Chapter 1451:
Wesley froze, searching her face.
“Baby, are you mad at me?”
He wondered if he had scared her earlier. But apologizing when Elena was angry had become instinct.
“I’m sorry, honey. Please don’t be mad.”
Arms folded across her chest, Elena shot back, “And what exactly are you apologizing for?”
He hesitated, then ventured tentatively, “For scaring you earlier?”
Her lips pressed thin, her eyes hardening. That moment wasn’t nearly enough to rattle her, and his words made her irritation spike.
Seeing her expression, Wesley realized his mistake. How could his girl ever be scared? He knew she was too tough for that.
“There won’t be a next time, baby, I swear,” Wesley said, leaning in to kiss her.
But Elena stopped him cold with the palm of her hand, pressing firmly against his chest to keep him back. Her voice was flat, almost emotionless, though her eyes betrayed the storm inside.
“Wesley, there were a hundred ways you could’ve handled Joseph. Why did you have to hurt yourself? Even though he had taken Gerald hostage, you could have distracted him some other way.”
It infuriated Elena that Wesley had injured himself needlessly over a moron like Joseph. And what angered her most was how carelessly he treated his own condition.
Wesley caught the concern in her words, and it warmed his chest more than she would ever know. He almost smiled, but quickly swallowed it back, not wanting to push her temper further. Lifting his good hand, he said gently, “I give you my word. There won’t be a next time.”
His Elena was worried about him. That thought alone softened him in a way nothing else ever could.
Wesley cradled Elena’s face in his right hand, his gaze tender—a stark contrast to the ruthless demeanor he had shown just moments before.
𝗥𝖊𝖆𝗱 𝗮𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝖔𝗇𝖑𝗒 𝗮𝘁 𝗀ⲁ𝗅𝗇𝗈ν𝖊𝗅𝘀﹒ⅽ𝗈𝗺
“It’s my fault for making you worry,” he remarked softly.
“My grandfather raised me. If not for him, I wouldn’t have survived that winter twenty years ago. That’s why earlier, I acted on instinct and shot myself immediately. I hadn’t thought much at the time. But there won’t be a next time—because you would worry.”
His eyes lingered on her, brimming with overflowing love. His voice dipped low, husky with unspoken longing.
“Elena, may I kiss you?”
The Spencer Group was his responsibility—a duty he had always carried. For most of his life, he had wanted nothing for himself. Until she showed up. And now, he wanted her with a hunger that left him aching.
Elena suddenly shifted, swinging herself onto his lap with a boldness that caught him off guard.
“Since when did you turn into such a gentleman?” she teased.
With his left arm still useless, Wesley pulled her close with his right hand, holding her tightly by the waist. His eyes dropped to her lips, soft and tempting, and his breath grew uneven.
.
.
.