Page 137 of Misdeeds of a Billionaire

“What do you mean?” My voice sounded dull. Far away. The room shifted.

Marco smiled. His face went so cold, it was nauseating. “Why do you think I convinced my wife all those years ago to tell Byron Ashford that you lost the baby? He didn’t deserve you. You are mine.”

The statement hung there for a long while, leaving us sitting in silence. My heart had an odd beat to it, causing a strange sensation. It was like I was running on a cloud and my feet couldn’t touch the ground.

Marco is batshit crazy.How did I never see it before?

I blinked my eyes as two Marcos entered my vision. I started blinking rapidly, my heart out of sync with my body.

“I don’t feel right.” It took every ounce of strength to rise to my feet. Nausea rose in my stomach, and the world started to turn.

“No, I wouldn’t think so.” He rose to his feet as well, moving effortlessly, and taking my hand in his. Things moved around in my vision and I pushed him, stumbling away.

I must have knocked into a table as I registered the sound of silverware and plates slamming to the floor. Ignoring it all, I reached for anything to support myself, struggling to catch my breath.

“My wife had too much to drink,” I heard Marco say to someone.

Somebody laughed. I wanted to scream, tell them it wasn’t true. My mouth was too dry, though. The room was spinning out of control.

I hurled myself toward the front door. Someone opened it and I tried to rush for it, knocking one of the chairs clumsily. My stomach curled, threatening to empty its contents. Time slowed, and my insides burned. Tears welled in my eyes, and the pounding in my head threatened to crush my skull.

My legs quit working. I stumbled, down and down, until a set of strong arms wrapped around me. He smelled familiar. He smelled good.

“Odette!” a male voice shouted.

“You came,” I thought I said, but I couldn’t be sure. I dug my fingers into the warm material of his sleeves, anchoring myself to him. Hands scooped me up, while shouting and screams echoed all around.

“Odette, open your eyes!”

I forced my eyes to crack open before I let the darkness overwhelm me.

Byron came into view, and I knew I was safe. I reached up, wanting to touch his face.

“I love you,” I croaked, dark dots dancing in my vision.

The world blurred as I sensed him place me down on his lap. He was yelling something, but I couldn’t distinguish any words. The frantic expression on his face sent panic racing through me. Except, I was in such a state that I couldn’t even feel my heart thundering in my chest.

“N-no,” I whimpered. I didn’t want to die in my husband’s arms. I didn’t want to die now, after finally finding a way back to Byron. I couldn’t leave Ares without a mother. My thoughts were rambling, sifting through incoherent sounds. I wanted to claw out of this state back to consciousness. We had just found our way back to each other, and we deserved at least a few years of happiness. Surely destiny wouldn’t be so cruel as to rip it all away from us.

“Odette.” A cool fingertip gently brushed a lock of my hair back out of my eyes. I blinked, disorientation growing by the second. “What happened? What did that fucker do to you?”

My brain rapidly started to shut down. I opened my mouth to tell him something must have been in my tea, but no sounds came.

“What the fuck?” I thought I heard the voice of one of his brothers coming from behind me, but I couldn’t turn my head. It was too heavy.

“Break his legs if you have to, but find out what he gave her.” His voice held a dark order. He rose to his feet, carrying me with him. “I’m taking her to the hospital.”

“I’ll meet you there.” Whose voice was it?

“Don’t… w-want to… die,” I croaked, tugging Byron’s jacket with the remnants of my strength.

“You’re not going to die.” I heard the quiet horror lingering there. A pained grunt slipped from my lips as an ache shot through my whole body, centering in the pit of my stomach. “Hang in there for me, baby.”

Byron spurred into action. Wind swept through my hair, sending a shiver through my cold body. I felt sluggish, every blink and breath demanding too much energy. My heart beat slower and slower.

The sound of a car door opening, cool leather on my skin. A big warm body cradling me.

A door slamming shut.