BREATHE: A Billionaire Romance, Part Five Read Online Free PDF

had nuzzled into my chair once again, not meaning to drift off—and not even knowing that I had until consciousness slowly returned. When my eyes fluttered open, I hazily remembered that I had dozed off at some point in the day, and when I awoke I realized that my back ached with all that it was worth.
    And I knew that it was because of that damned chair and the way I had slept.
    I cursed beneath my breath, rising up to sit more properly in the demonic and uncomfortable piece of shit. I blinked, quickly, hoping for my eyes to adjust to the streetlight that shined in surprisingly brightly through the windows.
    When my eyes finally adjusted so that I could see, I saw that Derek was awake, his eyes open, his hand wrapped around mine firmly.
    “I told you to go home at night and get proper rest…,” he sighed, holding onto me tightly. “You didn’t even notice you were holding my hand, you’ve been holding it so long.”
    I smiled. “I can’t believe you’re awake!”
    A joyful grin split my face basically in half. I bet I looked like the damn Joker or something. I was elated, my eyes glistening with tears of pure joy.
    “I should go get the nurse, probably!” I sang like a crazy peppy girl. I was excited. He was awake—for longer than two seconds!
    Although he looked as if he was struggling to keep his head up and to keep his eyes from blinking in tiredness, he was still awake.
    I also noticed his skin was healthier looking—white with red-hued undertones, rather than yellow. He was starting to look normal. He looked good.
    It was then that I knew, without a shadow of a doubt, that we would get through this. Together. No matter what happened. We would fight it all together… and by God, we were going to get our happily ever after.

Chapter 9
     
    “We really need to get to the bottom of this, Derek,” I said, leaning over his hospital bed. Truthfully, I was getting annoyed that he hadn’t already been brainstorming with me to figure it all out. If it was me, I would have done everything in my power to discover what the hell happened and who the hell was trying to kill me.
    Or, if no one was trying to kill me, I’d be wondering what the hell I was stupidly putting into my body.
    But Derek…he was a conundrum. For someone so intelligent, he was an idiot sometimes.
    “When you say that, you mean accuse my brother…,” he trailed, seemingly annoyed.
    “There’s something wrong with him, Derek!” I shot. “Don’t feel guilty for thinking it!”
    “I’m not feeling guilty!” he shot, clearly annoyed at this point.
    “Then why do you always look guilty!”
    “I don’t think Joey did anything to me! That isn’t why I feel guilty!”
    “Then why?” I smoothed the flesh between his shoulders softly at first and then with more pressure.
    “Because, I fucked him…,” he groaned in shame.
    My eyes widened and my heart sped up. “E-excuse me?” I asked, horrified, not blaming his shame at all if what he said was true.
    “No!” he yelled, understanding where my mind had gone. “Are you fucking serious?”
    “You chose those words, not me!” I defended. I might have had mind-in-gutter-syndrome, but I truly felt like anyone else’s mind would have ventured to the same place and thought the exact same thing.
    “I mean I screwed him over!” he corrected with a busting yell, as he took a swat at me, playfully.
    “How so?” My brows contorted in confusion.
    “When we were younger, we developed the idea for my very first software together,” he admitted, guilt and shame evident as his breath deepened and eyes darted around the room, as if he was looking anywhere and everywhere except at me. It was like he was trying to avoid eye contact with me.
    “What do you mean?” How could Joey Freeman have been able to develop anything like that? I had seen the man try and work lab equipment and fail, let alone write software.
    “Joey was full of ideas…”—he sighed—“…but he couldn’t really