Chapter 92
Chapter 92:
He hit the intercom button on the partition. “Slow down,” he told the driver, his voice low. “Drop the speed by twenty percent. Avoid the potholes p>
The driver eased off the gas without question. The Maybach settled into a gentle crawl.
Cole reached into the hidden storage compartment between the seats and pulled out a folded gray cashmere blanket. With stiff, careful movements, he leaned over and draped it across June’s sleeping body, making sure his hands didn’t touch her.
He leaned back into his seat and watched her in the dark for the rest of the drive.
An hour later, the Maybach rolled through the massive iron gates of the Compton Estate and stopped smoothly by the front fountain.
The slight jolt of the brakes woke June instantly.
Her eyes opened. She looked down and saw the gray cashmere blanket covering her lap.
She understood immediately who had put it there.
A violent shudder of revulsion moved through her. She grabbed the blanket and threw it off her legs as though it were covered in spiders.
Cole watched the rejection. The soft, unguarded feeling in his chest hardened instantly into jagged ice.
𝖠𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗏𝖾 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗆𝗎𝗇𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝗈𝗇
“Don’t flatter yourself,” he sneered, burying his hurt behind cruelty. “I just didn’t want you freezing to death and causing a scandal p>
June didn’t bother to reply. She pushed the door open, stepped out into the cold night, and walked up the stone steps to the mansion — leaving him sitting alone in the dark.
The heavy oak doors of the Compton Estate swung open.
Mrs. Lynch, the head housekeeper, stood waiting in the foyer. She took June’s coat with quiet efficiency, her eyes filled with unspoken sympathy.
June walked directly into the grand living room.
The air smelled of burning firewood and old money. Grandmother Eleanor sat in her high-backed leather wheelchair near the fireplace, silver hair perfectly styled, sharp eyes missing nothing.
When Eleanor saw June, the severe lines of her face softened at once.
“Come here, child,” she said, extending a wrinkled hand.
June crossed the room and knelt beside the wheelchair, taking the old woman’s hand in both of hers. “Grandmother p>
Eleanor studied June’s pale face, her gaze dropping to the rigid set of her shoulders. “You are hurt. What happened p>
Before June could answer, heavy footsteps echoed in the hallway.
Cole strode into the living room. Alycia, who had just arrived in Declan’s car, hurried in right behind him, arranging her expression into something pitiful. June did not look at either of them.
“I spilled some hot water on myself,” June said smoothly, turning back to Eleanor. “It is nothing serious p>
Eleanor’s eyes narrowed. She brought her wooden cane down hard against the Persian rug and fixed her gaze directly on Cole.
“You took your wife to a retreat,” Eleanor said, her voice cutting through the room like a blade, “and you let her get injured while you were busy playing with fireworks for this outsider?” She raised a trembling finger toward Alycia.
Alycia’s face flushed crimson. She stepped forward. “Mrs. Compton, please, it wasn’t p>