Chapter 255 255 The Man She Was Trying To Forget 3

Chapter 255 255 The Man She Was Trying To Forget 3
“You need to see him with Leah, Meadow. I do not stand a chance. She is pretty and sophisticated, and she saved his mother’s life. How would he look at me when he has that? I had to respect myself and put a distance between us. I am not his type, and I have stopped deceiving myself,” Victoria said.
Joseph’s heart lifted and sank at the same time. She cared. She had pulled away because she thought he wanted Leah. She had been hurting quietly while he was too blind to notice. The thought filled him with relief and guilt at once.
“If you are getting over him, then why risk your life for him?” Elaine asked.
The room went silent again.
“My heart…” Victoria said, and then her voice broke as she started sobbing. “I am trying, but it won’t stop beating crazy for him. I thought it was a crush that would go away, but every time I think of him, it is as if my heart is being ripped out. I train for many hours, so I get tired and fall asleep. I do not want to think of him knowing he would be with Leah when all this is over.”
Joseph froze by the door. He did not know whether to go in or stay out. He had heard a conversation he was never supposed to hear. He had invaded a private piece of her pain, and guilt tightened his chest. But he was also glad. Selfishly, deeply glad. Now he knew. The feeling was mutual. Victoria was not cold to him because she felt nothing. She was cold because she felt too much.
He reached for the knob and entered.
It was almost funny how quickly the women changed their faces. The tears, the pity, the gossip, all of it vanished like he had walked into a different room. Joseph pretended not to notice. He linked Meadow, asking her to give him time alone with Victoria. Meadow looked at him, then at Victoria, and something like understanding softened her face. She took Elaine with her and left.
Joseph sat beside Victoria on the bed and began to feed her the soup. Victoria stared at him, embarrassed and unsure what to do with the tenderness.
“I can feed myself, you know,” she said.
Joseph chuckled.
“Let me show my gratitude,” he told her.
Victoria opened her mouth reluctantly, and he fed her slowly. The simple act felt too intimate. Too gentle. Too dangerous. She kept her eyes away from his because every time she looked at him, her heart betrayed her again. When she was done, she got off the bed and went to the bathroom to apply the ointment Dr Rosenberg had given her. Joseph handed her one of his shirts to wear, and she took it with nervous fingers.
Victoria stayed in the bathroom for almost an hour. She applied the ointment carefully, avoiding the worst of the tenderness around her side. She stared at herself in the mirror, wearing his shirt, and wondered what kind of punishment this was. His scent clung to the fabric. It wrapped around her until she felt dizzy with it. She told herself to calm down. She told herself to leave when she came out. She told herself not to read meaning into kindness. But none of that worked fully.
When she finally stepped out, the room lights were dim. Joseph was lying shirtless on the bed.
Her breath caught.
He got up when he saw her and went to the bathroom to shower, acting almost giddy. Victoria watched him go, confused by the boyish energy around him. She had never seen him quite like that. It made him look less like the untouchable Alpha and more like a man trying not to smile too much.
She went to lie on the bed because standing there overthinking would drive her mad. Joseph returned forty minutes later wearing only shorts, and Victoria immediately regretted having eyes. His body was carved to perfection, all muscle and strength, and she wondered why he was torturing her like this. How was she supposed to get over him when he looked like that in the same room with her?
“Joseph, I feel better now. I should return to my room,” she said, getting up quickly.
He rushed to stop her.
“But I want you to stay,” he said.
His voice was softer now, and he caressed her cheek gently, almost teasing her. Hearing what she had said earlier had emboldened him. He could not pretend anymore. Not when she had cried about trying to forget him.
Victoria closed her eyes for a second, feeling his hand on her cheek, then froze when she realised what she had done. The weakness had shown. He pulled her to his chest and hugged her tightly, taking in her scent like he had been starving for it.
“Other than my brother, no one has ever done what you did for me, Vicky,” he said.
Victoria stood stiff in his arms, fighting herself from relaxing into him.
“You risked your life for me,” he added.
She pulled away, needing distance before she lost sense.
“I only did what a warrior would do for her Alpha,” she said.
Joseph shook his head and moved closer until her back touched the wall. Victoria swallowed. He was too close. His eyes held too much.
“To me, you did more, Vikky. You saved my life,” he said, touching her chin gently and lifting her face so she would look at him.
Victoria held his gaze for a moment before looking away. She was losing the internal battle, and tears gathered in her eyes before she could stop them.
“Please don’t make this harder than it already is, Joseph. I am trying to get over it,” she whispered.
She had meant it more for herself than him, but he heard every word. He turned her face back to him, and her misty eyes pleaded with him to release her before she disgraced herself completely.
“There is no one else, Vikky,” he said.
Victoria did not understand at first. Her mind was too full of shame, pain and the stupid feeling that she had failed to get over a crush like a grown woman should. All she could think was that she looked foolish.
Then Joseph took her by surprise and captured her lips with his.
The kiss was sweet at first, soft enough to ask and deep enough to answer the questions she had been too afraid to voice. Victoria gave in easily because she had never truly wanted to fight him. Joseph deepened the kiss, and all the pain she had carried quietly seemed to loosen in her chest.
“There is no one else,” he linked her.
This time, she understood.
Victoria grabbed onto his head as he pulled her to his body by the waist and tasted her greedily.