Page 159 of The Morally Grey Billionaires Boxset

Cade

I wrench the shower door open, then sink down next to her. "Abby, baby, look at me."

She doesn’t respond.

"Abby, sweetheart, please, tell me you’re okay."

She’s not okay. She can’t be okay if she has her arms about herself and is rocking back and forth.

"Abby, please—" I reach for her, but she shrinks away. My heart feels like it’s going to shatter into a million little pieces. My guts churn, and my eyes burn.

"Abby, I’m going to touch you now, baby, because I can’t not. I’m going to put my arms about you and pull you into my lap, okay?"

She stops rocking, so I know she heard me.

I wrap my arm about her very gently. Her entire body freezes.

I lift her up and into my lap. She makes a small sound of distress, and my throat closes.

My chest hurts. She fights me half-heartedly, but I pull her into me.

I fold both of my arms around her and hold her as close as I can.

That’s when I notice her shoulders shudder.

Her teeth chatter. She buries her face in my chest, and her entire body heaves.

The pressure builds behind my eyes. My chest is so heavy, it feels like there’s a truck parked on it.

I tuck her head under my chin and hold her.

The hot water continues to stream over both of us, and still, she continues to shiver.

I rub slow circles over her back, then press a kiss into her wet hair.

"You take all the time you want, baby, I’m not going anywhere."

She begins to cry harder, and I hold her, rock her, and swallow down the fear that clogs my throat.

"You’re okay, you’re going to be okay. I’m going to make sure you’re okay, you hear me?

" I hold her until she stops shivering. Her sobs slow down to sniffles.

When she seems to have calmed down, I reach up and behind us to turn off the shower.

"I’m going to carry you out, is that okay?"

She nods but doesn’t raise her head.

I rise to my feet and step out of the shower cubicle with her in my arms. I walk over to the bathtub, and try to lower her, but she refuses to let go.

"Sweetheart, I need to get you out of these wet clothes."

She only clings to me harder.

"Please, baby, I really do want to make sure you don’t catch a cold."

She sniffles. "That’s what you say. But I’m sure it’s all a ploy to get me naked."

I still, then half-laugh. "That’s me, baby. Always the asshole. And I won’t deny I love to see you naked. But this time, I promise, I won’t look. I’ll get you into dry clothes and I won’t even try to touch you."

She clears her throat. "That would be disappointing." She looks up at me, and everything stops. My blood freezes in my veins. My heart stops beating, then starts up again with a roar.

"Who did that to you?" I growl

She looks stricken, then looks away.

"Abby. Who. Did that. To. Your face?”

She shakes her head, and a tear trails down her already wet cheeks.

A shiver grips her again, and she swallows.

Goddamn, she’s hurt, and I’m yelling at her.

What kind of a monster am I? The kind who’s made her life bloody miserable over the last eight months, is who.

And why? All because I thought she’d done me wrong.

Which she did. But she was as young as I was. Younger even.

We have our entire lives ahead of us, and she’s apologized to me about it so many times. The course of my life changed, but I achieved everything I wanted. No doubt, the challenge she threw my way made me stronger, more resilient. What doesn’t kill you, and all that…

But seriously, if I hadn’t been expelled and seen the dark underbelly of life, I wouldn’t have been this focused, this fixated, this persistent about making it to the top of my game so quickly.

I wouldn’t have realized the value of everything I lost. Having a second chance meant I learned to respect my talent as an athlete, something I’d taken for granted before that.

In fact, my entire life, since waking up in the hospital with Knight by my side, has been a very intense, very concentrated, very determined effort in proving myself.

I wouldn’t have tried this hard if it hadn’t been for that wobble along the way.

I wouldn’t have been this steadfast in my endeavor, this single-minded in becoming the best in my field, if it hadn’t been for that early setback.

For that matter, I wouldn’t have become a billionaire within eighteen months if I hadn’t been so firm about multiplying the money I made from my sponsorships by having Sinclair Sterling and his team invest it for me.

So, in a way, I owe everything I’ve become to this woman.

She may have betrayed me, but I’ve punished her enough for it.

She may have turned my world upside down, but she’s paid the price for it.

Besides… What I feel for her now… What I feel about her being hurt, about whoever dared to do this to her… It’s confusing, but also, clear.

I was meant to protect her. Knight was there for me when I needed him most, but I wasn’t there for his sister, and for this, I will never forgive myself.

"Abby, look at me."

When she only glances away, I pinch her chin, so she has no choice but to raise her gaze at me. She swallows but doesn’t say anything."

"When I reached your apartment and found your door open, I thought… I thought my heart was going to stop. And then I walked into the bathroom and found you sobbing on the floor. I couldn’t breathe.

The fear inside me was like nothing I have ever experienced.

I was more afraid than when I was caught in the gang war.

More in pain than when I was being tortured.

I was so afraid it felt like my entire body was going to seize up.

I can’t stand to see you crying, Abby. I cannot bear to look at that bruise and realize if I had been with you, I could have stopped it from happening. "

"It wasn’t your fault," she whispers.

"I should have insisted you move in with me. Should have made sure my phone was with me. I should have checked in on you earlier." I shouldn’t have been trying so hard to put you out of my mind.

"How could you have known my stalker was going to burst in on me? Besides, he didn’t hurt me. I hurt myself when I fell on the coffee table and—"

"Hold on. Your stalker?" Fear bubbles up my throat. Bile laces my tongue and I swallow it down. "You have a stalker?"

She half-laughs. "I work in PR, I’m on social media, and I’m a Mafia princess. Of course, I have a stalker.” She squares her shoulders. “You don’t belong to Gen Z unless you have a stalker."

I draw down my eyebrows, and she wipes the smile off her face. "You’re angry?” She blinks.

"Of course, I’m angry. You have a stalker, Abby, and you never told me."

"You were too busy hating me until a minute ago, remember? In fact, I don’t understand why you’re this upset. Nothing happened."

"You hurt your face," I snarl.

"I doubt he’ll show himself again. I’m sure everything will go back to normal. You can go back to being horrible to me, and I can go back to making sure I do everything to prop up your reputation." She tries to pull away, but I don’t let go.

"Everything changes after this, make no mistake. You’re going to have security on you twenty-four-seven.

I’m going to make sure I spend every moment I’m not on the field with you.

I’m going to keep you safe, Abby." And track down the motherfucker who dared come after what’s mine and teach him the kind of lesson he’ll never forget.

She scowls. "You’re being overdramatic. I’m fine."

"Your forehead is swollen."

"It’s a bump."

"The skin is reddened," I growl.

"It’ll heal."

I’m in love with you. Wait, what? No. Where did that come from? I didn’t say that aloud, did I?

"Cade, you okay?" She peers up at me. "Cade?" She touches my cheek.

I blink, then turn so she’s forced to drop her hand.

I catch the hurt in her eyes, and everything in me rebels.

Fuck, fuck, fuck. All you can do is hurt her.

Everything you say and do is causing her more pain.

Haven’t you done enough to mess up her life?

You need to make it up to her. I rise to my feet, still holding her, and stalk out of the bathroom.

"I’m fine, but you’re not. I need to get you out of these clothes."

"I can do that," she protests.

"Humor me." I walk toward her bedroom, my wet shoes making squelching sounds with each footstep.

"You’re dripping water onto my floor."

"Too bad."

I lower her onto the bed, and she scowls. "Now, my bedclothes are wet."

"Deal with it."

“You’re acting unreasonable.”

I pause, then glare at her over my shoulder, “Someone broke into your apartment and hurt you. Someone dared touch you. Someone decided it was a good idea to scare you so much you still look like you’re going to faint.

” I ball my fists at my side. “The only person who gets to touch you, the only person who gets to hurt you, the only person who’s allowed to make you experience any extreme emotion is me.

Unreasonable doesn’t cover a single percentage of how I’m feeling at the moment. ”

She swallows. Her chest rises and falls.

Her pupils dilate, and fuck me, but I know she’s turned on.

And that turns me on. And that...is not good; not right now.

Not when I need to take care of her. Not when I need to prioritize her.

Not when I need to ensure that I get her out of those wet clothes before she catches a cold.