Chapter 456
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Chapter 456:
Jocelyn had won. But as she sat alone waiting for Isabelle, the toxic seed Chloe had planted quietly took root. The accumulated weight of the past three days — the corporate war, the cold silence between her and Gaston, the relentless pressure to prove her own worth — began to press down on her all at once.
At 9:00 PM, Jocelyn finally unlocked the door to the Collins penthouse.
The lights were dim. Gaston stood by the floor-to-ceiling window, a glass of scotch in hand. He turned the moment she walked in.
He saw the exhaustion in her eyes immediately. The anger from the night before dissolved at once, replaced by a fierce, protective ache that tightened across his chest. He set his glass down and crossed the room toward her.
𝘞𝗲 𝘂𝗉𝘥𝘢𝘵𝖾 𝘦𝘷е𝗿𝘆 𝘄𝖾𝖾k 𝘰𝗻
“Jocelyn. Let me take your coat p>
He reached out.
Jocelyn flinched, stepping back to avoid his hands. She dropped her briefcase onto the floor. “Don’t. I’m fine p>
Gaston’s patience snapped.
He closed the remaining distance in one stride. His large hand shot out and wrapped firmly around her wrist — not painfully, but with an immovable certainty. He pulled her hard against his chest.
“Stop fighting me,” he said, his voice a low, steady growl. “You have barely looked at me in three days. Tell me what is wrong p>
Jocelyn wrenched her arm against his grip. “Let me go! I spent the entire day fighting off people who think I’m nothing but your pathetic, kept woman! I don’t need you treating me like a fragile doll on top of it p>
Gaston went completely still. His dark eyes widened slightly. “Who said that to you p>
The dam broke.
The exhaustion, the fear, and the sheer pressure of everything she had been carrying overwhelmed her all at once. “Chloe Monroe!” Jocelyn cried, hot tears finally spilling over her lashes. “She sat there and mocked me. She told me everyone knows I’m just a fake wife with no real place in your life. And the worst part — the worst part — is that when you try to bail me out, it makes me feel like she’s right p>
Her legs gave out beneath her. She slumped forward, sobbing against his chest.
Gaston’s heart stopped. The full weight of what she had been carrying hit him like a freight train.
He didn’t argue. He didn’t try to explain or defend himself. He wrapped both arms around her and pulled her in, holding her against his body with a fierce, silent tenderness. He buried his face in her hair.
“I will destroy anyone who makes you feel less than what you are,” he whispered, his voice shaking with a quiet, absolute rage. “You are my equal, Jocelyn. You own me p>
He lifted her from the floor and carried her toward their bedroom, refusing to let her go.
The heavy wooden door of Carmen’s Chelsea apartment rattled violently under the force of a pounding fist.
Carmen stood in the center of her living room. She had just returned from Mt. Sinai hospital, her clothes still carrying the faint, sterile smell of clinical antiseptic. She crossed to the security monitor.
Ferris Golden was standing in the hallway. His face was flushed, his eyes wide and manic.
Carmen unlocked the deadbolt and pulled the door open.