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2026-02-25 16:08:59
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DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 154
The drive to Brandon’s house felt strangely peaceful.After Victor’s confession, none of us had really known what to say.Well, none of us except Kai.Kai had spent the next twenty minutes asking increasingly complicated questions that Victor had very clearly not wanted to answer.By the time we finally left, Victor looked like he regretted every life decision that had led him to that moment.Not that I felt particularly sorry for him.He had apparently been hiding enormous secrets from all of us.The fact that he now had to deal with an inquisitive almost five-year-old felt like a fitting punishment.“You’re smiling again.”Brandon’s voice pulled me from my thoughts.I looked over from the passenger seat.“What?”“Nothing.”The smile on his face said otherwise.“You’ve been smiling for the last ten minutes.”Heat immediately crept into my cheeks.“Maybe I’m happy.”His expression softened.“I know.”The simple answer made my heart flutter.God.I really was acting like a teenager.An
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 153
For several seconds after Victor’s confession, nobody spoke.The noise of the restaurant continued around us, but it felt distant somehow.Muted.Unimportant.Because all I could focus on were the words that had just come out of Victor’s mouth.I never had leukemia.I stared at him.Then blinked.Then stared some more.Across from me, Brandon looked equally stunned.Even Kai seemed to understand that something significant had happened.“What does that mean?” he asked.Victor sighed heavily.The sound carried the exhaustion of a man who knew he was about to have a very unpleasant conversation.“It means I wasn’t sick.”Kai frowned.“You lied?”The question was so direct that Brandon immediately covered his mouth to hide a laugh.Victor looked personally attacked.“Children are terrifying.”“That’s not an answer,” Kai informed him.I couldn’t help it.I laughed.After everything that had happened over the past few months, after all the tears and court battles and sleepless nights, the a
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 152
The walk back to the restaurant felt surreal.I couldn’t stop smiling.Every few seconds, I would remember what had just happened, and my stomach would immediately fill with butterflies all over again.It was ridiculous.Absolutely ridiculous.I was a grown woman.A mother.The CEO of a company.A woman who had survived a brutal divorce, a custody battle, and enough legal drama to fill several lifetimes.And yet somehow, walking beside Brandon with our hands intertwined made me feel exactly like a nervous teenager experiencing her first crush.The worst part was that I loved it.I loved every second of it.The feeling was so unfamiliar that it almost scared me.Dean and I had shared passion.At least I used to think we had.But this?This fluttering anticipation every time Brandon glanced at me?The warmth spreading through my chest whenever he smiled?The constant urge to grin like an idiot?I had never experienced any of that with Dean.Not once.The realization should have saddened
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 151
JoanAfter everything that had happened inside the courtroom, after weeks of fighting and crying and wondering whether I would ever get my son back, the evening felt almost unreal.I kept waiting for something to go wrong.For someone to call and tell me there had been a mistake.For another letter to arrive.For another battle to begin.But nothing happened.For once, the universe left me alone.Kai was sitting on Victor’s shoulders by the time we reached the park, happily chattering about something that had happened in one of his cartoons. Victor, to his credit, was listening as seriously as if Kai were presenting a business proposal worth millions.The sight made me smile.It wasn’t the strained smile I’d been wearing for weeks.It wasn’t the brave smile I’d forced myself to give Kai whenever I was hurting.It was real.Warm.Effortless.Victor must have noticed because he looked over at me.“You should go.”I blinked.“Go where?”He glanced toward Brandon.Then back at me.His exp
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 150
BrandonI didn’t realize how tightly I had been gripping the armrest until the judge finished speaking.The second the ruling was delivered, the tension that had been sitting in my chest for weeks finally loosened.Not completely.Just enough for me to breathe.Across the courtroom, Dean Armstrong looked like a man watching his entire world collapse around him.I should have felt satisfaction.After everything he’d put Joan through, after everything he’d done to Kai, after all the lies and manipulation, I should have enjoyed watching him lose.Instead, I found myself looking somewhere else entirely.At Joan.She hadn’t moved.She was still sitting in her chair, her eyes fixed ahead as though she hadn’t fully processed what had just happened.For a second, I wondered if she had heard the ruling at all.Then I saw her shoulders tremble.Just slightly.And I understood.The fight was finally over.At least this one.The judge was still speaking when Kai jumped out of his seat.The court
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 149
DeanThe moment the judge called for a recess, I was on my feet.I barely remembered standing.Barely remembered pushing my chair back.The only thing I knew was that I needed answers.My pulse pounded violently beneath my skin as people began filing out of the courtroom. Lawyers gathered documents. Reporters whispered among themselves. Court officials moved through the aisles.The entire room felt suffocating.Madeline.Everything came back to Madeline.The testimony.The photographs.The records.The documents.The betrayal.God, the betrayal.A week ago I would’ve sworn she was the last person who would publicly turn against me.Then again, a month ago I would’ve sworn my company was untouchable.Life had developed a habit of proving me wrong lately.My eyes immediately searched for Joan.I found her standing near her lawyer.Brandon stood beside her.Of course he did.The sight instantly irritated me.Joan looked calmer than she had any right to.Almost relaxed.As though she alre
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 089
~~Brandon~~I see it the moment she steps in.That brief pause. That almost imperceptible falter in her steps as her eyes land on me. It’s quick—so quick most people wouldn’t catch it—but I do. I see the surprise flash across her face before she schools her expression, and then comes the hesitation
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 087
Lunch ends in a blur I don’t entirely register, the conversation around me continuing in fragments that I catch but don’t quite absorb, my attention too divided between the weight of Brandon’s words and the quiet, persistent awareness of him beside me. I respond when necessary, nod when appropriate
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 086
~~Joan~~I push the door open and step into the diner without looking back, even though every instinct in me is telling me to. The bell above the door chimes softly, far too cheerful for the way my chest feels tight and unsettled, and I tell myself it’s ridiculous to feel this way—embarrassed over
DON'T BEG ME NOW, MR. ARMSTRONG 084
I let out a quiet breath as I moved deeper into the boutique, my fingers trailing lightly over fabrics that felt far too delicate for everyday use. The racks were arranged with a kind of effortless precision, colors blending into each other in soft gradients that made it difficult to focus on just
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