Chapter 58: The Truth He Refuses to Believe

Chapter 58: Chapter 58: The Truth He Refuses to Believe

~Reynold’s POV~

The car sped through the dark city streets, carrying us deeper into the night as the kiss lingered, leaving every unspoken, heavy feeling hanging in the air between us.

After we finally pulled back, neither of us spoke. Frederick didn’t say a single word. He only guided my head onto his shoulder, keeping me tucked securely against his side for the rest of the silent journey.

When the car finally pulled up to his estate, we stepped out and took the elevator upstairs to the master bedroom.

Once we were inside, I slipped away into the walk-in closet to change out of my tight leather outfit. I pulled on an oversized white cotton shirt, leaving nothing underneath and letting the soft fabric brush against my thighs.

A moment later, Frederick stepped into the closet to change out of his evening clothes. As he raised his hand to begin unbuttoning his shirt, I turned toward him.

"Let me help you."

He didn’t say anything. He watched me with those heavy, unreadable eyes as he let his hands fall to his sides.

I stepped closer and reached for the buttons of his shirt, carefully unfastening them one by one until the fabric parted across his chest. As I reached up to slide the shirt from his shoulders, he suddenly moved.

Frederick’s hand came up, grabbing the back of my head, and he gently pressed his forehead against mine.

I tried to look away, suddenly feeling exposed and overwhelmed by everything I had confessed in the car, but Frederick held me in place. He tilted my head back, then captured my lips in a slow, deliberate kiss that made my heart race.

When he finally pulled back slightly, his voice dropped to a low murmur against my lips.

"In the beginning... before I offered you the contract we have now," Frederick whispered, his eyes searching mine. "I originally wanted to offer you a marriage contract. Do you remember?"

I looked up at him, my heart freezing in my chest. "Wait... what? Did I sign a different contract?"

"Answer my question first," Frederick said.

"Yes... I remember," I replied slowly. "You asked me to sign a marriage contract, and I did."

Frederick’s expression shifted, filled with an emotion I couldn’t quite understand.

"Listen, Reynold," he said quietly. "You rejected that contract back then because you weren’t desperate enough."

I opened my mouth to speak, but Frederick raised a hand, stopping me before I could say anything.

"But when you became desperate," he continued, his voice cutting through the quiet of the closet, "you accepted the contract without even bothering to finish reading the rules or understand what you were putting your name on. The contract you actually signed is strictly a five-year business arrangement. It was never a marriage contract."

My breath caught, and suddenly it felt as though the ground beneath me had shifted. "What... what are you saying?"

"That isn’t even the main point," Frederick said, stepping closer. "What I want you to understand is that what you feel for me right now isn’t love. It’s nothing but the fear of being left alone."

"No," I gasped, shaking my head frantically. "I truly love you—"

"No, Reynold. You don’t," he interrupted, his tone firm but gentle. "You’re afraid of being alone and losing everything you have right now. You’re terrified that if I take Eva back, there won’t be anyone left to protect you or care for you. That doesn’t mean you love me, Reynold. You love the things I’m giving you—the safety, the comfort, the security."

He paused, his gaze never leaving mine. "If you met someone else tomorrow who gave you the same treatment, you might feel the same way about them."

He reached out, his fingers gently brushing against my cheek. "So don’t mistake your fear of being abandoned for love. Focus on the reality of the contract and the rules you agreed to."

"No, that’s not true!" I protested, my voice breaking. "I truly love you..."

I tried to argue, tried to make him see the raw, aching truth in my chest, but Frederick cut me off entirely. He pulled me violently closer against his body, capturing my lips in a deep, bruising kiss that stole the air right out of my lungs.

His tongue swept inside, hot and demanding, while his hands bunched up the hem of the oversized white shirt I was wearing, pulling it higher so he could grab my bare ass as he kissed me hard, deep, and punishing.

Then he suddenly pulled back. With a swift motion, he brought his hand down, delivering a sharp, stinging spank to my exposed skin.

Before I could process the sudden shift, Frederick turned away and walked to the other side of the closet to change into fresh pajamas, effectively shutting down the conversation.

I stood there in the center of the closet for a long moment, completely numb. My legs felt heavy, and the warmth of the kiss had turned to ice in my veins. Without another word, I turned on my heel and walked out of the closet into the bedroom, then crawled onto my side of the bed and pulled the covers up around myself.

I lay there in the dark, my mind racing as I thought back to how desperate I had been when Frederick left me for that week. I had been terrified of losing him, and when I found out the truth about my mother and realized I had no one, I panicked. I was so desperate that I signed those papers without reading all the clauses or understanding the fine print. It was a strict five-year business contract, not the marriage deal we had first talked about.

And now he thought I only loved him because I was afraid of being alone and losing everything if Eva came back. But he was wrong. Even if desperation had driven me to sign that contract, I knew the truth. I was completely and genuinely in love with him.

And I had five years to prove it to him. Whether it was a five-year business contract or the five-year marriage contract we had first discussed, one thing was certain, he had me for five years. And that was more than enough time for me to prove that I loved him and that my heart truly wanted only him.

With those thoughts and that determination in my mind, I picked up a pillow and hugged it tightly until the numbness finally won out and I drifted into a dreamless sleep.

Morning light filtered softly through the curtains of the bedroom. I slowly stirred from my sleep, still too drowsy to open my eyes.

My arms instinctively tightened around the soft, warm thing beside me. It felt just like the pillow I had hugged before falling asleep, so I pulled it closer and buried my face against it.

Mmm... so comfortable, I thought sleepily, nuzzling closer.

Still half-asleep, I even pressed a soft, drowsy kiss against it, completely convinced I was still hugging my pillow.

But something felt different.

The warmth was too real. The surface beneath my cheek felt firm instead of soft, and there was a familiar scent of cologne and skin.

Slowly, I opened my eyes.

The moment my vision came into focus, I froze.

I wasn’t hugging my pillow at all.

I was wrapped tightly around Frederick’s broad, bare chest, my arms locked around his torso.

I scrambled backward as if I’d been electrocuted, my face instantly catching fire as I stared at him.

Frederick simply propped his head up on one hand, giving me a dry, theatrical look.

"Why do you look like you just saw a ghost?"

"I—I thought I was hugging a pillow!" I stammered, pulling the blankets up to my chin.

Frederick raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching into a teasing smile. "Then I must be awfully soft for you to mistake me for a pillow."

Soft, my foot, I scoffed inwardly, crossing my arms defensively. You’re hard as a rock.

"You’re both right and wrong, Reynold," Frederick murmured, his voice dropping into a low, wicked tone. "My body may be soft in some places, but my dick is hard."

My eyes darted down instantly...