hear it. That I’m really sorry.”I held his gaze for a long moment, saying nothing.By now, there wasn't even a tiny space left between us.I was now standing so close to him that I could almost see the exact moment his breathing changed when I didn't step back. Close enough that the slight tremor in his bottom lip was completely visible.I held his gaze and let the silence stretch between us.And then, somewhere in that silence, my mind moved without my permission.And JJ suddenly popped into my head—And then our date at two o'clock today.And then his last heart-warming message; ‘I can't wait to

Dante's POV Jem’s throat moved as he swallowed hard, still watching me from the corner of his eyes.Then he turned back to my mother and said, his voice only slightly unsteady, "Yes—yes, ma'am. I'm fine. Really. Dante has been…" He paused. Swallowed again. "He's really a good man. He didn't hurt me."I smiled.Not at my mother. At Jem specifically. A slow, deliberate smile that he absolutely caught because he immediately looked away.He'd said it to protect himself. We both knew that. Every single word of it had been delivered purely out of self-preservation, and it had been one of the most unconvincing performances I had ever witnessed in my life, and somehow that made it funnier than anything else.My mother, however, turned back to me with an expression that said she had not missed a single thing."You see?" She gestured at Jem;"The boy is defending you and you're dragging him around like cargo. What is wrong with you, Dante? When I raised you I know for a fact that I taught you

Dante's POV The ladies bowed their heads immediately and exited.They filed out immediately, the glass door closing softly behind them.I looked at him for a moment longer, then I finally spoke, leaning forward slightly.“Why the fuck are you stressing me, Jem? Look, I promise you already, it’s just a date… nothing serious. Just two hours of your time and that's all.”Jem stood there, stiff.“I can’t go?” he finally said.I sighed, rubbing my temple slightly.Then I exhaled slowly. "Why.”I breathed out and continued, “You want me to lay you? Fine. Name your price. I’ll give you whatever amount you want. Just go back out there and let the girls prepare you. We’re running out of time.”Jem was quiet for a second. Then he finally spoke again;“I’m not asking you to pay me. It's just that I also need to go somewhere today. I actually came to take permission from you earlier back in the house when I came back into your room. I can’t go on your date, please. Just let me go this once, and