Bedmates Soulmates
CHAPTER 185

Charlotte's lips trembled.

She didn't know what to say.

Life was so unfair.

Why must this happen to them?

To her son?

She wasn't by his side seven years ago, but she knew how deeply Austyn was hurt by Deborah and Liam's betrayal.

After so many years, he had finally moved on.

He was just learning how to love again, but of all people, why must it be Leland Hewitt's daughter?

Charlotte closed her eyes.

*Austyn, we should give up. I-1

"No!' Austyn couldn't bear to hear the rest of her sentence. 'I'm not going to give up. I'm not going to watch you die. Never."

Charlotte was about to say something when a knock came on the door.

Her doctor came into the ward.

'Mrs McCarthy, your five minutes are up. Please give me the phone."

Charlotte sighed.

"Austyn, I have to go now. Think about what I said, will you?!

"Take care, Mom. Call me when you feel better."

The call ended.

Austyn was about to fling his phone onto the desk, then he remembered the disapproving look on Kira's face every time he did that.

He placed the phone on the desk, then he pinched his nose bridge.

He felt a headache coming on.

Austyn stuffed the almost empty pack of cigarettes in his pants pocket and left the study

The bedroom was dark when he entered.

Kira was sleeping in bed, curled up into a ball.

Austyn removed his shoes and walked barefoot to the bed

He

quietly lay down beside her.

His movement disturbed her sleep.

Kira rolled to the side.

Austyn frowned at the wide gap between them.

He reached out to pull her into his arms.

But he must have accidentally touched her shoulder.

Kira whimpered in pain, her eyes still closed.

Austyn switched on the bedside lamp.

Her right upper arm, just below the shoulder, was swollen.

Austyn got up, padded out of the bedroom, went into the study and retrieved the tube Jesse left.

He squeezed the tube and dabbed the light green ointment on her skin, before rubbing gently to spread it out. The medicine worked fast.

In less than a minute, Kira's brows were unfurrowed.

She made a low sound in her throat like a cat's purr.

Austyn kept looking at her.

Her left earlobe had a tiny teeth mark.

He'd left it there in a moment of rage.

He had wanted to do more than just leave a mark on her ear.

He wanted to cover every inch of her skin with his kiss, his scent, eradicating any trace of Liam's touch.

He did once say that whatever Liam touched, he would throw away.

Including Deborah.

But he realised he could never do that to Kira.

He knew he was breaking his own word, but he didn't care.

Just the thought of letting her go and never seeing her again was enough to send him over the edge.

When she mentioned divorce, he completely lost it.

He couldn't give her up to anyone else, not Liam, not any other man.

But Austyn also knew the biggest obstacle in their relationship was not Liam.

Next to him, Kira stirred.

She must be having a sweet dream, for she mumbled something in her sleep and smiled.

He wondered if she was dreaming about him.

Austyn sat up in bed and just watched her sleep.

He couldn't take his eyes off her.

If only time could freeze at this moment.

He doubted Kira would allow him to come within a mile of her if she learned the cruel truth.

For the first time in his life, instead of confronting a problem head-on, Austyn wanted to run away from it. Kira was woken up by the pain in her arm.

Her right arm had swollen to twice its usual size, like she'd developed bulging biceps and triceps overnight. An agonising pain shot through her arm when she tried to lift it..

It almost brought tears to her eyes.

Doctor Chase said there would be swelling, but he didn't say it would be this bad.

The swollen area looked greenish.

Kira sniffed it.

It smelled like peppermint.

She caught sight of the ointment tube on the bedside table.

She touched the other pillow on the bed.

It was warm.

Austyn must have slept in this bed last night.

Was he the one who'd applied ointment on her arm?

It seemed to be the only logical conclusion, but Kira had a hard time accepting it.

Wasn't the man still angry at her?

No, not just angry.

He was furious.

He was so enraged by Liam's kiss that he almost forced himself on her.

Then he'd left the room and never came back.

Austyn made it crystal clear that he hated anyone or anything that came into contact with Liam Cane.

In the restaurant, when Liam said Austyn would throw away anything that Liam touched, Austyn had not denied it.

Liam had done more than just touching her.

So Austyn was going to discard her like trash.

Why would he spend the night in the same bed with what he regarded as trash?

Kira mumbled, 'I'm just a plaything to him.'

He would play with this toy when it pleased him.

When someone else touched it, he would toss it into the trashcan and dismiss it from his mind.

Kira shook her head to dispel the image of the one-eyed Charred Rag Doll in "Toy Story."

Thinking about it wasn't going to make things better.

You Got Off Lightly

Kira went into the bathroom to wash up.

She grimaced when she saw her arm had swollen to an angry red colour.

It was quite a scary sight.

She applied a generous dollop of the ointment before digging out a white blouse with bell sleeves.

When she went downstairs, the swelling had eased off somewhat.

Elsie came out of the kitchen. 'Good morning, Young Madam.'

"Morning, Elsic."

The housekeeper looked to the stairs. 'Young Master's not with you?"

"I thought he'd left,'