Husband With Benefits
Chapter 121: The First Fight

Chapter 121: The First Fight

"No absolutely not." Demetri growled.

Nora stopped talking, her spoon hanging mid-air as she stared at his sudden and totally unexpected outburst.

"What?"

"You are not going to use yourself as bait to get the perpetrator caught. I won’t let you put yourself in danger."

Nora placed down her spoon gently and spoke," Uhh... Demetri, I don’t know if you know this but I am already in danger..."

"Yes, and my people are already looking for the culprits. So we do not have to take unnecessary risks. There is no need for you to go out and endanger yourself more...And that is final."

Nora looked down at her spoon and then at Demetri. This is what she had feared would happen. When they had entered the contract marriage, they had both been on equal ground. But due to the attacks on her, Demetri had taken over the charge of protecting her. And this had tilted the balance.

From her interaction with the Frosty Fours (the name that she had given to the other Frost brothers) she’d come to understand that he had a habit of becoming autocratic when it came to protecting someone.

Already, she was beholden to him, his actions to help her felt like a burden at times. Their marriage was not supposed to create more problems for him but it did. And that made her feel terrible. When their marriage ended, she wanted to leave without feeling indebted to him.

What she did not understand was why her mother was intent on killing her now. According to Grandpa William, if something happened to her before her twenty-first birthday then all the trust funds would go to different charities.

The only way for her mother to get her hands on the trust was to either break apart their marriage or prove that it was a sham. But she could think of no one else wanting to harm her. Antonio would not be bothered with her while Sara had already started to change for the better. And she had no other enemies as far as she was aware.

So, the only way to stop living in fear and pain was to finally put her mother behind bars once and for all.

Sighing, she refuted Demetri’s words and spoke quietly but firmly," I am going to the vacation house with the others, Demetri."

Demetri stared her down, his aura oppressive as he stared at her. Nora wanted to shiver at the way the temperature suddenly seemed to drop. However, she knew that she could not back down. She would never be able to stand up for herself if she gave in this time...But maybe she could explain...

So she did... hurriedly..." Demetri, look, we all know who is behind this. We just do not have evidence. If Lara learns that I am not in the city and am away from your protection, she will not be able to resist the opportunity. I’ve already spoken to the Police detective about this and he has agreed to send someone with me for my protection and to help catch the culprit."

Demetri’s face showed no emotion other than disapproval even after she had finished her explanation. Nora looked down at her breakfast, wondering what else she could say to make him go back to his normal less cold self. She felt as if she had committed a misdemeanour and been instructed to receive her punishment from the principal.

Demetri’s jaw clenched as Nora finished explaining, his eyes narrowing slightly. The silence that followed hung heavily in the air, broken only by the distant sounds of the city. Nora could practically feel the tension radiating from him.

"Absolutely not, Nora," Demetri finally spoke, his voice low and controlled. "I won’t allow it. You’re safer here with me."

Nora looked up at him, frustration building within her. "Demetri, I appreciate everything you’re doing, but I can’t just sit here and wait. I need to do something, too. I can’t let fear control my life."

His response, this time, was a deep, almost guttural growl. He turned away from her, pacing a few steps toward the window, his hands clenched into fists at his sides.

"I won’t allow it," he repeated, his voice colder than ever. It made her shiver, and she felt the fear in her bones.

Her reaction was not missed by Demetri as he turned away, moving towards the door, his body language rigid.

Nora’s frustration flared into a spark of anger. "You won’t allow it? Demetri, this isn’t about permission."

He turned to face her once more, and there was a silent battle of wills in that gaze. Nora could almost feel the palpable force of his stubbornness.

"Stay here, Nora. That’s an order," he stated, his voice firm and authoritative.

Nora bristled at that and snapped back," I am not one of your subordinates! I am doing this Demetri. I cannot and will not rely on you forever!"

He didn’t respond with words. Instead, he walked out of the house, closing the door behind him with a bang.

Nora sat there shocked at how things had spun out of control so quickly and could not help but wonder if this was their first fight...

The air in the room felt charged, and she couldn’t shake the uncertainty that lingered. The conflict between her feelings and Demetri’s need to protect had set the stage for a battle that neither of them had anticipated.

Unexpectedly, Nora could feel the tears in her eyes, as she watched the closed door. Why would Demetri do this? Did he not see that taking this step would be beneficial to him as well? He would not be forced to spend so much time and effort on protecting her. She did not want to be a burden to him.

Outside the house, Demetri’s anger was palpable. He had no idea what Nora was thinking but he did not like the idea of her putting herself in danger. But what made him even more angry was his first reaction to her insisting on doing this. He had almost caught her in his arms and declared that he could not lose her.

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