Chapter 79
Chapter 79:
June’s eyes widened in pure outrage. She glared at him, her chest heaving. But she knew Cole was reckless enough to start a physical confrontation with Silas. To protect Silas from that, she gave a stiff, jerky nod.
Cole slowly removed his hand from her mouth.
He didn’t step back. Instead, his hand dropped to the edge of the towel she was clutching, and with one swift motion he pulled it away.
June gasped, instinctively crossing her arms over her chest.
Cole gripped her shoulders and spun her around to face the wall. “Don’t move,” he ordered.
He stared at her bare back. The sight of the burns made his breath snag in his throat. The skin was angry and red, covered in fluid-filled blisters. It looked agonizing.
A sharp, violent stab of guilt pierced his chest. He had let this happen. He had chosen Alycia’s manufactured tears over his wife’s real agony. But his ego refused to let him apologize.
Cole reached into the pocket of his suit jacket and pulled out a small, heavy black porcelain jar — no label. It was the Compton family’s emergency ointment, a formula developed by a Swiss clinic exclusively for them, kept stocked in every property and vehicle they owned. He unscrewed the lid and scooped out a thick layer of the ice-cold cream with his fingers.
Without warning, he pressed his fingers against the angry red skin on June’s shoulder.
The sudden contact and the stinging cold made her flinch violently. A sharp gasp of pain escaped her lips.
Out in the hallway, Silas heard it.
𝘗oр𝘶l𝘢r 𝘴𝘁о𝘳𝗂𝗲s оn ѕ.𝗰𝗼𝗆
“June!” His voice sharpened. He pounded his fist against the door. “Are you in there? Open the door p>
Cole’s eyes darkened with jealousy. He hated that another man was worried about her. He hated that Silas believed he had the right to protect her.
Cole deliberately pressed his fingers a fraction harder against the edge of the burn.
June let out a muffled groan, her forehead dropping against the cold tiles.
Cole leaned close to the back of her neck. “Tell him to go away,” he commanded. “Tell him you’re busy p>
June bit down on her lower lip until she tasted copper. She drew a shaky breath.
“Silas,” she called out. Her voice trembled slightly from the pain. “I’m fine. I just — I bumped my knee against the table p>
“Are you sure?” Silas asked.
“Yes.” She forced herself to sound tired. “I’m already in bed. Just leave the medicine by the door. Thank you p>
A long silence fell on the other side. Silas was a highly intelligent man — he heard the strain in her voice. But he was also a gentleman who respected boundaries.
“Alright,” he said finally. “The pills are on the carpet. Call me if you need anything p>
His footsteps faded down the hallway.
The moment they disappeared, the tension holding June together snapped.
She spun around and swung her hand toward Cole’s face with everything she had left.
His reflexes were too fast. He caught her wrist in mid-air. The momentum pulled her forward, crashing her bare chest against his suit jacket.