Fallen 20_HIS DOE, HIS DAMNATION (An Erotic Billionaire Romance)

CHAPTER 0020 

 Meadow’s POV:

 “What the hell does that even mean?” 

 Nova’s voice was sharp as a de, her eyes wide as they were when I told her that ric might’ve had Junipermitted.

 I sat upright in bed, nothing less than stunned at thest thing he’d said to me before he left. I nced at the door like he mighte back anytime soon and say he was joking. That he didn’t really have my

 sister locked away somewhere in a padded room.

 I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

 “He had her evaluated?” Nova scoffed, arms crossed and eyes narrowed like she was ready to burn the entire city down. “Tailored the test so she would fail? That’s…” she trailed off, and to my surprise, let out a

 shortugh. “That is fucking brilliant.”

 I blinked. “What?”

 “Think about it,” she said, amusementcing her voice as she ran a hand through her hair. “He could’ve had her arrested and had you press charges. But that’s more public. Messy. There’s always a loophole

 around that. A loony bin however…” 

 Novaughed again, resting her hand on my shoulder. “You’ve got yourself a dangerous mafia lord

 billionaire husband, Meadow. I mean, how did he even think of that?”

 A shiver racked through my entire body.

 I already knew that ric wasn’t… normal. His ways were slightly different from the norm, but this? Committing my sister? That was insane.

 Utterly insane. 

 “I’m not sure if that’s what she deserves,” I muttered, swallowing thickly. “She hurt me, yes, but that’s too

 much.”

 Nova’s expression turned dead serious now. “I swear to God, Meadow, if you start feeling fucking sorry for that bitch, I’ll contact ric and have himmit you too. Maybe put you two in the same room so you can share your feelings.” She rolled her eyes as she scoffed. “Juniper deserves to be where she is. To be locked in a room where she can’t hurt you or anyone ever again.”

 “She’s my sister, Nova,” I whispered. “I don’t know if I can… no matter what, she’s still my-

 “Wow, she hasn’t even start the maniption yet and you’re already acting like this.” She frowned at me. What? You two can mind–link, now?” 

 +15 BONUS 

 If there was one thing Nova hated me for, it was my willingness to take Juniper back time after time. My willingness to forgive her even when she hadn’t apologized.

 And Juniper never apologized for anything. She just found new ways to manipte her way back to me.

 And I was aware of all of this. Painfully so. But I just couldn’t help it.

 No matter how many times Juniper hurt me, I could never fully hate her. Distancing myself from her for over two years was the best thing I could’ve done for my mental health.

 But she had that under her control, didn’t she?

 She sent Tyler.

 I felt tears prick behind my eyelids. No matter how much I tried to forget, tried to distract myself from what had happened, the fact was that I’d wasted two whole years of my life loving and pining after someone who I thought loved me as much as I did.

 And it hurt. So much that I could feel my heart physically sting. But for some fucked up reason, I couldn’t hate Juniper.

 Instead, I hated myself for tolerating her.

 “Meadow.” Nova’s soft voice pulled me out of my head. I looked at her, my vision blurry.

 “I’m sorry,” I whispered. But I wasn’t apologizing for zoning out. I was apologizing because this was out of Nova’s control. Years ago, she’d epted the fact that I would always, always forgive Juniper no matter

 how badly she hurt me.

 Subconsciously, my hand moved to the back of my neck–the ce where I had a scar. One of the many reminders of the kind of person Juniper was.

 She continued, taking my hands in hers. “I know there’s nothing I can do about your feelings toward your sister, but…please, just not today, okay?” She gave me a tight smile. “Besides, he says it’s only temporary,

 right?”

 When I didn’t respond, she squeezed slightly. “Meadow, she’s not in any danger. Unfortunately,” she added under her breath, making the corner of my lips twitch upward. “But she will be when she gets out.”

 My brows drew together. “What do you mean? Danger from who?” 

 Nova shrugged casually, “Me, of course. I hate her, Meadow, but you know what I hate more? The fact that

 she maniptes you without even trying. It’s like… deeply ingrained in your-”

 The sound of the door sliding open drew our attention to the door, and to be honest, had me feeling

 relieved.

 I didn’t want to get into that conversation with Nova. She knew it wouldn’t work, and here she was, trying.

 A nurse came in, soft smile on her face. “Hi, Mrs. Ashford. Just letting you know your scans came back all clear. No internal bleeding, but you do have a concussion. I’m sending you home with…”

 Her voice droned on but I wasn’t hearing anything anymore.

 How could I? After she’d just called me Mrs. Ashford?

 Mrs.

 Ashford.

 ric’s wife.

 My gaze dropped to the ring on my finger as ric’s words came back to me in bits and pieces. All he wanted was for me to marry him and he’d help me destroy the people who wanted to destroy me first.

 ‘You haven’t even expressed your desire for revenge.‘

 I did want revenge. God, I wanted it so bad it hurt. And I was going to let him deal with Tyler. But Juniper? 

 Juniper was mine.

 “Rest, hydration, and no stress. Got it?” The nurse’s voice filtered into my ears again.

 Nova smiled politely. “Of course. I will do my best to take care of Mrs. Ashford.”

 I shot her a re as the nurse walked out of the room, and Nova shrugged. “What? You are Mrs. Ashford,

 aren’t you?” Her eyes dropped to my hand. “If you agree to keep the ring, that is.”

 Something tugged at my chest.

 “What do you think I should do?” I asked her, twirling the ring around my finger.

 “I… don’t know, Meadow. Which really sucks because I’m your best friend and I always have an answer to everything. But this? I have no idea if you’re walking into the best deal of your life or the most dangerous.”

 I heaved a sigh, running a hand through my hair.

 A part of me already knew what I had to do. And I’d already weighed the pros and cons of epting ric’s deal.

 The pros?

 I would be safe from my sister and Tyler mentally and physically because ric’s house was a fucking fortress.

 I would get revenge(if I wanted it, which I did).

 I’d get to know more about ric–because after only knowing him for about three days, I was curious to

 know more. I wanted to know him. Not that it would be easy because of the obvious walls he built, but

 that could still be fun.

 And I wanted to touch him. To understand the reason behind his condition.

 Andstly… he’d take my virginity.

 The cons?

 epting his offer of revenge meant he was going to do anything he wanted to Juniper–as he made a

 point with the psychiatric hold.

 I’d be with him. I wasn’t sure what it was that ric made me feel, but it was different. Darker. No idea if

 it was a good thing or not, but it had to be a con.

 The way ric looked at me whenever I touched him? He wanted to ruin me. I could see it in his eyes. That couldn’t be good.

 Andstly… he’d take my virginity.

 Yes, a pro AND a con.

 And I wasn’t ready to delve into the whys and why nots.

 Nova heaved a breath, unaware of the storm going on in my head. “Just… take your time, okay? And if you ever decide that you don’t want any part of it, you know I’ll always be here.”

 I nodded, fighting a grin.

 “Okay, I brought you some clothes. Get changed so we can go drop you off.”

 My brow arched. “We?” 

 “Me and your driver, duh.” Nova looked at me like I’d grown a second head. “You think I’m letting you run off with a fucking billionaire without at least seeing where you sleep? Hell no, I’ming with you. I need to make sure you will be taken good care of.” 

 I rolled my eyes, getting off the bed as I grabbed a bag from Nova.

 “Sure, whatever.” 

 And as I took off the hospital gown and threw the sundress over my head, only one thought shed through my mind repeatedly.

 I needed him.

 It was settled.

 I was going to marry ric Ashford.

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Fallen 20