3.Chapter 3 Messing Around
After Bowen finally left, Laura felt like she could breathe again. Her heart stopped hammering in her throat and her death grip on the blanket loosened.
“Seriously, what the hell is going on?’ she wondered. Bowen was supposed to be out of the country, and yet, somehow, he’d showed up like her own personal hero last night.
And now he was talking about marriage like it was just another business deal. The whole thing made her head spin.
He wanted her to think about his proposal.” Yeah, right. Like she actually had a shot.
Still dazed, she sat there for a few minutes before reaching for the bag he’d left. Inside: a women’s turtleneck set–tags off–and, Jesus, new underwear.
Even the bra and panties were her exact size. That attention to detail made her face go hot.
Ignoring how sore she felt everywhere, Laura slipped into the fresh clothes.
The second her feet touched the carpet, her legs almost gave out. She gasped, clutching the bed for support and trying not to tip over.
‘How many fucking times did Bowen screw me last night? No wonder my legs feel like noodles–I could barely stand, let alone walk.‘ Laura winced.
After a few moments gathering herself, she hobbled to the door. As soon as she opened it, Bowen’s assistant–Marco Hoffman–was standing there, all smiles like nothing was weird.
“Morning, Miss Wilson. Mr. Weaver wants me to take you to the hospital for a quick check–up,” he said.
He didn’t show a hint of judgment, but Laura still wanted to crawl under the rug and hide. So humiliating.
“I’m fine, really. No hospital needed,” she muttered, cheeks flaming.
“No problem at all,” Marco replied with that annoyingly pleasant grin. “If you don’t want the hospital, I’m supposed to take you home so you can rest up.”
“Thanks… I’ll just head to the front desk and check out-
“No need,” he cut in smoothly, gesturing for her to follow. “Mr. Weaver already took care of everything. You’re all set.”
With no room left to argue, Laura limped out to the car. Marco handed her a thermos once she got in. “Here, Miss Wilson, he said, totally unfazed. “Mr. Weaver figured your might need some breakfast after, uh, last night.”
Laura blinked, thrown off. “Uh, thanks…”
“Don’t thank me.” Marco glanced at her in the mirror. “He made it himself. You might
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3 Chapter 3 Messing Around
want to give him a call.”
Her brain glitched. “He… made this?”
She just couldn’t picture Bowen–cold, ruthless, untouchable–making breakfast for anyone, let alone her.
The guy was D.C. legend–never messed with women, never got caught up with.
anyone.
The city’s wealthiest women tried to snag him, but he’d never shown an ounce of
interest.
Meanwhile, here she was. The Wilson family’s “spare” daughter, and Bowen not only broke his own rules for her last night–now he was making her breakfast.
“Yeah,” Marco said, pulling onto the road. “He figured you’d probably have no appetite, so he cooked.
“If he didn’t have meetings today, you wouldn’t be stuck with me as your chauffeur.”
“Wasn’t he supposed to be out of the country? How’d he…” Laura hugged the thermos, frowning.
Marco shrugged. “We don’t ask about Mr. Weaver’s business, Miss Wilson.”
“Fair.” Laura clutched the thermos like it was a treasure, still in shock.
Marco saw her in the mirror and shook his head, sympathy flickering through his eyes. Being Bowen’s go–to guy, he knew exactly how bad things were for Laura in her family.
“Go ahead, drink it hot,“he said.
“I’ll wait till I’m home,” Laura muttered. “If I spill in the car-
“Trust me, Mr. Weaver wouldn’t care.”
“Well, I do.” Laura stared down at the thermos, voice leaving no room for argument. “I want to enjoy it. At home.”
Marco let out a long, quiet sigh. Nothing left to say.
It was almost twelve–thirty by the time they pulled up to the Wilson Mansion.
Laura walked in and right away saw her dad, her mom, and her sister Jasmine laughing and eating together at the table–total picture–perfect family.
But the second her mom Lynn noticed her, her whole mood flipped.
She slammed her fork onto the table. “Laura Wilson! I told you to come home the minute I called. And look at you–strolling in now like you own the place!”
“Mom, don’t be like that,” Brielle jumped in, all sweet, gently patting their mom’s hand.
She always acted like she was smoothing things over, but Laura knew better. She continued, “Laura’s not like me. She’s always been more independent, you know? She’s
3.Chapter 3 Messing Around
an adult now. It’s just one night away–so what, as long as she didn’t do anything crazy?”
Brielle shot Laura a look, catching the tiredness written all over her face. Laura said nothing, trying to hold herself together.
Brielle almost looked pleased but quickly put on her “concerned big sister” act. “Laura, you must be starving, right? Don’t be mad we ate first–Mom and Dad were just worried about my health. Come eat with us, and just apologize, okay?”
“Eat? She shouldn’t even be here eating with us!” Lynn snapped.
She stared Laura down, her voice full of judgment. “What the hell happened to your clothes? You didn’t come home last night! Were you out fooling around, and now Cameron wants to dump you?”
Laura met her mom’s glare with a blank face, then glanced at her father–who just looked pissed and stayed silent, as usual. She let out a dry, bitter laugh. “What am I to you people, anyway?
“Any other parents would be freaking out if their kid didn’t come home all night- worried sick something might’ve happened. But not you guys. Did any of you even ask if I was okay?”
She took a shaky breath, voice straining not to crack, “Now you don’t even wait for an explanation before accusing me of sleeping around. Is that what a real mom does?”
“Come on, Laura, cut it out,” Brielle said quickly, glancing at their mom–who was literally shaking with anger.
Brielle might have loved seeing Laura squirm, but she kept up the caring sister act and grabbed Laura’s arm. “Mom’s just worried, that’s all. Don’t take it so seriously, alright?”
Laura felt Brielle dig her nails into her arm–hard. She jerked back on reflex, trying to shake off Brielle
grip.
Suddenly, Brielle grabbed her chest and slumped to the floor, acting like she was -about to pass out. As she dropped, she tugged Laura’s hoodie down, pulling the zipper
open and gasping extra loud.
“Baby!“Lynn’s face went white when she saw her older daughter go down.
She rushed over, helped Brielle sit up, and checked her over. Once she saw Brielle was fine, she shot a deadly glare at Laura.
Smack-
Lynn’s slap hit Laura square on the face. “You know your sister’s not well and you still push her? What the hell is wrong with you? Are you trying to kill her?”
Right then, she spotted the hickeys on Laura’s neck, bright and obvious. Lynn started shaking, her voice rising with anger. “You still wanna tell me you weren’t messing around last night? Then what the fuck are those, huh? Explain that!”
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