Chapter 498 He Keeps Freaking Me Out

Chapter 498: 498-He Keeps Freaking Me Out

Verity:

"You’re not going to eat?" Ragnar asked, sitting across from me in a chair and making quick work of the food he’d brought.

Of course, he’d brought enough to feed several people while I was passed out.

I was busy going through the marriage documents, sitting on the same sofa where I’d been lying earlier.

But the whole situation felt so strange that I couldn’t even keep my hands steady.

My fingers trembled slightly as I turned the pages.

"Don’t worry. There are no hidden clauses or anything like that," Ragnar commented.

I drew a deep breath and nodded, continuing to examine the documents.

"But you’re not signing them just yet," he added.

I slowly lowered the papers and looked at him.

"I’m not in favor of having a ceremony," I stated.

Ragnar chuckled, holding a chicken wing between his fingers before stuffing it into his mouth.

When he pulled it out, there was barely any meat left on the bone.

He tossed it into the trash bin, grabbed a napkin, and wiped his fingers before running it across the corner of his mouth.

"I’m taking you straight back to the mansion. Our mansion," he announced, beginning to gather the mess he’d made.

"Why?" I asked, genuinely bewildered.

"Why? How about I answer that in the car? After all, we still have a plan to carry out."

He spoke so casually as he rose from his chair, collected the empty bags, and dumped them into the larger trash bin.

Then he returned to the table, picked up another napkin, and began wiping the surface clean.

God, I hated it when Ragnar behaved like this.

The way he went about everything as though our situation was perfectly normal drove me absolutely insane.

His casual attitude only made my irritation worse.

"Don’t worry. You’re not in trouble," he reassured me.

After tossing the used napkin away, he headed toward the bathroom but stopped behind the sofa.

Before I could turn around, I felt him bend over me, his lips brushing the top of my head.

I rolled my eyes as he planted a kiss there.

"Good wife," he murmured.

Then he straightened and walked away, leaving me grumbling under my breath.

I wasn’t even sure where the hell Oswin was at this point, and there was still something I desperately needed to ask him.

Had he kept his last promise?

Had he told Ragnar everything, including the one thing we’d both sworn never to discuss, not even with each other?

I was still lost in those thoughts when Ragnar opened the bathroom door, making my entire body shudder.

I immediately pressed a hand against my forehead, trying to calm myself down.

"I’m going to put your bags in the car. Stay here for a little while, and I’ll come back for you."

The moment Ragnar said that, I rose from the couch and looked at him.

"There’s nothing in those bags that I want to take back with me," I commented quietly.

He’d already reached for one of them, but upon hearing my words, he glanced down at it before setting it aside.

Then he turned to face me, still drying his hands with the tissue he was holding.

"I know," he murmured. "Made it a lot easier for me to deal with that fucker."

His voice dropped into a low, rough growl, and I frowned, trying to make sense of what he meant.

Of course, he’d seen what was inside my bag.

There was no way he could have missed the lingerie I’d packed, and I had a feeling that was exactly what had pissed him off enough to beat Oswin.

But where the fuck was Oswin now?

"Did you get Oswin arrested?" I asked.

Ragnar picked up my bag anyway, along with the other one containing all the weapons and supplies I’d brought to clean up the body and any evidence left at the crime scene.

"Something like that. You don’t need to know the details right now," he replied, carrying both bags out and leaving me behind.

I glanced around the cabin before making my way toward the first drawer, where we’d kept some newspaper clippings.

I pulled it open.

Empty.

I immediately checked the other drawers, then moved on to the closets, searching through every place where we had stored anything important.

Nothing.

Every single one of them had been cleared out.

Ragnar had collected all the evidence.

I was still searching when his voice suddenly came from behind me.

"Well, look at that. Seems my missus is getting ready to throw another tantrum."

I spun around angrily.

Ragnar stood leaning against the doorframe, his arms folded across his broad chest, looking far too comfortable for someone who had just taken away everything I could have used to protect myself.

"What are you going to do with that evidence?" I demanded.

Apparently, he’d already expected that reaction.

"Hmm. I suppose I’ll..." He paused, pretending to give the matter some serious thought.

Then he tilted his head slightly, the corner of his mouth lifting.

"I’ll use it against my new bride if she decides to play games with me."

His voice was soft, almost gentle, but the low, gravelly edge beneath it made his words sound even more threatening.

"Come on. Let’s go," he added and I shook my head.

"I want that evidence back. As long as it’s with you, there’ll always be a sword hanging over my head."

I walked toward him as I spoke, determined to look him straight in the eyes and make it clear that I wasn’t backing down.

Ragnar watched me approach before slowly pushing himself away from the doorframe.

Then, instead of standing over me, he bent forward, resting both hands on his knees until his face was almost level with mine.

"Isn’t that a good thing?" he asked, his eyes fixed on mine. "Let that sword keep hanging over your head. Because without a little fear to keep you in line, you’ll just keep making mistakes."

He straightened to his full height before placing his large hand on top of my head and ruffling my hair.

I angrily slapped his hand away.