The Hockey Roommate's Filthy Desire novel Chapter 127

Chapter 127

ARIA’S POV

The tears didn’t stop.

:

ន

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They poured down my face in a hot, endless stream all through the ride back to the apartment. I pressed my face into Brandon’s chest, my shoulders shaking so violently that my chest physically ached.

I couldn’t believe it. I literally could not wrap my mind around the fact that one single man could be this purely evil.

A massive part of me was happy and relieved that I had won the company back. The legal war was over, and my father’s legacy was finally safe in my hands.

But the horrific realization that my family had been brutally murdered, when I had spent years believing they died by a tragic accident, completely broke something deep inside my soul.

The comforting lie I had wrapped myself in to survive the grief was ripped away, leaving a raw, bleeding wound. “He murdered them,” I choked out against Brandon’s jacket, my voice thick with a mixture of raw pain and rising fury.

“He killed my mom. He killed my dad. He killed my brother. And I let him walk around, breathing the same air as me.” A dark, heavy anger started to twist in my stomach, replacing the sorrow.

I gripped Brandon’s lapels tightly, my knuckles turning white. I wished I had pulled the trigger on my uncle myself. I wished I had tracked him down in the dark and run him over with a car, letting him feel the exact horror and pain my parents felt on that snowy highway.

Even a life sentence in a maximum–security prison felt like a joke. It was not nearly enough punishment for a monster like him. His miserable, pathetic life could never make up for the beautiful lives he had stolen from

1. me.

He got to grow old and enjoy their wealth, while my family was rotting in the ground. As the car rolled down the quiet city streets, the dark cloud of my thoughts began to shift.

I suddenly remembered exactly what Brandon had told me in the driveway before we entered the courthouse. The fog in my brain cleared, and I channeled all my explosive anger directly at the man holding

1. me.

I pulled back from his embrace, staring up at his calm, stoic face. “You knew,” I whispered, the realization hitting me like a slap. “You knew everything, didn’t you? You knew he killed them.”

Brandon didn’t respond. He just looked down at me, his dark eyes filled with a deep, heavy sadness, but his jaw remained tightly clenched.

He didn’t deny it. He didn’t say a single word to defend himself. His silence proved me entirely right. the ultimate confirmation.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!” I screamed, the rage bubbling over as I lashed out at him. I raised my fist began hitting his broad chest, striking him over and over again.

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18:15 Mon, Jun 1

Chapter 127

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“If you had just told me beforehand, it would have softened the blow! I wouldn’t have been completely blindsided in front of a room full of people! I wouldn’t have had to find out that my family was slaughtered while a judge was watching me!”

I kept hitting him all through the rest of the ride. My fists pounded against his solid shoulders and his chest, my blows heavy with all the betrayal and agony I had been carrying.

Brandon didn’t move an inch to defend himself. He didn’t grab my wrists, and he didn’t tell me to stop. He just sat there like a wall of stone, completely motionless, and let me do my thing.

He absorbed every single blow, giving me the space to release the poison inside me.

By the time the car finally pulled up to my apartment building and clicked into park, the anger completely drained out of me, leaving me hollow and exhausted.

I dropped my hands to my lap, my chest heaving as I broke down into heavy, pathetic tears all over again. I looked at Brandon’s wrinkled suit jacket, feeling a sudden wave of deep shame.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, my voice cracking as I covered my face with my hands. “I am so sorry for hitting you, Brandon. I… I didn’t mean it. I just needed someone to transfer my aggression to. I had so much hatred inside me, and you were just there.”

Brandon let out a long, slow breath. He reached out with his large, warm hand, gently pulling my fingers away from my face. “You don’t ever have to apologize to me for that, Aria,” he said softly, his deep voice incredibly steady.

“If hitting me makes the pain a little easier to bear, you can do it until your hands are sore. I can take it.”

Leo opened the car door, and Brandon carefully helped me out of the vehicle. He carried the baby carrier while leading me up the stairs and into the quiet safety of my living room.

The apartment was completely empty now that Elena was gone, the silence wrapping around us like a heavy blanket. I sat down on the edge of the couch, completely drained, staring blankly at the floor.

Suddenly, a sharp, high–pitched cry broke the silence. Amelia began to cry loudly from her carrier, her tiny fists waving in the air as she woke up from her nap.

Brandon immediately walked over, unbuckling her and gently lifting her into his arms. He bounced her expertly against his shoulder, checking her diaper and humming softly, but her crying only grew louder and more desperate.

He looked over at me, his eyebrows furrowing with worry. “She’s completely clean, Aria,” Brandon said, his voice laced with concern as the baby’s cries filled the room. “I think she might be hungry. She hasn’t eaten since we left for the courthouse early this morning.”

I let out a miserable sigh, shaking my head. I was completely exhausted, emotionally shattered, and my ey body was trembling from the shock. I was absolutely not in the mood to breastfeed her right now.

I just wanted to curl up into a ball in the dark and sleep for days. “I can’t right now, Brandon,” I whisp pressing my hands against my throbbing temples. “My head is spinning. I don’t think I can do it.”

Brandon walked over and sat down gently on the cushion right next to me, holding the crying baby

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18:15 Mon, Jun 1

Chapter 127

looked into my eyes, his expression completely soft and pleading.

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