I Told You To Run But You Didn't (Georgia) novel Chapter 49

Chapter 49

Georgia’s POV

Finished

He glared at me, the fear in his eyes quickly replaced by a hot, stubborn fury. “No,” he snarled. “You can’t go.”

I stared at him, my voice flat with disbelief. “What?”

“I SAID, YOU CAN’T GO!” he roared, his desperation finally boiling over into rage. He lunged forward, not to grab me this time, but to shove me hard against the corridor wall.

My hand instinctively flew

the bandage behind my to the gun at my back, but he anticipated the move. His fingers brushed against

the bandage behind my ear-a remnant from the roll of the asphalt-and I flinched at the unexpected, stinging touch.

In that split-second of distraction, a sharp, cold sting pierced the side of my neck.

My eyes flew wide, my hand dropping from my weapon A wave of nausea and dizziness hit me like a physical blow. The hotel corridor began to tilt and blur, the patterned carpet swimming before my eyes.

“I’m saving you, Georgia,” he said, his voice a frantic, desperate whisper. “There’s going to be a fight tonight. A war. I can’t let you be in the middle of it. I can’t afford to lose you.”

I clutched the wall, my legs beginning to tremble, my vision tunneling. “Losing me?!” I choked out, a humorless laugh dying in my throat.

My hand slid down the cool wallpaper, my legs giving out.

“You already lost me, Lucas…” I whispered, the words a final, defiant breath as the world went black.

Before I could hit the floor, his arms were around me, catching my limp body and pulling me close. His voice was a possessive, triumphant whisper against my hair.

“I’m getting you back,” he promised. “This time, for good.”

***

My head was a universe of pain, a dull, throbbing echo in an otherwise silent room. I blinked, the ligh sharp intrusion. My eyes slowly focused on the silk canopy of the bed, the ornate wallpaper, the familiar, suffocating view of the rose garden from the window.

My blood ran cold. I wasn’t in a hotel. I was in the Sterling mansion. In our old bedroom.

Panic seized me, I threw the covers off, my gaze landing on my bags-my suitcase, my duffel-all neatly lined up against the wall. He hadn’t just brought me her. He had moved me in. The absolute, possessive audacity of it stole my breath.

I tried to stand, but a wave of dizziness forced me back nto the bed. That’s when I saw him, standing in the doorway, a glass of water in his hand, watching me with look of calm satisfaction.

“Glad you’re finally awake,” he said, as if this were a normal Saturday morning.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing, Lucas?!” I snarled, my voice a raw, angry rasp. “Drugging me? Kidnapping me? What happened to Kiara? Weren’t you with her?!”

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Chapter 49

Before he could answer, a sharp, mocking voice cut through the air.

Finished

“Oh, look. Sleeping Beauty is finally awake.” Kiara burst into the room, her arms crossed, her face a mask of pure, unadulterated rage. “And yes, Lucas is with me. He was with me all night, actually, worrying sick about his precious, runaway little wife.”

“Kiara-” Lucas warned, his voice tight.

“What?” she snapped, ignoring him completely and directing all her venom at me. “I’m just telling the truth! I, for one, would love to know what the hell she is doing back in this house!” She spun on Lucas, her voice rising to a shrill, furious pitch. “I cannot believe you did this! You kicked your own mother and sister out of their home for her! Shoved them into some cheap, disgusting condominium across town! All so you could bring this pathetic charity case back to her cage, as if she even belongs here anymore!”

She took a step closer to the bed, her eyes blazing with jealousy so potent it was practically vibrating. “He’s mine now, Georgia. You had your chance, and you threw it away. So whatever fantasy you’re living in, need to wake up and get the hell out of my house.”

I pushed myself off the bed, my head still throbbing, and started gathering my things. The suffocating familiarity of the room was a poison I needed to escape.

“Yeah, I’m leaving,” I said, my voice flat as I looked at Kira. I didn’t have the energy for a fight. “I’m not trying to get him back. He’s all yours. Congratulations.”

I started for the door, but Lucas’s voice, raw and desperate, stopped me cold. “Gia, please… stay.”

you

I turned, my gaze locking onto his. “Stay?” I asked, a bitter, humorless laugh escaping my lips. “What for, Lucas? For you?”

“Just give me one more chance,” he pleaded, his eyes wide and earnest. “We can fix this.”

Kiara’s mouth fell open, a look of pure, murderous disbelief on her face. “Are you serious right now?” she shrieked, her voice cracking. “After everything I did for you? I saved your pathetic, failing company! I secured the deal with the Volkovs when you were too weak to do it yourself! And now, the second she’s back in the room, you throw me away like I’m nothing?” Her voice dropped to a low, venomous hiss. “W to you, Lucas? A business tool you discard when you’re done?”

In that moment, I saw not an enemy, but a reflection. I saw a woman who had been used, and I u her rage perfectly. I turned my full attention back to Lucas, my voice leaving no room for argumen

“No matter what you say, Lucas. No matter what you promise. I am not coming back.”

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