Chapter 121 What happened that night
“Oh fuck…baby. Lick my nipple… pinch the other one.”
Summer obeyed without hesitation, her tongue flicking over the wrinkled skin of his chest while her fingers twisted the other nipple just hard enough to make him groan louder.
Assemblyman Jo moved on top of her with labored, heavy thrusts, his chubby stomach slapping against her abdomen, his breath hot and sour against her face.
He finished with a final, shuddering groan, collapsing onto her. His full weight pinned her to the mattress for several long, suffocating seconds, making it impossible to draw a full breath.
Sweat dripped from his brow onto her mouth. Then, with a satisfied grunt, he rolled off her and onto his back, chest heaving, the bed creaking under the shift in weight.
Disgust rolled through Summer in slow, nauseating waves.
She could smell him on her skin mixed with sweat, the stench of his breath, the stale musk of sex. His seed was already leaking out of her, warm and sticky between her thighs, a reminder of the hell she wanted to break free from.
“Damn yeah… my wife is the sweetest,” Jo rasped, one meaty hand lazily patting her thigh as if she were a prized possession he’d just finished using.
Summer forced a practiced smile, her lips curving just enough to look convincing, eyes staying fixed on the ceiling.
After a minute, he rolled onto his side, propping himself up on one elbow to look at her. He reached out to tweak her nipple again like she was a toy he hadn’t quite tired of.
“You’ve been a good girl,” he chuckled, voice thick and smug. “Yesterday, after your impromptu appearance to the public, my ratings went up. The people love seeing you by my side .”
Summer dragged her eyes away from the ceiling, back to him, forcing another smile. “Oh, really?”
“So I was thinking,” he continued, fingers trailing lazily over her stomach, “you should tell your manager to clear your schedule for a year and six months. You should stop taking your contraceptives. We’re going to be having a baby.”
“What!!!” she blurted, shock breaking through her carefully constructed mask before she could stop it.
His expression darkened instantly. “You don’t like it?”
Summer laughed a quick, covering laugh that sounded too high, too brittle. “I… I do. I was just shocked…”
Inside, her stomach twisted violently.
Before they’d married, one of his terms had been no children. She’d agreed without hesitation, relieved, even because she never wanted to bring a child into this. Never wanted to tie herself permanently to this old, disgusting beast who treated her like a trophy and a whore in equal measure.
“This is good news,” she forced out, keeping her voice light. “My parents have been wondering when I’d give them grandchildren… they’ll be so elated.” She laughed again, the sound hollow. “I should share this news with them.”
She turned, reaching for her phone on the nightstand, then paused as if reconsidering.
“I think sharing it in person would be better,” she said quickly. “We should go see them together…”
Jo’s brows lifted in surprise, but the offer clearly pleased him. He liked the idea of her showing him off.
“No,” he said after a moment, shaking his head. “I have to pay a visit to General Richard. I heard he was sick. I need to pay my respects and seek his support for the election.”
The name hit Summer like a slap.
General Richard.
She had seen Heaven yesterday. Her mother had said she was thrown out had they brought her back? The car she drove was expensive. If there was a chance she was back she would cry to her to help her out. Heaven was kind hearted.
“Can I come with you?” Summer asked, the words tumbling out before she could overthink them.
Jo blinked, caught off guard. “I thought you said you wanted to go to your parents.”
“Well… anything that helps you become president of Ivory City, I’ll do it,” she said, leaning in to drop soft kisses along his lips while her hand rubbed slow circles over his round stomach. “He might be a fan. My presence could be important.”
She forced herself to sound eager, adoring everything he wanted her to be.
Jo studied her for a long moment, eyes narrowing slightly as if searching for the catch. Then his mouth curved into a pleased, possessive smile.
“That’s my girl,” he said, patting her cheek like she was a child who’d performed well. “You know how to support your husband. Fine. You’ll come with me. Wear something elegant but modest, nothing too revealing. We’re visiting a sick man, not a nightclub.”
He chuckled at his own joke, then rolled onto his back again, already reaching for the whiskey bottle.
Summer exhaled slowly, forcing her smile to stay in place.
“I will go get ready.” She calmly scurried away.
\~~~~~~~~~~~~
Maverick drove off toward the Richards’ household. Luckily, Liam had insisted he wanted his mama, so Maverick had dropped him off at the hospital first.
His jaw clenched, his mind spiraling after everything Liam had told him about the accident.
Who were the men chasing her?
Why would she be outside on a rainy night?
She had no money. She hadn’t taken the card he’d given her. She hadn’t gone back to her parents’ house.
And there was one thing that refused to make sense—
If her father had planned to take her away the next day, why did she leave a day earlier?
He had missed something.
Fuck.
The fear that he hadn’t protected her well enough in that house tore him apart from the inside.
Everything blurred in his vision as he stepped into the main building. Servants bowed as he passed, but he barely glanced at them.
He didn’t stop until he found who he was looking for.
She was in the laundry room.
“Young Master, do you want anything?” the elderly woman asked, startled. He had never come looking for her before.
Maverick’s eyes shifted to the other servant beside her, head bowed low. Without a word, the butler signaled for her to leave.
The room fell silent.
“Butler Rose,” Maverick said quietly, his voice dangerously calm, “there is absolutely nothing you don’t know in this house.”
Butler Rose’s heart pounded violently. Her hand tightened around her apron as she swallowed, wondering if the day had finally come, the day the truth would surface, the reason she had been placed in the Richards’ household exposed.
“You knew about Heaven and me,” he continued. It wasn’t a question. It was a statement.
“What happened the day she left?”
Butler Rose looked up at him.
“Did she really leave on her own?” he pressed.
“She… she didn–”
“Butler Rose?”