Three Years Later, He Came Back Begging novel Chapter 60

Jackson stood up, gave a polite nod, and slipped out of the room.

Lawrence came over and noticed Hannah’s ankle was red and a little swollen. He crouched down beside her and spoke softly. “What happened to your ankle?”

Hannah clung to his neck, tears soaking into his shirt. Instead of answering, she asked him in a trembling voice, “Are you still mad at me? Lawrence, please don’t ignore me. I’m sorry. Can you forgive me?”

Lawrence slid one arm under her shoulders and the other beneath her knees, picking her up easily. “I’m not angry. Let’s get you to the hospital.”

Hannah just pressed her face to his shoulder and cried, her sobs muffled.

After a while, Lawrence’s voice came out rough and quiet. “I’ve been caught up with work at the company these last few days. I haven’t had time for you or Jasper. This weekend, let’s invite Mom and Dad and have a nice meal together.”

That made Hannah stop crying. She clung tighter to his neck, her reply muffled against his skin. “Will you come home? Ever since you came back from the States, you’ve barely stayed with us. Lawrence, I miss you. I really, really miss you.”

She raised her hand to gently trace the contour of Lawrence’s brow and the edge of his jawline.

Lawrence lowered his head a little, his eyes landing on the faint lines of old scars along Hannah’s wrist.

He said yes, softly.

He would come home.

Lawrence carried Hannah to the car and closed the passenger door. Just then, Jackson came over in fresh clothes. He nodded. “Could we talk for a minute?”

Lawrence walked a bit away with him. “Jackson, thank you for everything you’ve done.”

Jackson’s eyes stayed fixed on the black Phaeton parked in the distance. “Lawrence, you really need to be good to her. Lately, she’s just not herself when she dances. She keeps getting hurt.”

“She’s always loved dancing more than anything, but she gave it up for you, for your family. Hannah has already…” Jackson’s words caught in his throat. “She’s already lost so much. Please, don’t let her lose you, too. Can you promise that?”

Lawrence didn’t know what to say.

But Jackson wasn’t looking for an answer.

Bonnie found her mind drifting. She kept trying to focus. At least they had things to talk about. They were both locals; they could chat about their schools, spots they used to go to when they were kids.

The tea house was lively, some sort of performance playing on the stage, the noise just loud enough to blur the edges of conversation. Bonnie rubbed at her left ear, leaning in to catch his story about a childhood mishap.

Just behind a partition screen, Abbot had been listening to every word for a while.

Earning a big paycheck just to spy on people, Abbot felt guilty, but he could still hear Lawrence’s voice.

“Help me check out this guy... Also, see what Bonnie’s been up to lately.”

The target, Felton, had been easy to track. He’d already left for the south with his ex, and Lawrence said that was enough. No need to dig deeper.

Now Abbot just needed to keep an eye on Bonnie.

Bonnie’s life was pretty much routine. On weekdays, she moved between work and home, nothing extra. Saturday mornings, she went swimming. Most of the time, she barely left the house. But last Sunday, she’d gone out to a place called Love Begins Here with her friend.