Chapter 46
Sienna's pov
Do you really want to torture me this much? What did I ever do to deserve it?
No. This wasn’t right.
I grabbed his wrist, trying to pry my chin out of his grip. “It’s your family, the Blackwoods, who wronged me. If you hadn’t taken my mom away, she wouldn’t have died.”
Harrison tightened his hold and let out a low, mocking laugh. “If it weren’t for me, Nora wouldn’t have made it to this year. Have you forgotten?”
The years I’d endured for Nora—humiliation I’d sworn never to revisit—rushed back anyway, and he watched it happen without a flicker of restraint.
“You had Julian’s people take her away for treatment,” I said. “Did you ever get my consent?”
The scorn in his eyes burned, and I was forced to meet it.
“If you hadn’t taken her without my permission,” I said, my voice trembling despite myself, “she might not have died.”
“This outcome,” he said, even and merciless, “is the price you pay for trying to run away from me.”
He shoved me back onto the bed. “Can you handle it?”
Tears slid down my cheeks before I could stop them. I stared upward, refusing to give him the satisfaction of watching me fall apart.
“Whatever you say.”
He could never be wrong. It was always my fault.
“Fine, Harrison. As you wish.” I closed my eyes. “I’ll have the baby, and then you let me go. In the meantime, I’ll find out the truth about my mom’s death. Don’t try to stop me.”
Silence thickened. I heard his heavy breathing, then the click of a lighter. Smoke bled into the sterile air, and I could feel his gaze on my face.
Then his phone vibrated and his footsteps moved away. Only then did I open my eyes.
The pillow was damp with my tears.
I sat up and reached for my phone, but it was dead. No charger lay by the bedside. I decided to step out and ask a nurse.
Before I could open the door, Harrison’s voice cut through the hallway.
“You lost her? How do you lose track of a woman?”
I froze, fingers on the handle.
A beat later, colder: “No need. I want to see what Julian’s next move will be.”
Was he planning to go after Julian?
The door shoved open from the outside and cracked into my forehead. Pain flared. I clapped a hand to my brow, my foot slipping as I staggered backward.
Harrison caught me and hauled me upright too hard, my forehead slamming into his chest.
I should’ve thanked him. I didn’t get the chance.
His hand closed at the back of my neck, forcing my face up. Mockery in his eyes strangled any gratitude. “I haven’t even left yet, and you’re already trying to run?”
Only then did I realize how close we were.
His breath brushed my lips, hot and edged with smoke. My stomach turned and I tried to push him away, but he only pulled me closer.
“Why are you avoiding me?” he murmured. “You used to look forward to this.”
I couldn’t get free, and my body betrayed me with a warmth I hated. I forced myself to lean back. “I used to. Not anymore. Being close to you makes me sick.”
Harrison’s grip tightened. His gaze darkened. “Sick? You don’t get to say that.”
His mouth crashed onto mine.
For a second I went still, too stunned to react. “You—”
The word vanished as he forced his tongue past my lips, swallowing everything I tried to say. It wasn’t tenderness; it was control—biting, demanding—while his hand held my neck so there was nowhere to turn.
The door banged shut behind me and my back hit it as he pinned me there. His hand pressed over mine against the door, palm to palm, close enough to mimic intimacy.
I stopped resisting and endured it.
My body’s response couldn’t lie. I still loved him.
And I hated him for it.
Harrison’s breathing grew heavier. He paused, a restrained sound in his throat, and kissed me again until my thoughts blurred. The disinfectant in the air was the only reminder we were in a hospital.
I opened my eyes mid-kiss and found his eyes open too—empty for an instant, threaded with pain he didn’t hide fast enough. When he noticed, coldness slid back into place.
He released my lips.
My breath came uneven. Harrison’s mouth curled faintly. “Is this what you call sick? You seemed to enjoy it.”
His words snapped me back.
I let out a short laugh. “You weren’t suffering either. You say you hate me, but you’ve slept with me so many times you still want me pregnant with your child.”
The air chilled.
I smiled anyway, because if I didn’t, I’d crack. “You’re still interested in my body, and I’ll admit you know how to kiss. We’re the same.” I held his gaze. “That doesn’t conflict with me finding you disgusting.”
His answer was immediate. The kiss came back fierce, and his fingers slid between mine, forcing contact. I responded with heat my body insisted on, while my heart stayed cold.
He lifted me and carried me back to the bed, setting me down hard enough to crease the sheets. He leaned over me, eyes fixed on my face, and kissed me again until I went weak.
When he finally pulled back, he braced himself on his arms. “Don’t forget.” His gaze swept over me like a verdict. “This is your only value, the reason you get to stay by my side.”
I just smiled.
He didn’t add anything else. He stepped away, turned his back, and straightened his slightly disheveled clothes as if nothing had happened.
I sat up against the headboard and kept my voice steady. “My phone’s dead. I went to borrow a charger and overheard your call.” I hesitated, then asked, “What’s going on between you and Julian?”
“Now you want to ask me?” Harrison turned around, calm and unreadable. “Didn’t you ask Julian?”
I shook my head. “I’m not interested in your issues. He helped me, and I’m grateful. That’s all there is between us.”