The Plane Tickets He Hoarded The Wife He Hid novel Chapter 43

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43 Chapter 43 A Punishment For Kindness

43 Chapter 43 A Punishment For Kindness

Blanche’s POV 1

I must have twisted my ankle badly–no matter how much I struggled, I couldn’t straighten up for ages.

A hand reached out to steady me, and when I spun around in shock, I found Demetrius there.

My eyes burned and my nose stung. Looking down, tears streamed down my face.

“Why are you still here?” I whispered.

Demetrius crouched beside me, flashing that easy grin. “What’s the deal with randomly shoving your bank card at me?”

I kept my head down, shame weighing heavy in my voice. “It’s all my fault you had to-”

“I know,” he cut me off before I could finish.

I snapped my head up, eyes wide with shock and confusion. “You—”

But Demetrius just smiled, his voice steady. “I was never scared.”

The second Fisher fired him, Demetrius had already figured it out.

Only one person had enough power to completely destroy his medical career–Zain.

Given everything that had gone down lately, the reason was pretty obvious.

I dropped my head again, guilt eating at me. “I’m sorry.”

Demetrius gripped my arm and teased, “What, planning to set up camp here tonight?”

His words finally got me moving, and I managed to stand with his help.

My ankle throbbed like hell, and sweat soaked through my clothes. I couldn’t put any weight on it, practically hanging off Demetrius for

support.

A waiter’s voice drifted over from nearby. “Good evening, Mr. Jacob.”

I looked up and watched Zain stride right past me.

Zain had spotted me earlier–saw me tumble down those restaurant steps. He’d also caught Demetrius slipping that card into my bag.

Zain had heard Demetrius’s question too: “What’s the deal with randomly shoving your bank card at me?”

Zain had seen and heard everything.

Demetrius and I were getting close–close enough to make Zain suspicious.

But to me, Zain was just a cold, heartless bastard. He walked right by without even a glance, not one word of concern.

I thought to myself, ‘Hasn’t he always been like this? Even if I dropped dead right in front of him, he probably wouldn’t even blink.

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43 Chapter 43 A Punishment For Kindness

The thought made me laugh bitterly.

Demetrius could tell I was crushed. He pressed his lips together. “Come on, let me get you to that flower bed. Sit down and I’ll check

your ankle.”

I nodded. “Okay.”

I let him support me over to the roadside flower bed and sank down.

After Zain disappeared into the restaurant, he didn’t head straight to the private room Drew had texted him about. Instead, he turned

back to stare through the glass door at Demetrius and me by the road.

Demetrius knelt in front of me, completely unbothered as he slipped off my shoe and started working on my ankle.

To Zain, this was beneath him.

‘Seriously, what kind of man does something like that for a woman in public?‘ he thought. Contempt surged through him.

No wonder Demetrius never amounted to anything.

The more Zain stewed, the more wound up he got. Almost without thinking, he called Desmond.

“Hello, Mr. Jacob,” Desmond answered quickly.

Zain stayed silent for a long beat before finally saying, “Freeze Mrs. Jacob’s card.”

If Zain remembered right, the card I’d handed Demetrius was the one he’d given me. It was supposed to be for taking care of Carry Jacob

-buying whatever she needed.

He’d always been generous, loading that card with money every month.

Zain had no clue how much was left on it, but even if it wasn’t much, he wasn’t about to let some guy cash in on it.

In his eyes, me giving Demetrius my bank card meant I was keeping him. So he was freezing that card.

Desmond seemed stunned but didn’t ask questions. “Understood, Mr. Jacob.”

Meanwhile, I sat by the flower bed, nerves jangling as I watched Demetrius slip off my shoe and massage my ankle.

“Demetrius, you really don’t need to do this. The hospital’s right next door. I can grab some medicine and I’ll be fine,” I said.

I leaned forward and gently tried to pull him up, wanting him to stand.

Demetrius looked up, and our eyes locked. We were so close it felt like we might kiss any second.

Zain caught the whole thing–that exact moment. He abruptly hung up on Desmond, spun around, and stormed into the private room.

The second he walked in, Drew and Joanna jumped up, but all they saw was his thunderous expression. He didn’t say a word–clearly in a

foul mood.

Outside, I instinctively pulled back when I realized how close we were. But Demetrius caught my ankle, not even looking up.

He just examined my foot for a while before saying, “It’s swollen.”

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43 Chapter 43 A Punishment For Kindness

My checks flamed instantly. I felt awkward and flustered, but I couldn’t really refuse Demetrius, so I just let him keep massaging my foot,

feeling embarrassed and helpless.

The vibe was getting seriously awkward, so I dropped my voice. “Demetrius, I really underestimated how much Zain cares about Joanna.

If I hadn’t, you wouldn’t be in this mess because of me.”

I couldn’t shake the guilt eating at me.

Demetrius looked up with a smile. “But having your back was my choice. You did nothing wrong, and you don’t need to apologize.”

I was speechless. When I finally found my voice, all I could manage was, “I’m sorry.”

Demetrius clearly didn’t want to dwell on it. Gentle light bathed his face as he looked up, his features sharp–he really was gorgeous.

He grinned. “Want me to give you a piggyback ride? Or should I just carry you?”

My cheeks burned deep red. I felt super awkward and quickly shook my head. “Demetrius, I can walk by myself, really.”

But Demetrius held my hand. “Why act tough? It’s okay to let yourself be a little soft sometimes. Nobody’s going to judge.”

I felt a rush of gratitude. My eyes were still red as I said softly, “Okay, piggyback it is.”

It was the middle of the day. Getting carried in his arms would draw way too much attention.

My ankle was killing me–no way I could walk. I thought maybe I could hop to the curb on one foot and grab a cab.

But with Demetrius around, he’d never let me struggle out there alone.

Demetrius crouched in front of me, turning his back so I could climb on.

I hesitated for a few seconds, then finally leaned forward and let him carry me.

Demetrius hoisted me up easily, and as he walked through the crowd, he couldn’t help but smile.

My face burned with embarrassment, so I buried it against Demetrius’s back.

The scene drew plenty of stares, but Demetrius didn’t care at all. He carried me openly, rounded the corner, and headed toward the

parking lot.

Zain’s POV

I had stepped out for a smoke just as Demetrius was carrying Blanche away.

I stood by the glass door, cigarette between my fingers, but couldn’t bring myself to light it.

Blanche hadn’t even tried to refuse him, and her cheeks had been all red. I was now even more convinced something was going on between those two.

“Zain?” Joanna called from behind, worry creeping into her voice.

I snapped out of it and finally lit my cigarette.

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43 Chapter 43 A Punishment For Kindness

Joanna walked over, glanced outside, but saw nothing. “What’s wrong?”

I didn’t bother explaining. “Nothing.” I blew out smoke, staring into the distance like I was lost in thought.

Joanna had been with me for years–she could instantly sense something was off.

But since I wasn’t talking, she didn’t dare push.

“Drew and the others are waiting at the table. Come on, let’s go in.”

I took another long drag before finally replying, sounding indifferent. “Yeah.”

My face looked calm, but the storm brewing in my eyes was obvious–I was pissed.

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