Chapter 77
If Eddy really did what they suspected, he was worse than a monster.
Fernando rested his hand on the transparent dome, heart twisting as he watched Blanche’s distress-every bit of regret etching into him like a
knife.
A few minutes passed. The scanner let out a mechanical buzz, and the pod door slid open with a hiss.
Their eyes met unexpectedly. Blanche gasped, instinctively covering her bare skin. By the time she looked up again, Fernando had already turned away, his gaze fixed on the monitor. He lingered there for a few seconds, then handed her a bundle of clothes.
“There’s no tracking device on you,” he said, relief softening his voice.
Blanche kept her eyes on Fernando’s back as she quickly dressed. When he handed her the wedding ring, Fernando suddenly caught her hand and turned to face her.
“Laney, is this the one thing you’d never take off?”
He held the wedding band in his palm.
Blanche shook her head and slipped past him to pick up a ruby necklace. “The ruby necklace my mother gave me on my eighteenth birthday—that’s what I never part with.”
As soon as she spoke, she understood what Fernando meant and handed
the necklace to him.
Fernando placed the ruby necklace on the scanner. The machine whirred to life again, then stopped with a sharp beep.
“Found it. The tracking chip is inside the necklace,” Fernando announced, his expression clearing. “I can remove it without damaging the necklace at all.”
Chapter
Blanche pressed her hand over his. “No,” she said quietly. “You don’t need to trouble yourself with something so small.”
That necklace had been her mother’s wedding gift, passed down through generations of the Harvey family.
Eddy knew she would never take it off, no matter what happened.
He had exploited her love for her mother.
A chill settled in Blanche’s eyes, her gaze turning distant and bright.
Her slender, cold fingers brushed over the back of Fernando’s hand.
Fernando had told himself time and again he shouldn’t covet another man’s wife. But the feelings, once stirred, wouldn’t settle.
“You can trouble me,” he said simply, looking straight at her.
“Oh,” Blanche murmured, startled by his earnestness, her heart thundering for reasons she couldn’t name.
Fernando set the ruby necklace under the microscope.
The chip was quickly removed, leaving the necklace untouched.
Blanche’s face lit with gratitude as she reached for the necklace, but Fernando gently moved her hand aside and stepped behind her, looping the necklace around her neck.
“You can’t see, and there’s no mirror here,” he explained softly.
She didn’t protest. The cool touch of the ruby and the heat of his fingers against her pale skin sent a shiver through her.
When the necklace was fastened, Fernando took her hand again. This time, Blanche didn’t pull away-she simply watched as he picked up the wedding ring.
“Will you?” Fernando asked quietly.
Blanche didn’t have time to refuse.
Chapter 77
The cold diamond slid onto her ring finger, and his strong hand closed over hers. Heat shot through her, every nerve ending alight.
Her eyes widened in surprise. She tried to pull away, but his gaze caught hers-a gaze as deep as the night sea, threatening to drown her.
His lips parted, voice low and steady. “My assets are spread across the world. I’m a respected professor, decorated and admired.”
“Eddy doesn’t take care of himself like I do. I exercise, eat well-I’ll outlive him, I promise.”
“He only met you four years and three days before I did. I’ll catch up eventually.”
“I
“And besides…”
Fernando couldn’t help himself-he had to list his every advantage, desperate for Blanche’s heart.
Hugo Black had dated more women than he could count; his advice had to be sound.
“S-seriously, what are you saying?” Blanche stammered, flustered.
“I love you, Laney.”
A man she’d admired like a god was suddenly confessing to her like this-Blanche couldn’t process it. She stumbled back in panic, colliding with the scanner, and tumbled inside.
Her hand, still entwined with his, yanked Fernando in after her.
His lips crashed against hers.
The scanner door snapped shut, trapping them together in the narrow
space.
A split second later, Eddy’s voice echoed through the intercom, cold and sharp: “Fernando, what did you just do to Laney?”
