Chapter 111
\nThree Years Later, He Came Back Begging novel Chapter 111<\/p>\n
Aiken gave in with a gentle voice. \u201cIf you still have a fever tomorrow, we\u2019ll go to the hospital, okay? Don\u2019t freak out about the shot. I\u2019ll be right there with you.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bonnie nodded, whispering a thank you. She glanced over and realized he still had his uniform on. Her eyelids fluttered open with worry. \u201cDid you take off work to come here? Seriously, don\u2019t let me keep you from your job. This is just a tiny thing. Your work matters more.\u201d<\/p>\n
Aiken smiled, soft and reassuring. \u201cI\u2019ve got it covered. Once I get you home and settled, I can go back. I won\u2019t be late.\u201d<\/p>\n
The guilt in Bonnie\u2019s chest only grew heavier. She was fully aware of his feelings, and she knew he realized it too. There was this unspoken thing between them, so thin and fragile, it was almost like you could breathe and break it.<\/p>\n
And for some reason, that made her nervous. Really nervous. She wasn\u2019t ready for anything to change, not now.<\/p>\n
Lawrence\u2019s constant calls and messages had been wearing her down. Everything in her life felt like it was falling apart. She didn\u2019t want to pull someone innocent into her mess.<\/p>\n
It didn\u2019t really bother her if a date or two got ruined, but Aiken wasn\u2019t one of those random guys out looking for a bargain on a spouse. He wasn\u2019t just checking boxes, rushing into marriage and kids.<\/p>\n
What he wanted was something real, so he kept putting his heart on the line.<\/p>\n
If she let herself get closer, Bonnie was scared Lawrence might cross a line she couldn\u2019t fix. And if, in the end, she couldn\u2019t give Aiken what he wanted, she didn\u2019t know how she\u2019d live with that guilt.<\/p>\n
Bonnie leaned her forehead against the cool car window, letting the cold glass calm her tangled thoughts. It helped. Her breathing slowed, and before long, she drifted off to sleep.<\/p>\n
Aiken looked over at her quietly. When he stopped at a red light, he reached into the back seat, pulled out a blanket, and tucked it gently around her shoulders.<\/p>\n
She looked so pale and small, her mask hiding half her face. She seemed lost, almost fragile.<\/p>\n
Bonnie had always been quiet, independent too, like there was this distance you couldn\u2019t quite cross. It reminded Aiken of a river in early spring, the ice not quite thawed. The kind of river you couldn\u2019t walk across, but the water was still too cold to step into, even if you tried.<\/p>\n
A young couple was inside, packing up the last of their things, chatting and laughing as they worked. They recognized Bonnie at the door and, seeing her with a police officer, called out a nervous hello.<\/p>\n
Aiken nodded, smiling politely, and then\u2014out of habit, maybe\u2014asked, \u201cDid you guys ever have any trouble living here?\u201d<\/p>\n
He remembered last time, when Lawrence had shown up at Bonnie\u2019s door and caused a scene. While he and Lawrence talked out in the hallway, these same neighbors had peeked through their door to see what was going on.<\/p>\n
Aiken recalled catching a glimpse of their place. There was a stack of unopened packages, and live stream equipment right by the entryway. Both the guy and the girl wore microphones clipped to their shirts. Probably influencers.<\/p>\n
With their set-up and the building\u2019s good security, not to mention reasonable rent, it didn\u2019t make sense for them to leave.<\/p>\n
The couple straightened up, a little awkward under his gaze. The boyfriend scratched the back of his neck. \u201cLiving here was great. But our landlord sold the place and paid us six months\u2019 rent to leave, so, honestly, we didn\u2019t have a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"template":"","class_list":["post-779","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/kampoengnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter\/779","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/kampoengnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/chapter"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/kampoengnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/kampoengnews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=779"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}