The Divorced Military Queen Awakens (by Sadie Baxter) novel Chapter 424

Chapter 424 Until Death Parts Us

Chapter 424 Until Death Parts Us

51

+10 Free Coins

Julius‘ lashes fluttered. Quinn’s concern sent a ripple across the lake of his heart–a lake he had believed long frozen.

But reason told him he should no longer harbor any hopes! Nothing good would come out of

1. it.

“Fine. I’ll tell Gavin to switch me back to the older prescription.”

“No more pills!” Quinn scolded, breath quick. “From now on, I’ll stay beside you until you fall asleep.”

He let out a low, almost mocking laugh. “Stay until I sleep? For how long–one night, two? A year, maybe two? I have no use for borrowed comfort.”

Because once a man had tasted joy, losing it would become the cruelest torment.

“Why can’t it be forever?” Quinn whispered. Then she closed the final inch, pressing her mouth to his in a sudden, unarguable kiss.

Julius‘ body went rigid. Eyes widening, he stood stunned by the storm she had unleashed.

She kissed him with all the silence and ache of the past weeks, pouring emotion into him as if this single touch could empty her heart.

Alas, it was still not deep enough, nor was it fierce enough.

It was not nearly enough to show him just how much she loved him.

“Easy now… Open up,” she murmured, her breath warm against his cheek.

His lips stayed sealed, midnight eyes fixed on hers.

Rationally, he knew he should push her away. If he didn’t, he’d slide further and further until reason no longer existed.

Yet instinct overruled thought. His mouth parted, granting her permission to deepen the kiss, to claim every inch of him that still pretended to resist.

It felt like the first rain after a merciless drought.

The earth beneath–his parched soul–drank greedily, desperate for that life–giving water.

1/3

16:25 Sat, Sep 27 B

Chapter 424 Until Death Parts Us

451

+10 Free Coins

“Julius, I will stay by your side–not for a day, not for a year, but until the moment death itself pries us apart.”

He heard her whisper–a sound softer than velvet, sweeter than forbidden wine. That single note slipped past every defense he had painstakingly raised until the pillars of logic in his mind began to crumble, brick by brick.

Quinn’s voice trembled like candlelight in a draft. “Just as I’m learning to trust you again, will you also try to believe in me as well?”

A storm flickered across Julius‘ eyes.

Should I trust her? Should I trust that she won’t disappear again and leave me bleeding in the dark?

She caught the man’s gaze and held it, unblinking. Her fingertips traced a slow path from his stubbled cheek down the column of his throat, skimmed the ridge of his collarbone, and came to rest over the frantic beat of his heart.

I love you, Julius. Therefore, I will never abandon you. So what if fate conspires and tears us apart? Even if I die, I’ll claw my way back to your side with my last breath!

Her vow reverberated through the quiet room until even the shadows seemed to hold their breath.

He blanched, the color draining from his lips. “Don’t speak of last breaths and dying. If you have to leave this world, it’d be when you’re at a ripe old age, peaceful and happy.”

She blinked, startled, as though she had glimpsed the raw fear behind his reprimand.

“All right,” she breathed, a fragile smile budding. “We’ll grow old together–silver–haired and content.”

Julius pressed his thin lips together and gave no reply.

Quinn’s voice grew soft. “It’s late. We should sleep.” With that, she twined her fingers through his, guided him to the mattress, and with a playful shove toppled him onto the waiting pillows.

“Quinnie!” Julius yelped and tried to rise. Alas, the woman leaned over him first.

“Stay still. I want to see how your wounds are healing.” Since the blaze, this was the first moment she had actually laid eyes on him.

Until now, she had only heard Gavin’s grim descriptions of the injuries.

Julius lowered his eyes. “They’re only minor wounds. There’s nothing worth seeing.”

2/3

16:25 Sat, Sep 27 B

Chapter 424 Until Death Parts Us

“But I want to see. Please take off your shirt and let me look.”

51

+10 Free Coins

Her gentle tone flowed like velvet, pure coaxing that brushed against his battered pride.

Uncertainty clouded Julius‘ features.

The skin beneath his clothes was already a map of old scars; the fire had only deepened the ravages, making his body even uglier.

Once, I used this face and body to lure her, to make her fall in love… But now, it is ruined. If she sees it, will she feel disgust? Lose her desire? Argh! Stop it, Julius! You promised yourself never to hope, so you’ll never have to drown in despair again.

He exhaled and squared his shoulders. If she wished to look, then he’d let her see every scar in the unforgiving light.

Beneath the hush of midnight, Julius pushed himself upright. Without a single word, he lifted his trembling hand to the knot at his throat and began sliding the velvety night–robe from his wounded shoulders.

The garment pooled around his waist, and in that breath the raw map of his suffering came into view–bandages crisscrossing muscle, scabbed gashes shaped like brutal signatures against bruised skin.

Gavin had insisted they were mostly superficial, the kind time and dressings could mend.

Quinn herself had marched with Falcon Special Forces; she had seen bodies pulverized by war, lives erased in a flash.

Yet the man before her–wrapped head to hip in gauze, fresh wounds snarling where the cloth ended–made her heart seize, releasing only to ache again.

Every new scar had been earned protecting her.

She inched closer, eyes tracing, fingers hovering, silently counting the tally of his devotion.

Tears glazed Quinn’s lashes as she let one fingertip drift over the jagged ridge of a brand–new scar. “Julius, you do really love me, don’t you?” she asked, her voice water–soft.

3/3

16:25 Sat, Sep 27 B