Chapter 1560:
Marc snapped awake from a nightmare.
In it, Ste stood beside William as they questioned him, while Jazlyn wept and demanded to know why he had chosen such a path. Ste would not go with him — she rested against William’s chest and met his gaze with chilling distance.
He jerked upright, a dull, hangover-like pain throbbing through his skull and forcing a low groan from his throat. The familiar rest area of his office slowly came into focus. He was lying on the small bed, fingers pressing against his temples. He could not recall falling asleep. His memory stopped at Livia offering him a massage — and then nothing.
That gap made his body stiffen.
The nket beside him shifted. The faint sound of a woman’s breathing brushed his ear. He turned his head slowly, movements rigid.
Clothing littered the floor. His shirt was tangled with a woman’s dress, both discarded carelessly. His pupils shrank as his eyes followed the trail to the bed. The space beside him was no longer empty. A slim figurey there, long hair spread across the sheets like spilled ink.
The shock hit him all at once.
He sat up sharply, the nket sliding down to expose his bare chest. Beside him, Livia stirred as well — equally unclothed — and lifted heavy-lidded eyes to look at him.
His mind wentpletely still.
What had happened?
Outside the window, the sky had already darkened, yet he remembered arriving at the studio that very morning.
She noticed him sitting up and flushed at once, pulling the nket over herself. “Mr. Walsh, you are awake,” she said in a soft, timid voice. After a pause, she added quietly, “Does your head still hurt?”
His throat was rough. He stared at her, disbelief edging into his words. “Why are you here? What happened?”
Livia’s flush deepened. Hershes dropped and she drew herself inward, looking small and fragile. “This morning you had a terrible headache, so I helped with a massage. Later you fell asleep, and then you grabbed me and would not let go. You were mumbling things that made no sense. I tried to get away, but I could not break free — so I stayed, and then it just… happened.” Her voice broke more than once before she buried her face beneath the nket, unable to continue.
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Marc felt as though something heavy had mmed into him.
He had held onto her and done something like that? It could not be real. His mind had beenpletely foggy — he had no memory of anything that followed. How could he have crossed that line?
He looked at her beside him, her bare shoulder exposed, and his eyes held no warmth — only irritation. “Leave.”
She had expected him to calm her, tofort her, perhaps even to take some responsibility. She had not expected the very first word out of his mouth to be that.
She stared at him in disbelief, tears welling fast. “Mr. Walsh—”
Her crying only sharpened his temper. “You work here,” he cut her off. “If you saw me asleep, you should have walked out. Livia, do not pretend I cannot see what you were trying to do. Drop those thoughts right now.”
He had lived long enough to recognize certain intentions. Apart from Ste, other women had been around him before — he had no difficulty reading this. Even if he had been half-conscious, holding her loosely, she could have shaken herself free and left. Instead, she had stayed. She had ended up in his bed, her resistance nothing more than surface pretense.
His words frightened her. Tears spilled down her cheeks as she shook her head vigorously. “That is not true, Mr. Walsh. How could you think that of me? I admit I admire you, but I never meant to do anything wrong. You were the one who started it.”
Watching her cry so helplessly, he could not fully gauge how much of it was genuine.
But no matter what, what had happened could not be undone.
He threw the nket aside, paid no attention to his own exposed state, and dressed quickly — not once looking back at the trembling figure on the bed.
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Message from Noa: Good afternoon dear readers. God loves you and Noa wishes you all the best. (? ?? ? – ? ) ?
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