Contracted To The Beast novel Chapter 90

Chapter 90

Chapter 90

“I want a popsicle, Mama,” Zara said, tugging at the hem of my shirt.

“Really?” I said, smiling. “What flavour do you want?”

“The pink one,” she said excitedly.

“Hold on. Let me wipe your nose.”

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I stopped in the hospital hallway and wiped her nose clean. The pediatrician diagnosed her with mild flu, just as the babysitter suspected, and gave us some medications. I was so grateful she spotted the signs early.

“Let’s go to the grocery store,” I said to her as we continued our walk. I needed to get a few things and strawberries for her pink popsicle.

“Yay!” Zara said, clapping as we got into the car. “Would you like a popsicle, Mr. Leo?”

“Yes, I would love one,” Leo replied, smiling.

“I’ll have Mama give you one,” she said to him. “She makes the best popsicles.”

“Thank you very much, kind ma’am,” Leo answered as she giggled.

“To Walmart, please,” I told him as he started the ignition.

Leo glanced at Zara through the rearview mirror, and to my surprise, he smiled again.

That made three times in less than an hour.

I almost laughed.

The same man who looked like he could interrogate enemy spies for a living had spent the last ten minutes discussing popsicle flavors with a five-year-old.

Then again, Zara had always been like that.

She’d once made friends with an elderly woman in a supermarket checkout line and somehow convinced her to buy matching stickers.

She talked to everyone.

Apparently, even intimidating former Marines weren’t safe from her.

Zara had always been outgoing, Sometimes, when she smiled at strangers without an ounce of hesitation, I caught flashes of someone else.

We arrived at the grocery store in no time. I had already compiled a mini checklist so our trip would be quick.

I had always felt anxious about taking Zara out in public since I started fake-dating Maddox. I was scared of being photographed with her. Not that I was ashamed of her, but I was scared of Maddox finding out about her and creeps showing up randomly around her.

I browsed through the store, hand in hand with Zara. It had been a while since we last shopped together. I loved grocery shopping. It was very therapeutic, and Zara loved it too.

As we walked through the aisles, I caught a few people looking twice.

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Chapter 90

Not staring.

Just that brief flicker of recognition before they quickly looked away.

A month ago, nobody would have noticed me buying strawberries and cough syrup on a Saturday afternoon.

Now, after the accident and everything that followed, anonymity felt a little more fragile than it used to.

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I was glad people were not whipping out their phones to make videos of me walking through the grocery store with a kid.

Especially when the kid was the splitting image of my “boyfriend”.

“All done,” Zara said, cheering. “We’ve gotten everything.”

I went through the checklist one more time to be sure we had actually gotten everything before paying with Maddox’s card

I wondered if Maddox ever looked at the transaction alerts.

If he noticed when I bought groceries. Or cough medicine, or strawberry popsicle ingredients.

He’d never brought it up.

Part of me worried that one day I’d swipe the card and it would simply stop working.

We got into the car and drove home. Leo helped us offload the groceries into the house. I let him since Mom was not around.

“Goodbye, Mister Leo,” Zara said, wrapping her arms around his leg before skipping into the house.

Leo watched her go with an expression I’d never seen on him before.

Something soft.

“Thank you very much,” I said, turning toward him.

“Anytime, Doc. Especially for the little one.” He nodded once. “I’m glad she’s okay.”

“Me too,” I said quietly. “Enjoy the rest of your evening. We won’t be going anywhere else.”

“Dr. Page.”

I paused.

He shifted his weight slightly, as though debating whether he should say something.

“I hope you don’t mind me asking.”

My stomach tightened.

“Ask what?”

He glanced toward the front door where Zara had disappeared.

“Has anyone ever told you that your daughter looks a lot like Mr. Kane?”

For a second, I forgot how to breathe.

The grocery bags nearly slipped from my hands.

Chapter 90

“Oh.”

That was all I managed.

His expression remained carefully neutral.

“I apologize if I’ve overstepped,” he said immediately. “It’s none of my business.”

I looked down at the driveway.

“He doesn’t know.”

The words came out quieter than I’d intended.

There was a long pause.

When I finally looked up, Leo’s expression hadn’t changed.

“Understood,” he said simply.

“I’d prefer to keep it that way,” I admitted.

He nodded once.

“Then that’s exactly how it’ll stay.”

I don’t know why, but the certainty in his voice made something in my chest loosen.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

“You’re welcome, ma’am.”

Then he turned and walked back toward his car. I watched him get into his car and drive away.

He hadn’t asked any more questions. He hadn’t looked shocked. He hadn’t judged me.

He had simply accepted what I’d told him and promised to protect it.

For the first time in a very long time, I felt like I could breathe.

I shook my head and walked into the house. I found Zara in the kitchen sorting some of the things we got.

“Zara,” I called in shock, praying she had not touched the eggs.

“You were taking a bit of time, Mama, so I decided to help,” she said innocently.

I took a deep breath in and out. “Thank you very much, dear. I’m back now, so let me take over, okay?”

“Okay,” she said, putting down the jar of Nutella.

I glanced at the carton of eggs first.

Still intact.

The jar of pasta sauce hadn’t shattered either.

I let out a breath I hadn’t realized I was holding and finished putting the groceries away.

By the time I got Zara upstairs, her cheeks were noticeably pink.

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