Ransom Drysdale could count all the things he loved on one hand-his money, his pride, himself, and Juliette Reyes. So when one thing is threatened, you can damn well bet that there's nothing he wouldn't do to protect it.
How far would you go for lo...
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EVERY NIGHT SINCE RANSOM RETURNED, THE MARRIED COUPLE SLEPT IN DIFFERENT ROOMS. Ransom took the master bedroom and Juliette took the guest room. The ex-playboy protested against it, but backed off once Juliette sent him a threatening glare. She needed her space and if that helped her forgive him faster, then space is what he'd give her.
Sleep wasn't welcoming to either of them. They had been together so long that they didn't realize how one's absence affected the other. The past week lead to the harsh realization that neither of them slept well without the other next to them. And every night consisted of endless tossing and turning.
One night was particularly bad. Usually after a few hours of restlessness, Juliette was able to get some rest, floating in and out of consciousness until the sunrise. But something was different that night. There was a nagging feeling in her body that willed her to stay awake, and after recent events, she's learned to listen to that feeling.
It was around 3am when Juliette heard a loud thud from down the hall. She eyed her door silently as footsteps passed. When the sound got father away, she stood, placing a hand on her stomach—a comforting habit she had developed during her pregnancy.
As she slowly walked out of the room and down the stairs, she muttered to herself about how people in horror movies usually die in a similar way. Her caution was washed away when she saw Ransom sitting on the kitchen counter.
Suddenly, she was caught in an internal battle. Should she talk to him or go back upstairs and pretend it never happened? Unfortunately for her, she was forced to do the former as they locked eyes.
Juliette bit her lip and walked into the kitchen. She opened the cabinet containing their mugs and placed two on the marble countertop. "Couldn't sleep?" she questioned after a moment of silence.
Ransom looked over at her in shock, surprised that she was speaking to him, but grateful that she did. "Nightmare," he stated.
Juliette handed him a mug and leaned against the counter across from him. He looked down at the drink and noticed that it was hot chocolate, a drink his favourite nanny would make for him when he had nightmares as a child.
"Do you want to talk about it?" Juliette asked softly after sipping her own drink.
Taking advantage of the moment, Ransom nodded. "It was about Fran and what I did," he said hesitantly, "I was standing over her. But when I looked down, it wasn't her anymore, it was you. I woke up, fell off the bed, came downstairs."
Taken back by his words, her body tensed up. Could hurting her really his worst nightmare? Was he really being haunted by his actions?
Ransom saw her stiffness and sighed. "I told you, Juliette. I'd never hurt you."
"It's not that." She tucked her hair behind her ear. "I know you wouldn't. It's just—I don't know... I didn't think you were so affected by everything."
Instead of giving her his classic smirk like she thought he would, Ransom gave her a half hearted smile. "Thought you knew me better than that, Reyes." Before Juliette could protest, he continued, "What about you? Why are you still up?"
Juliette shrugged and looked off to the side. "Honestly, I don't sleep well without you. Also pregnancy sucks sometimes, I can never get comfortable. I keep getting these cramps, it's probably nothing though."
"Then come back to our room," Ransom proposed. He rolled his eyes when he saw her apprehensive look. "You need to rest."
Juliette shook her head. "Ransom—"
"Juliette." He gave her a pointed look.
The woman sighed. She knew that she needed to sleep, if not for her, then for her daughter. Even if it meant sleeping beside Ransom again. "Fine."
Ransom took the now empty mug out of her hands and place it in the sink beside his. Together, they walked towards the stairs.
━━━━━━━━
IT WAS THE NEXT DAY. Though the house was quiet as it usually was, it wasn't as tense anymore. But rather, sad.
Since the previous night, things had been a little awkward between the married couple. When they woke up beside each other, it was obvious that there was still a war waging between Juliette's head and heart.
When she woke up, the hesitation on her face caused her husband to roll his eyes. After the conversation they had in the kitchen, he was sure that all their troubled water was now under the bridge. But if Ransom has learned anything from his wife, it's that he doesn't always get what he wants—not right away at least. Her forgiveness was something he'd have to work for and he was growing quite annoyed with that simple fact.
Ransom was watching a football game in the living room and Juliette was upstairs in her office, trying to close a business deal. Working was good for her, it served as a good distraction and a good excuse to stay away from Ransom.
Ransom. It would always come back to him. All roads lead to home and Ransom is her home. No matter how bad things may get, Juliette's heart would always belong to him. It wasn't up for debate. This was a known fact. Which was why Juliette was so distraught.
Her head was swimming with uncertainty while her heart was screaming at her to forgive him. At this point she didn't even know why she wasn't forgiving Ransom anymore. He did apologize—kind of— and he did take responsibility for his actions—kind of. But that's the catch, 'kind of'.
'Kind of' was such a tricky concept. Almost there, but not quite. Just within sight, but just out of reach. Everything was a mess and it was making Juliette quite depressed. So she worked. After all, being productive was better than laying in bed all day, right?
Before Ransom's arrest, her team had told her multiple times that launching a new makeup palette weeks before her due date was a bad idea. The whole process was stressful enough and she didn't need that on top of her pregnancy. After Ransom's arrest, they had practically barred her from working at all. They almost pushed the launch date back by a whole year, claiming that Juliette needed time to settle down and deal with her problems. But Juliette was nonstop and she'd be damned if she let anyone stop her from doing what she wanted to do.
Maybe if she listened to them, she wouldn't be staring down at the growing pool of blood as she sat on her white office chair.
