The MC President's Forsaken Wife (Zara and Knox) novel Chapter 137

Chapter 79-3

“And did she listen?”

“No.”

The honesty is brutal, and pain moves across my chest. Not anger, but something sadder, and for the first time since stumbling onto the seduction scene the other night, I’m able to think of Willow without any negative emotions at all.

“What happens now?” I ask him. “I mean, what do we do?”

“I told your Dad right away.”

My gaze sharpens. “What did he say?”

“Not much,” Locke says quietly. “He wants to speak to her about it, and he and I agreed that I stay away from Willow. I’m never alone with her, not even in passing.”

I blink. “Okay, but why?”

“Because kindness is what caused this.” Locke rubs one thumb over the other. “I was kind to her because she seemed lonely, because she’s your sister, because I thought she was trying to find a place in the family. I kept trying to be gentle because I didn’t want to be cruel… but every kindness became evidence to her, of this belief that I’m her soulmate.”

I understand then. Not all of it, maybe, but enough.

He isn’t angry with Willow. He’s afraid of hurting her, and afraid that not hurting her will hurt me again.

“I’m sorry, baby.” He looks at me, and there’s no plea in his expression. No demand that I forgive him because he’s finally caught up, finally seen it, finally knows that I was right. “I’m so sorry.”

“So.” I clear my throat, take a sip of water. “What happens now?”

“With Willow?”

“With us.”

His whole body stills. “That depends on what you want.”

“And what do you want?”

“You.” The answer is immediate. “Not because I need to win, and not because I think one apology fixes this. I want you because every goddamn room feels wrong without you in it.”

My chest aches. The exhaustion presses down on me again, and it feels suddenly impossible to keep holding myself upright, impossible to keep sorting love from anger and betrayal from misunderstanding.

I sink back into the pillows, and Locke takes two steps towards me.

“Do you need Jade?” he asks. “Should she get your medicine?”

“No.”

Chapter 72

His eyes move over my face. “What, then?”

The question is so simple that the answer comes before pride can stop it:

“Home.” I close my eyes. “Twant my own bed.”

“Your bed is at your apartment. The shoebox, remember?

“I remember.” I open my eyes again. “That isn’t the home I mean.”

For the first time since he walked into the room, hope moves across his face, and he hides it quickly.

“Zara -”

“Don’t make it a speech, I beg of you.”

“I wasn’t going to.”

“You were.”

“I was going to ask if you’re sure.”

“I am.”

His breath catches. “Okay.”

Clamm

“I mean, I love Jade, but Mayhem snores and I can hear it all the way down the hall and through two closed doors. Also, they keep checking whether I’m breathing, and they aren’t nearly as quiet and stealthy as they think they are.”

“Got it.”

I stare at him for another second, then I pull the quilt back slightly.

“Take me home.”

“Okay,” he says, gathering up my stuff. “And listen, Zara – if you change your mind halfway there, I’ll bring you back here. No questions asked.”

A weak laugh escapes me. “You make romance sound like a hostage negotiation.”

“It often is with your family.”

This gentle teasing feels familiar, so familiar that it almost hurts. I hold out my hand. Locke looks at it for one quiet second before crossing the room.

He takes it gently. No kiss, no promise. Just his warm palm closing around mine.

“Help me up,” I whisper. “My legs still aren’t awesome.”

Locke bends towards me slowly. One arm slides behind my back, the other beneath my knees. I rest my head against his shoulder as he lifts me, and he carries me towards the door, and I let him.

Not because everything is repaired. Not because being right has erased the hurt.

But because for the first time since I left, Locke isn’t asking me to meet him halfway.

He’s come all the way to me.

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