Page 161 of A Lie in Church

“I saw you at your worst, and I stayed. I won’t.” Partly because I was broke, but now, it was because of him.

He looked relieved as his face relaxed. He took my face and kissed me passionately. He switched our position, hovering over me. I smirked at him. He pushed my legs apart and ventured down to the throbbing between my legs. He was gentle this time. He made love to me, memorizing every inch of my body.

He ended up going late to work.

Lately,a lot had changed between us. I promised Tristan and Vina that I’d lock Detective Chloe away and wait for him until he was ready. I saw a new Tristan. The Tristan I wanted to spend my whole life with. He took me on dates every weekend and forced me to visit the spa every Friday.

I quit the yoga class since I was starting to get suspicious stares from everyone. I’d suggested one of those fake-pregnant thingies, but Tristan had told me to stop attending the class.

The four bodyguards guarding the house seemed useless. Whoever was messing with him still found a way in and didn’t plan on stopping. The person still succeeded in torturing him with whatever had happened.

He started having nightmares, where he kept muttering, “Forgive me, Fiona.”

I didn’t question him, but I was there to help. I was always around to provide some comfort and to assure him he was safe. He would hold on to me tightly in sleep, like a scared child, and apologize for waking me up.

Tristan went crazy after he found a blue dress on his bed. He ripped the dress apart and refused to say a word to me that day, but he held onto me the whole night while he slept.

The other day, he’d found some baby onesies in his room. He’d broken down that day—the first time I’d ever seen him cry. He kept spacing out, and I almost gave up on talking to him. It made me sad to see him so wrecked and detached from reality. I was still clueless on the situation, and I wished I could help.

I made it my mission to catch the monster torturing him. More guards were hired, but it still didn’t help.

Who the hell was this person? And what did he or she want? The person had to be someone he knew. It wasn’t just anyone.

Wednesday,Tristan decided to sleep in his room. He told me he wanted to be alone and needed some space. I was worried about leaving him alone. I stayed awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. Was he okay? What about his nightmares?

I sat up in my bed when I heard a crash from his room.

“Tristan?” I ran out of my room to him.

I opened the door and found him throwing things around and cursing loudly.

“Tristan, stop!” I screamed, but he continued. I ducked when his laptop came my way.

“Tristan.” I moved closer.

I tried to touch him, but he threw his bedside lamp away. I was too slow to dodge it. The lamp made contact with my head before I could save myself. I welcomed the darkness that surrounded me. A grueling and ghastly wave of nausea tangled itself all over my numb vessel.

CHAPTER29

REHAB

“She is waking up.” I heard from beside me as I tried to open my eyes.

“Chloe?” someone called, taking my hand. It felt rough and cold.

I tried to follow the voice, to escape the darkness around me. My vision was still blurry as my eyes fluttered open. The back of my head was pounding.

“Chloe?”

I closed my eyes and opened them again. Adrian’s gray eyes stared at me with relief.

“Adrian?” I mumbled, still a little dazed.

“Oh, thank God, Chloe.” Karen’s voice came from behind him. She moved closer and hugged me.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” she said, pulling away.

“How do you feel?” Adrian asked, staring at my face as if he didn’t recognize me.