Chapter 42 42
“Thank you for everything, Mr. Ruiz… but I’ll be leaving tomorrow,” she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper, yet loud enough for him to hear.
He went still.
Only for a fraction of a second but she saw it. The subtle pause. The way his jaw tightened. The instant his forest-green eyes snapped toward her. She dropped her gaze immediately, her pulse skidding.
She was in trouble again.
She should have left without saying anything. Should have packed her things quietly and disappeared by morning. But she’d spoken, and now it was too late.
The deed was done.
“There’s no home left to go back to,” he said calmly. “It was sold.”
The words struck her like a blow.
“What?” she gasped, horror ripping through her as she shot to her feet.
Her hand flew to her mouth. It felt as though the ground had vanished beneath her, as if everything solid in her world had collapsed in an instant. She had endured so much sacrificed so much just to keep that apartment safe. It was all she had left of her family.
And he had taken it away.
Tears burned in her eyes. “How could you?” she whispered, her voice breaking.
He exhaled slowly and stood as well.
“That was the last thing I had of my family!” she cried, the tremor in her voice spiraling out of control. All those memories every laugh, every argument, every quiet night it was all tied to that place.
Fernando stepped toward her and lifted his hands to her face, gently cupping her cheeks.
She flinched back immediately, recoiling from his touch.
He let his hands fall.
“I bought the building,” he said evenly.
The shock hit harder than before.
“What?” Her voice rose, anger and emotion colliding. “How? Why would you do that?”
“I have my ways,” he replied simply.
The casualness of it nearly drove her insane.
He reached for her again, but this time she slapped his hands away and in that same instant, her eyes caught something that made her blood run cold.
His knuckles.
Her breath hitched.
Two hours ago, they had been bruised. Swollen. Raw.
Now… there wasn’t a single mark.
She stared at his hands, then up at his face, then back again as she staggered a step backward.
“H-how…?” she stammered, disbelief flooding her features. “Y-your knuckles…”
The color drained from her face, and he knew he understood exactly what she was thinking.
That kind of healing wasn’t normal. Not human.
“You’re staying with me from now on,” he said coldly, cutting her off before the questions could spiral further.
It worked.
“Huh…? W-what?” she muttered, confusion overtaking her fear.
“You’ll stay here,” he continued calmly. “Your belongings will be moved in by tomorrow. And don’t worry about the apartment I’ll keep it. Forever. It’s yours.”
She could only gape at him.
“I can’t live with you,” she said quietly. “It’s wrong on so… many levels.”
He was already turning away.
“Go to sleep, Ana,” he said as he headed up the stairs. “And take your medicine.”
She stood frozen long after he disappeared.
Later, she locked herself in the room and collapsed onto the bed.
Her mind refused to slow down. Thoughts collided, tangled, spiraled—yet every single one of them led back to one person.
Mr. Ruiz.
She knew what she had seen. Bruises didn’t vanish in two hours. That wasn’t possible.
So how?
And the nerve of him buying the building without her consent. She hadn’t sold it. How had he even managed it?
Where was her life heading?
Her teacher was forcing her to stay in his home. If anyone found out anyone at all everything would fall apart. Her reputation. Her scholarship. The future she had fought so hard to secure.
She couldn’t lose it. Not because of him.
Eventually, exhaustion claimed her, dragging her under despite the storm raging in her mind.
Fernando slammed his fist into the wall, the impact leaving a deep dent in the plaster.
Hunter was losing control.
His wolf raged inside him, snarling, desperate to claim what was theirs. The urge to mark her, to bind her was becoming unbearable. But she wasn’t ready. He knew that.
If he stayed, he would cross a line he couldn’t take back.
Grabbing his car keys, he left before the restraint snapped.
The house was saturated with her scent sweet, intoxicating, maddening. Being so close to her made the need burn hotter, sharper. The mate bond clawed at his mind, twisting his thoughts, pushing him toward something forbidden.
So he drove.
For hours.
When he finally returned late that night, her scent wrapped around him instantly, a cruel kind of bliss.
His feet carried him to her door without conscious thought.
Locked.
Smart girl.
But wood and metal meant nothing to him.
Nothing in this world could keep him away from her.
He unlocked the door and stepped inside, movements slow, silent.
His gaze fell on her small form curled on the bed.
Defenseless.
She wore one of his shirts thin, too thin clinging to her body. Her shorts were gone, leaving her long, pale legs bare. The sight alone was enough to make his jaw clench, desire coiling tight in his gut.
Unbidden images flooded his mind her legs wrapped around him, her body yielding beneath his.
He hardened instantly.
Crouching beside the bed, he brushed his thumb along her cheek, feather-soft. His thoughts turned dark, sinful, tempting him with all the ways he could claim her right there.
He could overpower her without effort.
The knowledge aroused him and disgusted him.
Because somewhere along the way, she had unlocked something in him. A cage he hadn’t known existed. And it refused to let him hurt her.
She was too precious.
Too fragile.
Leaning down, he pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead.
Then he forced himself away.
He left her room and went straight to the bathroom, turning the water cold as ice.
He needed control.
He needed distance.
And he needed to deal with the hard-on before it destroyed what little restraint he had left.