I'm In Love With My Bestfriend's Billionaire Fiance!
Chapter 56: In Spite Of Evil

Chapter 56: In Spite Of Evil

(Jace’s POV)

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Hearing Casey’s screams was like a wound to my gut, it hurt me way more than it was hurting her. I wanted to stop at once. I wanted to take her in my arms and tell her that everything was going to be okay. But I couldn’t. I had to treat the wound and cover it up so that it didn’t get infected.

So, with no other choice, I steeled myself against her screams and continued dabbing at the wound with cotton wool soaked with spirit. She squirmed on the counter, many times trying to remove my hands but I kept at it. Going on until I had wiped off the excess blood all over her thigh and the wound was clean.

By the time I was done, she was sweating profusely and her eyes were bloodshot. She was also teary eyed.

"I’m so sorry," I told her.

"Just get it done with." She snapped.

Without another word, I took the bandage and the plaster and went about covering up the wound. By the time I was done, it was properly bandaged and protected. She was about to get off the counter but I stopped her, "You have to make me a promise."

Her eyes widened as she stared at me, "what?"

"You heard me, you need to promise me."

"Promise what?"

"When we’re done here, you’ll go to the hospital. I know I did a good job, but the doctors still have to look at you."

"Okay, I’ll do that." She replied, "Can I get off this damn counter now?"

"Of course," I said as I helped her off. I placed her gently on the floor, making sure that she didn’t place too much pressure on her injured leg.

"I’m fine, Jace." She said as she pushed my hand away, "I’m not made of glass, you know?"

"Just take it easy on me," I told her. "I came close to losing you today, so I’d take any excuse I can to hold your hand. Or any part of you."

She turned then to look at me, I watched her face soften. She then reached out and took my hands, "I’m really sorry, Jace."

"What? None of this is your fault."

"Not that... about our fight. I’m sorry about what I said in the car, and how I’ve been pushing you away. When Ramon had that knife to my throat, the only thought that was on my mind was the thought of never seeing you again. And Jace, it was scary. Whether in this life or the afterlife, I don’t think I can bear to be anywhere without you. I’m so much in love with you, Jace."

Within me, it was as if I was suddenly light and I could fly. I had finally heard what I had been waiting for all this while. I tightened my hold on her hand and stepped closer to her, "I’m also sorry for making such a big deal about it. I didn’t handle it well. As a matter of fact, I didn’t handle it at all. I love you too, Casey! With every breath and every drop of blood in me."

Unable to stop myself, I leaned in and kissed her deeply. I slowly wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her close as I kissed her. She wrapped her arms around my neck, leaning back a bit. She staggered backward, wincing in pain against my lip. I immediately jumped off her as if she was made of hot coal.

"I’m so sorry," I said. "Are you okay?"

She chuckled, "Of course, I’m fine. Let’s just take it easy for now, okay?"

"Of course," I said as I took her hand once more.

"Oh shit," she muttered as she stared at the counter, "We made a mess, didn’t we?"

She was right; the countertop had pools of blood and heaps of used cotton wool that were stained with blood. There were also discarded bandages.

However, I shook my head, "hell no, you made the mess, not me."

"I can’t leave this like this." She said. "This is someone’s home."

"What?! He was about to leave it when we came here, remember?"

"Still..." she said. "Besides, I think I need a few moments alone. Go help Ethan out."

"Are you sure?" I was still hesitant to leave her.

"What’s going to come get me in the kitchen?"

I shrugged and then kissed her once more before I turned to leave. I walked into the living room where Ramon was tied to the chair. Ethan had turned his living room upside down, the cushions were upside down and in the bedroom, he had also turned the place inside out. Ethan had even gone to get the big box outside and he had opened it, rummaging its contents.

"Ethan..." I gasped, "What the hell are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I’m searching for any lead that would tell us about Maven. Something was making him run, and I had to figure out what it was. So far, I’ve not found anything in his house, which was why I went out to get the box."

"And?" I prompted.

"I’m still going through it. One thing I can tell you though, this guy sure as fuck isn’t Maven." Ethan picked up Ramon’s phone from the bed and handed it to me. "Those texts were sent on the dinner night and the morning after the dinner."

I read through the texts and sure enough, he was confirming with someone on the night of the dinner that he had their rooms ready and the next morning, he was trying to know when he would meet up with them so he could get ’what was promised’. That was the exact phrase he used.

"Hmm..." I muttered as I looked up from the phone. "What was promised. What do you think it is?"

"What else? Money." Ethan replied as he kept rifling through the contents of the box, pulling out clothes and whatnot. "It’s no news that reporters and bloggers pay hotel staff for stuff like this. So, my plan here is to follow the money. If we can track who paid Ramon, we just might find out who Maven is."

I nodded, "because from the looks of this text, it seems they didn’t deliver on what they promised. Was that what made him so mad? They got him to work for them, and then left him out to dry. He didn’t get paid, the news got out and he was fired. Or maybe threatened. Do you think Joan has anything to do with him running away?"

Ethan stopped at that and turned to look at me, "well, that would be fucked up."

Just then, we heard a low groan as Ramon slowly began to rouse up. He was slowly waking up, and when he realized that he was tied up, he looked around in panic. His eyes settled on us and the panic left his eyes at once.

"All this isn’t necessary," he said in a gruff voice. "I’ll tell you everything you need to know."