Chapter 45 Chapter Forty-four
ARA
The chlorine burned, like salt on an open wound.
It stung my eyes, my ears, my nose. It seeped into places it had no right to be.
I flailed weakly, my arms pushing upward, legs kicking in a pathetic attempt to stay afloat.
I couldn’t breathe, let alone stay afloat.
Every inhale felt like needles stabbing straight into my lungs.
Panic took over, clawing at my chest, stealing control of my limbs. My body stopped listening to me, and I felt myself sinking down.
I was drowning.
My hair floated around my face like a dark veil as the surface drifted farther and farther away.
My eyelids grew heavy, exhaustion dragging me down, deeper, slower.
Just as my lungs screamed their final protest, a loud splash shattered the water.
An arm, strong and unyielding, wrapped around my waist and yanked me upward.
Air tore into my chest, sharp and violent.
My eyes refused to open. My throat and lungs burned like fire, like I’d been set ablaze instead of pulled from water.
“Open your eyes, love,” a voice pleaded. “Open those beautiful eyes. Baby…”
I knew that voice.
Thayne.
I clung to it, let it anchor me, dragging me back from the edge.
“Give us space! Step back!” His voice cracked. “Ara? Ara—open your eyes, please.”
The desperation in his tone forced my eyelids apart.
I lurched forward, coughing violently, but his hand steadied me, firm and gentle all at once.
He pressed his forehead to mine, water dripping from his hair, sliding down his sharp face, landing on my nose.
“I’m so sorry,” he murmured. “I should’ve stayed close. I should never have left you.”
His lips brushed mine with every apology.
“Thayne,” I rasped, my voice barely there.
My chest hurt, and my head spun.
Then I remembered the envelope and panic flared in my chest again.
I tried to stand. “I’m okay. I’m fine.”
But he didn’t let me.
He scooped me up effortlessly, holding me tight.
No—no, I needed to check. If the envelope was gone, if it had dissolved….
Lost in my spiraling fear, I finally noticed the woman struggling between two of Thayne’s escorts a few feet away.
The cleaner.
She was shrieking loudly, kicking wildly. “Check the water! Check the water! Check and see how she betrayed you!”
Cold dread flooded my veins.
“Boss,” Munroe said cautiously, peering into the pool. “There’s something floating on top of the water. It's….” He trailed off, squinting to get a better look.
“An envelope?”
My body went rigid in Thayne’s arms.
“She stole the original signed deal!” the cleaner screamed. “She can’t deny it! She stole it!”
“I can explain,” I whispered urgently.
Thayne’s grip tightened as he started walking—faster.
For the first time, I wished he hadn’t saved me. Drowning would’ve been kinder than whatever awaited me now. Would he even understand?
“Please,” I said, lifting my head to look at him. “Let me explain.”
He looked down at me.
The heat in his eyes burned through my soaked clothes, straight into my skin.
He should have let me sink.
“She’s sabotaging you, Mr. Slade Junior!” the cleaner yelled after us. “She’s conspiring against you!”
“I wasn’t sabotaging you,” I gasped, coughing hard. “I was—”
“Stop talking, Ara,” he said sharply, signaling the escorts.
But I couldn’t stop. He had to understand.
“I was trying to outsmart Madison,” I rushed. “I wanted to duplicate the deal, fake your signature so she couldn’t use it—”
“Arayna,” he cut in dangerously calm, “unless you want me to fuck that stubbornness out of you right here on my company grounds, you will shut that mouth.”
My lips snapped closed despite myself.
We reached the convoy.
He set me gently into the backseat of the red Porsche, slammed the door shut, then followed—pressing me down as soon as we were inside.
We were soaked, but the heat between us was suffocating. I couldn't even speak. I was both hot and cold at the same time.
“Drive,” he ordered.
Then his fist tangled in my hair, forcing my head back.
“Two minutes,” he said coolly. “Tell me why you stole the original deal.”
I swallowed hard. “The night before our wedding, I met Madison at the old gallery house.”
His grip tightened and I nearly moaned instead of wincing. I was screwed up, I knew it.
“You think I didn’t know?” he murmured. “I know every step you take. What I want to know is what deal you made with her.”
Pain shot through my scalp as he tugged, my breath hitching.
“She took my sisters,” I blurted. “She said I’d never see them again if I didn’t get the deal. I love them and I—”
“Millie and Mollie are safe.”
I froze. “What?”
“They’re safe,” he repeated calmly. “We took Madison by surprise. I sent men disguised as buyers looking for underage girls.”
His lips brushed mine as he spoke.
For a moment, I could only stare at him, stunned. Stunned barely scratched the surface in explaining how I truly felt.
Then instinct took over.
I wrapped my legs around his waist, yanked him down, and kissed him.