Chapter 70 The Night Before Everything Broke

Chapter 70 The Night Before Everything Broke
I followed the line of his throat up to his jaw, kissing slowly, but Caspian stopped me.

I looked up at him, confused. What confused me even more was the feeling under my fingertips when I touched his hand.

I couldn't help lifting his hand to examine it more closely, running my fingers over the pads of his.

His eyes went dark, and he pulled his hand back fast. But I'd already felt it clearly enough.

Those hands had touched every part of my body before. I knew exactly what they felt like.

But now the pads of his fingers were so much rougher than I remembered, calloused in a way they hadn't been ten days ago.

If he weren't standing right in front of me, I wouldn't have believed these were the same hands.

I reached for his hand again, but he was already turning away. "I need to head out."

He walked into the closet to change, and I followed him to the doorway. "You just got back, and you already have to go out?"

"Company business."

"Oh." I stayed where I was, watching him reach for a white dress shirt.

He paused and glanced back at me.

I caught on quickly and tilted my head. "Can't watch you change?"

He turned back to the clothes. "You can watch if you want."

"Who said I wanted to watch?" I turned away, trying not to sound hurt. "Not like I care."

I walked out and heard him moving around behind me, the rustle of fabric as he dressed. When he came out fully suited up, I was sitting on the sofa trying not to look as lost as I felt.

I looked up at him. "So should I just wait here for you to come back?"

His calm eyes rested on me, and he didn't answer right away.

Sometimes in the adult world, you don't need words to get your answer.

"Never mind then." I stood up. "You're busy. I'll head back."

I made it a few steps toward the door before stopping and turning back around.

I looked up at his face. "When will you be done with work? Can you come see me after?"

He watched me quietly for a moment before finally answering. "Okay."

I smiled and went up on my toes to kiss the corner of his mouth, then turned and actually left this time.

It was one in the morning when my doorbell rang and woke me from where I'd dozed off on the sofa.

I dragged myself to the door half-asleep and pulled him inside the moment I saw him.

The door closed, and I wrapped my arms around him, burying my face in his chest. "I'm so tired..."

His hands came to rest on my waist, and after a moment of silence, he said quietly, "Then go rest."

I lifted my head to look at him. "Don't you miss me?"

He looked down at me.

The lights were dim, and I couldn't see his eyes clearly, but I tilted my face up anyway and kissed him.

He didn't pull away. In fact, the moment I tested the waters, he responded.

But when I reached for him, trying to pull him closer, he caught my wrist.

That same rough texture against my skin. I stopped and looked up at him again.

His breathing was heavy, but his expression showed nothing.

"Not tonight," he said.

"Why not?"

After a pause, he answered, "I'm not in the mood."

I never thought I'd hear those words from Caspian's mouth.

Not in the mood.

The same man who'd been relentless our first time together. The same man whose control had always felt absolute, who'd made me face what we'd done the next morning without flinching.

And now he was telling me he wasn't in the mood?

I was full of doubt.

But he was a man, and he'd already said as much. I couldn't exactly force him.

Besides, he'd been gone so long this time, and ever since coming back, something about him felt different.

Though I couldn't put my finger on exactly what.

"Then you should shower and get some rest?" I suggested.

"I'm not staying tonight," Caspian said. "I have a video conference when I get back."

"You're that busy right after coming back?" I frowned, then forced a smile. "Then do you want to eat something first? I bought fresh dumplings from the market downstairs today. I could cook them for you."

A faint smile touched the corner of his mouth. "You cook?"

"I can boil dumplings!" I tried to sound confident. "Why are you looking down on me?"

He still refused. "Next time."

"Oh." I pulled my gaze away, swallowing the disappointment.

After a moment, he spoke again. "Don't worry about your father's situation. I'll have them handle it."

My tired eyes suddenly brightened before I forced myself to stay calm. "But Grayson and Marcus both said the best we could hope for is a suspended sentence—"

"No," Caspian cut me off. "Your father won't go to prison. Quinn Industries will be fine."

I could hardly believe it, staring at him for a long moment before reaching out to hug him tight again.

For me, this was the biggest reassurance I'd gotten through everything.

Even though Marcus and Grayson had been helping me, even though they'd worked out what they called the optimal solution, I hadn't given up hope for something better.

Knowing that Damien was pulling strings behind everything, why should innocent people have to bear the consequences?

I couldn't just accept that fate.

And Caspian was the only one I could turn to.

But like I'd thought before, he'd already given me so much.

I really couldn't bring myself to ask him for more.

But he'd just handed me this gift without me even having to speak.

I couldn't think too much about what it meant or what it would cost him. I could only feel certain that I'd bet right.

From the very beginning, I'd made the right bet.

The next morning, because Caspian had been absent for over a month, Vale Industries held morning meetings that stretched through the entire morning.

By the time it ended, everyone looked exhausted.

As soon as Caspian got back to his office, the PR manager came to ask about his response to all the speculation around his week-long disappearance.

The PR department's suggested answer was travel and vacation. Caspian didn't care one way or another and had no other opinion to offer.

They were busy until almost two o'clock when the old Vale estate called, and it was Winston Vale himself personally reminding Caspian not to forget to eat.

Grayson took the call and quickly stood to walk to Caspian's office, but he'd only taken two steps when his phone suddenly rang again.

When he opened the door to Caspian's office, Caspian was sitting behind his desk, focused on reviewing documents.

Grayson stood in the doorway with a somewhat complicated expression, and after hesitating for a moment, he finally spoke.

"I just got word from the hospital. Richard Quinn's condition suddenly deteriorated..."

Caspian's hand, which had been turning pages, paused. He looked up.

"He's dead."