Chapter 550

Chapter 549:

He knelt on the rug in front of her and carefully took her right foot in his hands. The ankle was already swelling rapidly, the skin pulled tight, a dark and angry bruise blooming just beneath the surface.

Justin’s eyes darkened. He stood and walked swiftly toward the kitchen.

Carmen leaned her head back against the sofa cushions and squeezed her eyes shut, fighting the throbbing pain in her leg and the overwhelming shame rising in her chest. She had been so consumed by her own panic that she’d been reckless — and now he had to take care of her, one more problem for him to solve.

A minute later, Justin returned with a medical ice pack wrapped in a thin towel and a tube of prescription anti-inflammatory ointment. He knelt back down on the rug and placed the ice pack gently against the swollen joint.

Carmen hissed at the biting cold and flinched backward.

Justin immediately loosened his grip, adjusting the towel to soften the shock. “I know it hurts,” he murmured, his voice a low, soothing rumble. “Just give it a minute to numb the nerves p>

He kept his large hand wrapped lightly around her calf to hold the ice pack in place, then looked up at her, his dark eyes searching her pale face.

“What were you thinking up there?” he asked quietly. “You were a million miles away p>

Carmen swallowed hard. Her throat felt incredibly dry. The memory of Conrad’s voice — cold and unhurried and threatening — burned in her mind. She looked at Justin’s concerned face and felt a fresh wave of guilt.

𝖩𝗼𝗂𝗻 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘤o𝘮𝘮𝘶𝗻ity o𝗇

“I was just panicked,” she admitted, barely above a whisper. “I felt like I needed to run p>

Justin held her gaze for a long moment. He saw the genuine fear in her eyes and didn’t push.

He set the ice pack aside on the coffee table, unscrewed the cap of the ointment, and squeezed a generous amount of the thick gel onto his fingertips. Then he wrapped both hands around her ankle and began to work the ointment into her bruised skin.

His touch was precise and careful — just enough pressure to draw the medicine into the muscle without causing sharp pain. His hands were large and warm, the pads of his fingers faintly calloused from daily training. As his thumbs moved in slow, deliberate circles over her skin, a wave of soothing calm began to push back against her anxiety.

The physical pain in her ankle gradually receded, replaced by a grounding awareness of his care.

Carmen’s breathing, which had been shallow and rapid, began to slow. Her chest rose and fell more steadily.

Justin felt the subtle shift in her muscles. He stopped looking at her ankle and lifted his gaze to meet hers.

The air in the living room grew thick and heavy — not with tension, but with something unspoken and understood.

His hands moved slower now, his thumbs tracing the delicate curve of her calf bone, the touch shifting from medical care to something far more intimate and reassuring.

Carmen felt warmth rise up her neck. She didn’t want to pull away.