Maeve''s eyshes fluttered, and the wetness and bitterness that had surged up in an instant fully formed into tears.


    Years of suppressed anger and resentment exploded in that moment


    She opened her mouth and bit down hard on his shoulder, as if to vent her fury, but also as if she were holding back, trying to stifle the emotions he had stirred in her.


    Her bite was so deep that a bit of blood seeped through Byron''s shirt, staining the white fabric.


    He didn''t even flinch. Instead, he held her close, his hand gently stroking her trembling back.


    "Maeve, I''ve never looked at you the way those people in the video imed, and I''ve never regretted marrying you. Byron''s voice was clear, more serious than ever before. Look at me-do you really think I sent those people to do that?" Maeve slowly let go, her eyes flickering as she stared into his earnest gaze, searching for the truth.


    But she couldn''t find it.


    Because all she could see in those dark eyes was her own reflection


    "You seem to forget, Maeve''s bloodstained lips moved as she said. "Archer is your personal assistant. Who else could direct him but you? How do you expect me to trust you?"


    "Archer was out of the office on vacation the day that video was made. I''ll need to investigate before I give you an answer Byron said, raising his hand to gently wipe the blood from her lips. "Do you remember the name of the clinic?" Marve told him the clinic''s name, a detail she had memorized years ago.


    Byron''s brow furrowed. "The Booth family''s private clinic?"


    He had been there a few times in the past while staying with the Booth family.


    The numbness in Marve''s eyes softened slightly. Thinking of what Karen had said earlier that afternoon, she asked, "Did you ever tell Karen about my pregnancy?


    "I had no further contact with her after she was fired," Byron said.


    "When was she fired?" Maeve asked


    Byron didn''t bother to recall such trivial matters, so he just gave her a rough time frame.


    Maeve calcted the dates. It was before she got pregnant!


    There was no way Karen could have learned about her pregnancy from Byron.


    And considering that the private clinic was owned by the Booth family, the answer was bing clearer.


    The only question left was Archer.


    A sudden thought struck Maeve. With her heart racing, she looked at Byron and asked, "Did you send someone to pick me up the day I was released from detention?" Byron looked slightly ufortable. "No."


    He had skipped an important meeting that day and drove to the detention center himself.C0ntent ? 2024 (N/?)velDrama.Org.


    07-25 Mon, Nov 4


    But he left after not seeing her for a long time.


    "Archer picked me up that day," Maeve said calmly. "In the car, passed out from the drugs and woke up in the clinic. If you didn''t order him around, could he have colluded with Karen long ago Byron''s cold expression softened all of a sudden.


    He lowered his head and lifted Maeve''s chin for a hard, unexpected kiss.


    Caught off guard by the sudden intimacy, Maeve''s mind went nk for a moment. She could feel the heavy smacking and sucking of her lips, the ambiguous sounds making her ears burn


    She pushed him away furiously. "What are you doing? Why are you kissing me all of a sudden?"


    His sudden actions hadpletely tangled up the emotions brewing in her heart.


    Byron let out a low chuckle. "How could I hold back after you said something like that?"


    "What did I say?" Maeve was confused.


    "You''re already sure I didn''t do it, even before seeing any evidence. Yet you say you don''t believe me?" He rubbed his hand over the side of her face, a soft stile on his handsome features. "Maeve, you''re so cute when you talk like this" Maeve froze, a flush quickly spreading from her eyes to her cheeks and ears. She lost some of her fire, even as she red at him.


    -I''m not saying I believe you didn''t do it," she stammered. There''s just too much doubt, and I need to reassess everything!" She shot him a colorful warning. "Don''t get too cocky-you''re only cleared of suspicion for now!" Byron''s dark eyes gleamed with amusement. "So, are you going to punish me before we settle this?" It was true he hadn''t done anything to hurt her directly.


    But not being there for her when she was in that terrible situation-he felt that was his responsibility. Maeve frowned, a show of irritation. "Don''t act like I''ve forgiven you just yet."


    It wasn''t as if she trusted himpletely.


    It was just that...


    Maeve nced at the bloody teeth marks on Byron''s shoulder, and for some reason, her heart felt lighter.


    The man who had offered his body as an outlet for her anger-she couldn''t bring herself to believe he would ever be cruel enough to truly hurt her.


    Byron could see the softness she was hiding beneath her fierceness. He raised an eyebrow slightly as he leaned over and lifted her into a crouched position, carrying her out of the bathroom. Yes, lifted.


    Maeve, now sitting fully in his arms, was utterly bewildered. In this the same technique she always used on Theo? she thought.


    The difference was that Theo was a child, and it was cute when she carried him like that.


    But she was an adult


    Byron set Maeve down on the couch, closed herptop, and were to fetch the medical kit. He returned, kneeling beside her


    0/25 Mon, Nov 4


    to apply medicine to the back of her hand.


    887%!


    "I don''t need that," Maeve protested. "It''s just a scratch. You should be treating your shoulder instead. She tried to pull her hand back, but he held her wrist firmly.


    "Don''t move. What if it leaves a sear?" Byron frowned, refusing to let her go.


    Maeve, her stomach and throat still unsettled, stopped resisting


    She watched as Byron carefully applied the ointment, and a sharp sting of emotion hit her, tightening her chest.


    "Byron," she whispered.


    "Hmm?" He didn''t look up.


    Maeve struggled to organize her thoughts, the words sticking in her throat.


    Maybe he hadn''t been the one who forced her to have the abortion four years ago, but she clearly remembered how much he''d opposed the idea of her getting pregnant back then. Even if he loved Will now, Maeve couldn''t forget the pain from the past.


    Some wounds can''t be healed with just a few words.


    Byron finished applying the ointment to her hand, putting the ointment away. He looked up at her. "What were you going to


    say


    "You''re still bleeding from your shoulder," she pointed out, ncing at the spot. "You should apply the ointment to it too." Byron smirked, handing her the ointment.


    "What for?" Maeve asked.


    "You bit me, and shouldn''t you take responsibility?"


    "Seriously?" Maeve thought. It''s just a small wound. He really knew how to push his luck."


    Maeve wrinkled her nose, tossing the ointment back at him. "Do it yourself. I told you, I''m still angry now."


    Once she treated him well, he would take advantage of her.


    Byron was about to reply when his phone vibrated.


    He casually picked it up. "Yes?"


    "Mr. McDaniel, as per your instructions, we''ve been monitoring any public opinion about Ms. Reese online. Just now, her parents publicly used her of not supporting them financially and framed her biological brother for being imprisoned. Should we handle it immediately?" the head of the McDaniel Group''s public rtions department asked.


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