Chapter 13
They were standing real close, so close that Gianna could smell the clean, warm scent coming off Brendan.
Her eyes flicked up to meet his, and a flutter of panic stirred in her chest.
Before, her eyes were all on Arnold. When it came to Brendan, she only ever felt a kind of respectful fear. Even though she’d helped him once in the past, she still felt more scared than anything around him.
Brendan was a few years older than her, and on top of that, he was Arnold’s uncle.
Every time she saw him, it was like facing a stern elder, and for reasons she couldn’t explain, it always made her feel a pang of guilt.
But now, standing so close to him, there was only one thought in her mind: she must’ve been blind before.
Brendan was so handsome, so capable–the kind of man she should have noticed long ago. Yet, she had wasted so much time chasing after Arnold, who was nothing short of a jerk.
Sure, Brendan was her husband now, but it wasn’t like she had won him over in some grand, romantic way. Their relationship had been built on a deal, and that made her feel a bit uneasy.
Brendan handed her phone back to her.
Gianna glanced up, swallowing nervously.
“What brings you back? “she asked.
“What, you didn’t want me to come back?” Brendan’s lips curled into a slight smile, his deep eyes twinkling in a way that was almost hypnotic.
For a moment, Gianna felt as though she were lost in a dream.
She remembered the day he had carried her broken body out of that hellish place, his face filled with anger and determination. It was a scary memory, yet somehow brought her a sense of safety that only Brendan could provide.
That’s why, in this lifetime, she had sought him out without hesitation. To her surprise, he hadn’t turned her down. Even though helping her didn’t seem to benefit him, especially since the end of their agreement might leave him labeled as a divorcee, he still agreed to the marriage
contract.
“No, it’s your home; you should come back whenever
you I want, “Gianna
with a small smile.
“It’s not just my home now, Gianna. It’s ours, “Brendan replied softly, his voice like velvet. “Susan’s made dinner. Let’s eat.”
“Okay.”
Gianna sat down to eat with Brendan,
Dining with this intimidating uncle figure made her nervous, especially knowing he would be home tonight. Who knew what might happen
later?
The contract was clear: obligations should be met, respect was mutual, but if Brendan wanted to exercise his marital rights, she wasn’t sure she could easily refuse.
Lost in her thoughts, Gianna absentmindedly picked at her dinner.
Meanwhile, on the other side of town, Arnold was fuming.
He’d called Gianna countless times, only to have each call go unanswered. It suddenly dawned on him–she’d blocked him!
Frustrated, he even tried reaching out on Twitter, only to be met with a glaring exclamation mark, indicating his messages were being ignored.
“Gianna, you’ve lost your mind!” He shouted, jumping up from the couch.
After taking a deep breath, he tossed his phone aside, refusing to believe she’d just give up on him like that. For years, she’d clung to Surely, she couldn’t walk away so easily.
三
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Luckuy, they were married, ana nis granatainer naant insisted on nim attending the weaaing. ine weaaing naa nappenea, and the snares nis grandfather promised would still be his.
With that thought, Arnold relaxed a little. Now, it was her turn to come crawling back. He’d just wait and see how long she could keep up this rebellion!
Just then. Thiago called and said a bunch of buddies were meeting up for dinner.
