My Rich Boyfriend Wanted Me to Spend More, So I Asked for an Electric Bike Chapter 13

My Rich Boyfriend Wanted Me to Spend More, So I Asked for an Electric Bike Chapter 13

I shook my head.

“No. I’m not a saint. They brought this on themselves.”

Adrian relaxed. “Good. Don’t worry. I won’t let anyone treat you like that again.”

The Hales wasted no time, and Adrian was ruthless even by their standards. Within a week, their

families had pulled out of Ravenport and taken them with them.

So were the Sinclairs.

I heard they came to the hospital twice to beg for mercy. The first time, they walked in on their own. The second time, they arrived in wheelchairs.

There was no third visit.

As for Vanessa, Adrian didn’t need to do anything else. Everyone she’d dragged into this now blamed her for what had happened to them. They weren’t about to let her forget it.

He was ruthless with them. But at the hospital, he took care of me himself, right down to the smallest detail.

Every night, he slept curled up on the narrow visitor’s cot without a word of complaint. He didn’t act like a pampered heir at all.

When my injuries had mostly healed, the doctor finally cleared me to leave.

Adrian immediately packed my things, took care of the discharge paperwork, and helped me into

the car.

But we didn’t head toward my old neighborhood. Instead, the car drove into the gated estates on the west side of Ravenport.

As the streets grew less familiar, I tugged at his sleeve.

“Where are we going?”

“Home.” He took my hand. “You’re moving in with me. You’ll be safer there. More comfortable, too.”

When we reached his house, he carried me out of the car and took me to the main bedroom on the second floor.

“You can do whatever you like with the room,” he said gently. “It’s up to you.”

I stood before the floor-to-ceiling windows and stared at the perfectly trimmed lawn. A strange

pressure gathered in my chest.

“I don’t want to live here.”

Adrian turned to me, startled, “Why not?”

I lowered my head.

“I’m not used to a house this big. I don’t feel safe here.”

He was silent for a long time. Finally, he sighed and stroked my hair.

“All right. We’ll go back to your place.”

In the evening, we did return to my crumbling walk-up.

The apartment was exactly as we’d left it. The walls were peeling, the windows didn’t close properly, and stray cats sometimes howled outside at night.

Adrian didn’t complain once. He changed the sheets himself, then scrubbed the kitchen and

bathroom.

That night, we squeezed together on my full-size bed. He held me from behind, his chin tucked into

the curve of my shoulder and his breathing calm.

Life gradually settled into a peaceful rhythm.

Adrian was there almost every day. Sometimes he worked in the living room. Sometimes he went

grocery shopping with me.

The older women in the building always gave him a second look. One of them pulled me aside and

whispered, “Chloe, that boyfriend of yours is handsome, and those clothes aren’t cheap. Why does

he have you living here?”

I only smiled. “We like it here.”

Then, one day, Adrian saw me scrolling through job listings again.

He sat beside me and asked quietly, “What kind of work do you want? I can arrange something.”

I stared at the requirements that kept appearing on the screen: Bachelor’s degree required. Master’s preferred.

I bit my lip, then suddenly looked up at him.

“Is it too late for someone like me to go back to school?”

Adrian’s eyes lit up.

“Of course not.” He took my hand. “I’ll pay for it.”

I hesitated for a long time.

“Treat it as a loan. After I finish school and find work, I’ll pay you back. A little at a time.”

His smile faltered. For a moment, he looked hurt, but he didn’t argue.

“All right.”

He hired a tutor to help me prepare for the GED. Little by little, I caught up on what I’d missed. I stayed up late working through math problems and reading assignments.

Sometimes Adrian sat beside me while I worked. He’d quietly set a glass of water within reach, but he rarely interrupted.

A few months later, I passed the GED and applied to college.

The day my acceptance letter arrived, Adrian insisted on taking me out to celebrate. I thought he

meant dinner.

He’d booked the entire riverfront restaurant.

With the city lights shining on the water and a soft breeze moving around us, he dropped to one

knee.

“Chloe, most of the people who’ve come into my life wanted something from me. Money,

connections, a favor. After a while, I stopped expecting anything else.”

“I kept everyone at a distance. Friends, girlfriends-it didn’t matter. I never let anyone get close

enough to really know me.”

“But you’re different. You ask for so little that sometimes I feel useless, like I should be doing so

much more for you,”

“You’re brave. You’re honest. Somehow, you still find things to be happy about. You’ve made me

believe there are people who can love me just for me.”

“Marry me, Chloe, and let me love you with my whole life. Will you?”

He took a velvet ring box from his pocket and opened it.

I stood frozen. Everything around us seemed to fall silent. Only the river lapped softly against the

bank.

My throat tightened as I looked at him.

“Are you… are you serious?”

“Completely.” He took my hand and brushed his thumb over my knuckles.

“I know my family and my money make you nervous. But to me, they mean I can support you. Help you do the things you want to do.”

“Don’t treat them as a burden anymore. Let them be something you can lean on. Let me be someone you can lean on. All right?”

My eyes burned.

Then I heard my own voice break as I answered, “Yes.”

The next morning, Adrian took me straight to the courthouse.

“Seriously?” I asked, suddenly nervous. “I haven’t even met your parents.”

“You don’t need to.” He tightened his hold on my hand. “I’ve already spoken to them.”

Before we signed the marriage papers, he took a document from his briefcase and slid it toward me.

The terms were written plainly:

If he was ever unfaithful, committed any serious wrongdoing during the marriage, or filed for divorce, every asset in his name would become mine.

I stared at the lines, unable to move.

Adrian stroked my hair, his voice very soft.

“I’m putting everything I have in your hands. I guess I’m the one depending on you now.’

Tears slipped down my face.

I remembered Grandma holding my hand before she died. She’d told me her greatest regret was that she wouldn’t get to see me truly happy.

Now I had the happiness she’d always wanted for me.

I would hold on to it tightly for the rest of my life.

loved by my side.