Contract Marriage With My Billionaire Boss (Venus and Aaron) novel Chapter 262

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VENUS

The drive felt endless.

Every red light stretched too long. Every turn felt wrong, as if the world had shifted slightly off its axis and nothing fit the way it used to. Aaron’s security didn’t speak much as they drove me to the house where Rosemary had taken George and Sabine after everything exploded. The silence wrapped around me like something heavy, pressing against my chest until breathing felt like work.

I kept replaying Andrea’s last words in my head.

This was never just about your daughter.

The thought clung to me even as the gates opened and the car rolled into the driveway.

Home.

Or something that used to feel like it.

The moment the door opened, small footsteps thundered across the living room.

“Mommy!”

Sabine reached me first.

She launched herself into my arms so hard I nearly stumbled backward. I caught her instinctively, lifting her against my chest, breathing in the scent of her hair like oxygen.

George followed right behind, trying to look composed but failing completely when his arms wrapped around my waist.

“You’re back,” he said quickly, like he’d been holding the words in too long.

“I’m back,” I whispered.

My fingers ran through his hair automatically, smoothing it down.

Sabine’s tiny hands clung to my neck.

“Did you bring Iris?” George asked softly.

The question landed like a blade. His eyes lifted to mine immediately.

“Did they find her yet?”

My throat closed.

I opened my mouth to answer, but nothing came out.

Because I didn’t know.

Because hope felt too fragile to say out loud.

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Because if I said the wrong thing and it broke them-

Tears blurred my vision before I could stop them.

George’s expression crumpled slightly. “Mommy… don’t cry.”

His arms tightened around me, trying to comfort me the way I had comforted him a thousand times before. That alone broke something inside my chest.

I sank slowly onto the couch, still holding Sabine, George pressed against my side.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, though I wasn’t even sure who I was apologizing to anymore.

Footsteps approached from the hallway.

Rosemary.

She moved toward us with calm purpose, Gianna and Sabine behind her. The moment I saw them, guilt hit me hard and fast. Memories of harsh words, accusations, the distance I had forced between us-even though I’d been pushed into it-rose up like a wave.

“I-“My voice cracked. “I’m so sorry. For everything. For the way I-”

Rosemary didn’t let me finish.

She knelt in front of me, placing a steady hand over mine.

“George,” she said gently, “why don’t you take your sister to your room for a bit? We’d like to talk to your mommy.”

George hesitated.

He looked between us, protective instinct written all over his face.

“I want to stay,” he murmured.

“I know,” Rosemary said softly. “But we need a moment.”

After a long second, he nodded reluctantly. He helped Sabine down from my lap and guided her toward the hallway, glancing back at me once before disappearing into his room.

The moment they were gone, my composure shattered.

“I ruined everything,” I whispered, covering my face. “I hurt all of you. I said things I didn’t mean, I pushed you

away-

“Venus,” Gianna said gently, sitting beside me.

“We know everything,” Rosemary added quietly.

My hands stilled.

“What?” I whispered.

“Aaron told us,” Sabine said from where she stood near the door. “All of it.”

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My chest tightened.

Rosemary squeezed my hand.

“You were protecting your child,” she said. “Do you think any of us wouldn’t have done the same?”

“I drugged him,” I said hoarsely. “I lied. I-”

“You survived,” Gianna interrupted softly. “You endured. That’s not the same as betrayal.”

Sabine nodded. “We’re proud of you.”

“I didn’t do anything brave,” I whispered. “I just… fell apart.”

Rosemary shook her head slowly.

“No,” she said. “You held yourself together long enough to bring this family back from the edge. That’s strength whether you feel it or not.”

Tears slipped down my cheeks again.

“I did it for nothing,” I said quietly. “They still haven’t found her.”

The words tasted like defeat.

Rosemary’s gaze softened.

“You didn’t do it for nothing,” she said firmly. “And Aaron is bringing her home.”

The certainty in Rosemary’s voice made something fragile stir in my chest.

I wanted to believe her.

I wanted to wrap myself in that calm confidence the way I used to when everything felt too heavy to carry alone.

But hope had become dangerous.

Hope had teeth now.

Before I could respond, the faint rumble of an engine rolled through the driveway outside.

My breath caught.

Every nerve in my body snapped awake.

I stood slowly, heart pounding against my ribs, listening.

Voices murmured beyond the door.

Bootsteps.

The low crackle of a radio.

George appeared beside me without a word, his small hand slipping into mine. Sabine climbed onto the couch, peering at everyone.

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The front door opened.

Sunlight spilled into the room and Aaron stepped inside.

For a second, everything in me softened at the sight of him-dust clinging to his suit, exhaustion written in the lines around his eyes, but steady… unbroken.

Connor followed behind him.

And Aaron’s arms-

Were empty.

The world tilted.

My chest caved inward like something had crushed it from the inside.

No. No. No.

I searched behind him frantically, eyes darting past his shoulder, scanning the doorway, the hall, the space behind Connor.

Nothing.

The silence stretched.

Aaron’s gaze found mine, and something flickered there-relief, sorrow, something I couldn’t read fast enough.

My voice barely existed when it came out.

“…Where is she?”

The question tore through the room.

George tightened his grip on my hand.

Rosemary’s smile faded, confusion replacing it.

Aaron took one step forward.

Just one.

“I-” he started.

And my heart shattered before he could finish.

For a split second I thought-

He came back without her.

I swayed slightly, the room spinning, breath catching high in my throat.

Rosemary moved toward me instinctively, but I barely felt her hand on my arm.

“No,” I whispered, shaking my head. “No, you said—you promised—”

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Then,

A small movement behind Connor.

A curl of dark hair.

Tiny shoes stepping hesitantly into the light.

And suddenly she was there.

Iris.

Standing just behind Aaron, half-hidden like she wasn’t sure she was allowed to enter yet.

My breath left me in a broken sob.

“Iris?”

Her head snapped up.