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Bought By The Man Who Hates Me
img img Bought By The Man Who Hates Me img Chapter 4 4
4 Chapters
Chapter 7 7 img
Chapter 8 8 img
Chapter 9 9 img
Chapter 10 10 img
Chapter 11 11 img
Chapter 12 12 img
Chapter 13 13 img
Chapter 14 14 img
Chapter 15 15 img
Chapter 16 16 img
Chapter 17 17 img
Chapter 18 18 img
Chapter 19 19 img
Chapter 20 20 img
Chapter 21 21 img
Chapter 22 22 img
Chapter 23 23 img
Chapter 24 24 img
Chapter 25 25 img
Chapter 26 26 img
Chapter 27 27 img
Chapter 28 28 img
Chapter 29 29 img
Chapter 30 30 img
Chapter 31 31 img
Chapter 32 32 img
Chapter 33 33 img
Chapter 34 34 img
Chapter 35 35 img
Chapter 36 36 img
Chapter 37 37 img
Chapter 38 38 img
Chapter 39 39 img
Chapter 40 40 img
Chapter 41 41 img
Chapter 42 42 img
Chapter 43 43 img
Chapter 44 44 img
Chapter 45 45 img
Chapter 46 46 img
Chapter 47 47 img
Chapter 48 48 img
Chapter 49 49 img
Chapter 50 50 img
Chapter 51 51 img
Chapter 52 52 img
Chapter 53 53 img
Chapter 54 54 img
Chapter 55 55 img
Chapter 56 56 img
Chapter 57 57 img
Chapter 58 58 img
Chapter 59 59 img
Chapter 60 60 img
Chapter 61 61 img
Chapter 62 62 img
Chapter 63 63 img
Chapter 64 64 img
Chapter 65 65 img
Chapter 66 66 img
Chapter 67 67 img
Chapter 68 68 img
Chapter 69 69 img
Chapter 70 70 img
Chapter 71 71 img
Chapter 72 72 img
Chapter 73 73 img
Chapter 74 74 img
Chapter 75 75 img
Chapter 76 76 img
Chapter 77 77 img
Chapter 78 78 img
Chapter 79 79 img
Chapter 80 80 img
Chapter 81 81 img
Chapter 82 82 img
Chapter 83 83 img
Chapter 84 84 img
Chapter 85 85 img
Chapter 86 86 img
Chapter 87 87 img
Chapter 88 88 img
Chapter 89 89 img
Chapter 90 90 img
Chapter 91 91 img
Chapter 92 92 img
Chapter 93 93 img
Chapter 94 94 img
Chapter 95 95 img
Chapter 96 96 img
Chapter 97 97 img
Chapter 98 98 img
Chapter 99 99 img
Chapter 100 100 img
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Chapter 4 4

The party dissolved quickly after Baron's exit. Bethel murmured an excuse about a migraine and grabbed her purse.

She was halfway down the hall when Chynna came running out, her face flushed and her steps unsteady.

"Bethel! Wait!"

Chynna grabbed Bethel's arm, swaying slightly. "God, can you believe him? So moody. Genius types, right?"

Bethel tried to pull away. "I really need to go, Chynna."

"No, listen," Chynna whispered, leaning in too close. Her breath smelled of expensive Chardonnay. "You don't get it. You have to forgive him. Do you know who his family is?"

Bethel's pulse skipped a beat. "I don't keep up with D.C. gossip."

"His grandfather was a four-star General," Chynna said, widening her eyes. "His dad chairs the Senate Armed Services Committee. Baron isn't just an engineer. He's... he's handling stuff that doesn't exist yet. NASA and DoD joint projects."

Chynna giggled, a hiccup escaping her. "Preston said the background check to even date a Lowery is insane. Like, if you stole a candy bar in third grade, the FBI knows. If your family has any dirt... poof. You're gone."

The blood drained from Bethel's face. It wasn't surprise that chilled her, but a sickening wave of confirmation. The words weren't new information; they were the very bars of the cage she had locked herself in five years ago, now being described to her by an oblivious jailer. The weight of that knowledge, a burden she carried alone, pressed down on her, stealing the air from her lungs.

"Imagine," Chynna continued, oblivious to Bethel's terror. "If you had a criminal in the family? Baron would be stripped of his clearance before the first date was over. He's here to clean up a mess in the Houston program. He's ruthless."

Bethel felt sick. Her father was currently sitting in a federal penitentiary for federal fraud tied to a suspected treason case. If she had stayed with Baron, his career would be ash.

"I have to go," Bethel choked out.

"Okay, okay! Come to the bachelorette party! Promise!"

Bethel nodded blindly and turned toward the elevators. The display showed the car was stuck on the top floor. She couldn't wait. She couldn't risk seeing anyone else.

She pushed open the heavy door to the stairwell.

The concrete space was cool and dimly lit. Her heels clicked loudly on the metal steps, the sound echoing in the vertical shaft. She needed this quiet. She needed this escape.

She descended one flight, clutching the railing.

Then she smelled it.

Cedar and expensive tobacco.

She stopped. Her hand froze on the cold metal rail.

Below her, on the landing between floors, a tall shadow was leaning against the wall. The orange cherry of a cigarette glowed in the darkness, illuminating the sharp line of a jaw.

Baron was waiting.

He wasn't looking at her. He was looking at the smoke curling up from his fingers. He hadn't been gone for more than ten minutes, yet he was here, perfectly positioned in her only escape route. He hadn't fled in anger; he had set a trap.

"Taking the stairs?" his voice rumbled up to her, low and vibrating against the concrete walls.

Bethel's breath hitched. She turned to run back up, but the heavy door above her clicked shut.

Baron dropped the cigarette and crushed it under the heel of his shoe. He looked up. His eyes were dark voids in the dim light.

"Running away again, Bethel?"

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