I Told You To Run But You Didn't (Georgia) novel Chapter 68

Chapter 68

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Finished

Georgia’s POV

Louiella’s hand froze halfway to his. Her eyes instantly licked to me, a silent storm of questions brewing behind her polite expression. I knew I owed her a massive explanation, but now was clearly not the time.

She recovered quickly, her years of quiet dignity taking over. She took Lucas’s hand firmly.

“Oh,” she said, her voice carefully neutral but kind. “Welcome to our home, Mr. Sterling. Please, come inside out of the rain. I am Louiella, the housekeeper here.” Her expression softened slightly as she looked at me. “I was Georgia’s nanny, a long, long time ago. Now, she is like a daughter to me.” She managed a small, welcoming smile for Lucas.

We all sat in the living room, the three of us, the air thick with an awkward, charged silence broken only by the drumming of rain against the windows.

Louiella bustled around, trying her best to make things normal. She brought out steaming mugs of hot green tea and a plate of her homemade almond cookies

Then, she reappeared with a stack of folded clothes and a towel. “Mr. Sterling, you must be freezing,” she said kindly, handing them to Lucas. “These were… they belonged to Georgia’s brother, Zane. He was about your size. They’re old, but they’re clean and dry.”

A pang went through me at the mention of Zane’s clothes, kept safe all these years. Lucas took them, a touch of surprise on his face. “You’re too kind, Madam,” he murmured.

“Please, just Louiella,” she insisted with a warm smile.

“Sure,” Lucas replied, managing a small smile back.

I sipped my tea, acutely aware of Estevan beside me on the sofa, seemingly relaxed but radiating a quiet, possessive tension. He watched Lucas over the rim of his mug.

Lucas, trying to appear casual, shifted in his armchair, and his gaze landed squarely on my left hand, resting on my knee. On the ridiculously large diamond ring Estevan had put there.

Oh, hell.

Lucas’s eyes widened almost imperceptibly. His jaw tightened. He looked from the ring to my face, then quickly down into his tea cup, a muscle twitching in his cheek. He didn’t ask. He didn’t dare. But the damage was done.

Estevan stood up abruptly. “I’m going to change outofthese damp clothes,” he announced, though his clothes looked perfectly fine,

I felt a sudden, desperate need to escape the suffocating tension, too. “Me too,” I said quickly, standing up. I looked pointedly at Lucas. “Wait here. I’ll be back.”

Estevan and I walked out of the living room together, heading down the hallway towards my bedroom. I could feel Lucas’s stunned, furious gaze following us. He clearly hadn’t expected us to be sharing a room.

As soon as we were out of sight, I heard Louiella’s cheerful voice filling the awkward silence. “Oh, isn’t it wonderful?” she said to Lucas, clearly bursting with the ews. “They just got engaged! He followed her all the way here! I’m just so happy for my Georgia, finally finding someone so devoted.”

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腐肉

10:37 Tue, Mar 10 M MO

Chapter 68

There was a beat of dead silence. Then, Lucas’s voice, tight and curt, managed only one word.

“Oh.”

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49 Finished

I turned to face Estevan as the bedroom door clicked shut behind me. He was already pulling his shirt off over his head, revealing the defined muscles of his back before tossing it aside.

He grabbed a simple white t-shirt from his bag and pulled it on before stretching out on my bed, propping himself up on the pillows as if he belonged there.

He watched me, then asked, “Are you sure you want tolk to him?”

“Better than being stuck in here with you,” I retorted, trying to keep my voice steady. “Who knows what you might decide to collect’ next.”

I walked over to my bag, needing to change out of my damp clothes. There was no point in hiding. He’d seen everything last night, left his marks all over me. With a defiant tilt of my chin, I pulled my wet shirt off, exposing my bra and the faint bruises blooming on my shoulders.

I quickly pulled on a soft, high-necked turtleneck sweater and traded my damp pants for long, comfortable pajama bottoms. I could feel his eyes on me the entire time, a silent, possessive appraisal.

“Trying to cover them up?” he asked softly, his gaze lingering on the high collar of my sweater. “Scared your ex-husband might see my handiwork?”

“I’m just cold,” I lied, refusing to meet his eyes.

He closed his eyes then, letting out a long sigh. He looked genuinely exhausted for the first time since I’d met him. “Fine,” he said, his voice flat with weariness. “Co talk to him. But I’ll be waiting here when you’re done.” His eyes opened again, sharp and cold. “Make sure he understands he leaves at dawn. If he’s still here when I wake up…” He let the threat hang in the air. “I will personally escort him back to the city, and he won’t bother you again. Permanently.”

My breath caught. “Estevan…”

“I’m not kidding, Georgia,” he said, his voice deadly serious. “You know that.”

I scoffed, crossing my arms. “And what makes you think you have the right to decide who bothers me, permanently or otherwise?”,

He opened one eye, pinning me with a look that was boh.amused and dangerous. “Defending him now, are we? Just a few hours ago, you were practically spitting vom at the mention of his name. Changed your mind already?”

“No!” I snapped. “But threatening to kill him-”

“Who said anything about killing him?” he interrupted sitting up slightly. He fixed me with a look of genuine, almost offended, surprise, “Is that really where your mind goes immediately, Georgia? You truly think I’m just some rabid dog who goes around murder ng inconvenient ex-husbands?” He let out a short, humorless laugh and lay back down, closing his eyes ag in. “You really do think I’m a monster, don’t you?”

I sighed, a wave of confusion washing over me. Maybe he wouldn’t kill Lucas. Maybe he just meant… make him disappear legally, financially? But with Estevan, the lines were always blurred.

“Just close the door when you leave,” he murmured, his voice already distant, dismissive.

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