Chapter Twenty-Nine
When Rome entered his mansion, he was about to head upstairs when he heard, "Sir."
Immediately, he stopped, turned around, and gazed at an elderly-lookingdy staring at him.
"What is it, Nora?" Rome calmly asked.
"Umm... Ma''am is sleeping in the living room," Nora mumbled.
Pulling his brows into a frown, Rome took a long look at the head maid and then said, "What!"
"Well, Ma''am has been waiting for you toe home, and she fell asleep a few minutes ago." Nora
humbly intoned.
A minute went by with them gazing at each other in silence. Then Rome walked past Nora and headed
into the living room.
When he arrived, and his gaze rested on Catherine, a sigh escaped his lip. Then he walked over to her,
staring down at her peaceful face.
Not wanting to wake Catherine up, he bent over, lifted her off the couch, and carried her out of the
living room, refusing to acknowledge the pain ripping through his body.
After he got into their bedroom, he carried her to the bed,id her on it, and covered her before heading
into the bathroom, leaving the door slightly open behind him.
Stopping in front of the huge mirror at the face basin, Rome took off his jacket and then his t-shirt.
At that moment, he felt a tender hand caressed his waist and then hug onto his stomach.
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"What took you so long." Catherine sleepily whispered, resting her head on his broad back and shutting
her eyes.
Gazing in the mirror, Rome could barely see her whole body because of their height and size
differences.
Then he stared at the bandage on his side and hand and mumbled, "Well, we encountered little issues
that needed taking care of, so we had to handle them."
"Did you… did you guys sessfully handle them?" Catherine softly asked, sinking into the feeling of
warmth that his bareback gave her.
"Yeah. Yes, we did."
"Then I''m proud of you."
Finally, opening her eyes, Catherine raised her chin and rested it on Rome''s back as she pouted and
then whispered, "I''m d you are home. I missed you."
At that moment, Catherine''s hand rubbed against the bandage, and her brows pulled together in a
frown as she said, "Honey, turn around."
Shutting his eyes for a moment, Rome sighed heavily, and then he turned around and opened his
eyelids, gazing at Catherine, staring wide-eyed at the bandage on his side.
Then she suddenly pped her hand over her mouth and took two unstable steps back.
"Okay, before you freak out, I need you to know that I''m fine. Even the doctor said so." Rome calmly
uttered, watching tears well up in her eyes.
"Honey, there''s nothing fine about a bandage on your stomach! Can you tell me what''s okay about a
bandage wrapped around your hand, and your face?! Oh my, your face!!" Catherineshed out with
trembling hands.
Knowing that things were about to escte, Rome took a step towards her and softly said, "I can
exin these bruises. You see, what happened was, when we were at the club..."
"A club?" Catherine mumbled, raising a brow.
"Yes. Okay, so one of the dancers…"
"You were at a strip club?!"
It immediately fell silent as Rome held back his tongue, knowing that he was making things worse. But
his silence was all Catherine needed to assume that she was right.
"Seriously! Okay, so how did the woundse about?" Catherine asked, running her fingers through
her hair.
"I was trying to help a dancer from being assaulted by an abusive customer, and a fight broke out,"
Rome said, knowing not to let out too much detail before she get more annoyed.
Frowning at him, Catherine paused for a moment and then asked, "Who threw the first punch?"
"Uhm?" Rome mumbled, pretending he didn''t hear what she said, even though he did.
"Who started the fight?"
"Well,"
Not needing him to finish the sentence because she already knew the answer, Catherine slightly threw
her hands in the air and frustratingly said, "Rome you promised me that you were going to be safe!"
Staring into her eyes, Rome tilted his head and said "I know, but…"
"There''s no, ''but.'' You promised, and you intentionally broke it. I guess this is just another one of your
broken promises!" Catherine said with a touch of hurt in her eyes.
It became quiet as Rome gazed at her. Then he rubbed his brow and said, "The dancer was a victim of
Earl. I needed her to be able to trust me so she could talk, and helping her was the best way I could
think of, and it worked!"
Forgetting about what she was angry about for a moment, Catherine frowned and said, "What do you
mean by she''s a victim of Earl?"
"He assaulted her, and if my guess is right, she was not his only victim. He has numerous women that
he had made his assistant deposit money into their ount." Rome exined, feeling a sense of rage.
"What!"
"Natasha imed that the money Earl gave was to silence her, and if that''s the case, it wouldn''t be
strange if the others got paid to stay quiet too about what he did against them."
Feeling disgusted, Catherine slightly clenched her fist and mumbled, "So, are you going to get her to
testify against him so that creep can get locked up for good!? "
"It''s not that simple. Making Natasha testify against Earl without any solid evidence will create a
situation where it''s her words against Earl''s, and with the power he holds, no one would believe her, or
they might choose not to do so." Rome said, feeling extremely angry now.
Both of them didn''t speak for a while. Then Catherine suddenly met Rome''s eyes and said, "If it''s
evidence you need to lock Earl up, I can help you get it. After all, he…"
"No! Why would you evene up with such a thought?!" Romeshed out.
"A man like Earl wouldn''t leave crumbs of evidence behind for you to find and use against him. I''m sure
he has erased all connections with these women. But I can…"
"I said ''no!"
A frown crossed Catherine''s face as she stared at Rome''s angry expression.
"I need you to stay away from Earl, very far away!" Rome said with a mixture of fear and anger
clouding his eyes.
"You get to go out and bruise yourself, and what? But I don''t get to take a bit of risk and help!"
Catherine mumbled in annoyance.
"Exactly!"
"But,"
"Catherine, no!"
Silence fell between them as Catherine gave him an are-you-serious-right-now look, and reading her
facial expression, Rome frowned and said, "I''m dead serious. I need you to stay out of this and keep
your distance from Earl."
Fighting back her tears, Catherine looked away from Rome and sniffed. Then she hastily wept her face
with the back of her hand and deeply inhaled.
Staring at Catherine, Rome let out a harsh breath and then said, "You are my wife, and that means
your safety is my responsibility. I will never forgive myself if something happens to you."
"I wouldn''t put myself in harm''s way and be reckless. If only you can allow me to help, I…" Catherine
mumbled, pausing when she saw Rome frowning at her.
"Promise me that you will keep away from Earl," Rome said with a straight face.
Knowing that she had no other option, Catherine put her right hand behind her back, crossed her index
finger over the other, and said, "I promise."
Without replying, Rome walked towards Catherine, gazed deep into her eyes as though he was trying
to connect with her soul, and before she could utter a word, he pressed his lips against hers.
Even though she was still annoyed, Catherine didn''t pull away, nor did she push him. But she allowed
him to kiss her passionately.
After four minutes had gone by, Rome finally drew away from Catherine, smiled, and whispered,
“Thank you, and don''t worry, I will handle Earl.”
''I''m sorry for lying.'' Catherine thought, looking deep into his calm eyes.