Page 161 of Scandalous Contract

What we had wouldn’t end when the season changed. This was real. And this was worth fighting for, worth protecting. My gaze drifted over her. She was sleeping soundly, and that was exactly how she was supposed to sleep.

Peacefully. With no fear. Because I was there, and I would always make sure the outside world didn’t destroy what we had in here. That was why I had to kill Hudson Howard. And her ex-husband’s family also.

CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE

JULIAN

A few days later...

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THE HOUSE WAS TOO DAMNquiet without Stefanie there. She’d only been gone a few days, and already I felt like I was losing my mind. At first, I tried to ignore it. I told myself to enjoy the space. The silence. The stillness.

Hell, I had a dozen things I could’ve been doing: emails, construction site reviews, following up on shipments, checking in with my team. I could’ve even gotten ahead of next week’s contracts.

Instead, I sat on her couch, staring at the blank TV screen, missing the sound of her voice calling out to me from the kitchen or laughing to herself while editing one of the funny scenes in her book.

With her gone, my world was quieter. Colder. Empty. I didn’t like this shit at all. I could’ve gone home. But I didn’t. I stayed at Stefanie’s place, surrounded by her scent, her things, her energy.

My place didn’t feel like home anymore. It hadn’t felt that way for a while now. Not since the first night after Stefanie invited me over to be her research partner. Since then, I hadn’t spent one night in my place.

Neither had she. She hadn’t even visited it yet, too afraid that someone from my family would pop up and catch us together. I was fine with being at her place. It was cozy. It felt like home.

Even with her gone, this was where I wanted to be because this was where her things were. Her slippers were still by the door, neatly lined up next to mine. Her favorite mug was still in the drying rack, next to mine.

The throw blanket she always curled under when she wrote was tossed across the couch that we’d fucked on so many times I’d lost count. When I watched television in the living room, I pulled the blanket over me so I could inhale her scent.

Fuck!I had it bad for this woman. I dragged a hand through my hair. I missed her. It was ridiculous how much I missed her. She’d only been gone for a few days, and I was spiraling like she’d left me entirely.

If she truly left me, I’d probably lose my fucking mind. I needed to find something to take my mind off missing her. I considered going to visit my parents or my cousins, Bryce and Cas. But lately, I was trying to stay away from the Cattaneo drama.

My cousins, the don and his fucking brother, were up to their usual bullshit. My father was busy trying to play peacekeeper. That was like trying to keep two pit bulls from fighting over a bone.

And the title of Don Cattaneo was the bone they’d been fighting over for years. I wasn’t concerned about the family drama. In fact, I tried to avoid it as much as possible. I loved my fucking family.

All they had to do was call, and I was there. But I wasn’t for the bullshit and the schemes. I wasn’t for choosing sides. And I didn’t blindly follow the don because he’d proven time and time again that he wasn’t the right leader for the family.