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She looks up, raising an eyebrow at me and I shrug, giving her a sheepish smile, unashamed at being caught stalking her.

"I can't help it if you're too damn pretty for your own good," I tell her.

"How come I've never seen you take these?" She continues to scroll through at least another hundred pictures of her—in the garden, in the city, in the bathtub or in bed. I made sure I caught her ineverystate.

There's this sick need inside of me to have her with me every fucking second. I have a hard time standing still even when she uses the bathroom. And she knows this too, since I've prohibited her fromevershowering alone.

But inevitably there are moments when we can't always be together, and so I quench my thirst for her the only way I can—by staring at her pictures.

Fuck, but I'm gone.

"I wouldn't be me if you saw me take them." I wink at her.

A smile plays on her lips and she doesn't seem in the least offended that I seem to have a shrine dedicated to her on my phone. If anything, she seems to preen under the attention as she scrolls through more pictures.

"Wait…" She frowns as she reaches some older pictures. I groan when I realize which ones she's looking at.

"You were watching me," she whispers.

"I had Seth send me pictures of you up until I went to Peru since there was no connection there," I explain, and I swear her eyes look glossy with unshed tears.

"Why?" She utters that one question so softly and my heart breaks again for what I put her through.

"I couldn't stay away," I admit. “But I couldn't come close either. I knew that the moment I was within walking distance from you I would throw all caution to the wind and come get you." I sigh as I remember the torment I'd withstood knowing her far away from me.

It had been the worst time in my life, and knowing what I do now about my time with Miles, that's saying a lot.

"Vlad…" She shakes her head, raising her gaze to meet mine and I'm baffled by how much emotion I find in those gorgeous eyes of hers. "I'm here now," she whispers softly, lifting herself up on her tip-toes to lay a chaste kiss on my cheek. “With you."

"You are." I close my eyes, reveling in her nearness. "And that's why I'm never letting you go. There's something wrong with me, Sisi," I admit. “Because I can'tnotbe with you. There's a sickness in here." I take her hand and point it to my head, before lowering it to my heart, "And here. It's making me go insane just thinking of a minute without you. It's so extreme sometimes I can barely sleep, needing to make sure you're next to me." I take a deep breath, opening my eyes to see her watching me closely.

"If you're sick then so am I, Vlad." Her melodious voice is the only thing that can soothe the voice inside of me, and as she speaks, her hand caressing my cheek, her eyes full of love, I can't help it as I give myself completely to her. "Because I can't be without you either."

"Fuck, Sisi," I mutter, hugging her, "I'm glad you're not mad at my collection," I say, trying to add a little levity to the heavy conversation.

"Mad? I'm only mad that I didn't know, because now I want my own of you." She smiles against my chest.

I kiss the top of her head, taking the phone and opening thereceivedfolder that she hadn't looked at.

"Here," I say as I pull up the photo, frowning a little.

The picture has a grayish tinge to it, making the background of the orphanage seem even more haunted and forlorn. There is an old manor in the back, a few columns at the entrance. On the porch, a woman with two boys is posing for the camera.

The woman is sitting stiffly between the boys while they smile jovially, holding tightly to a small present wrapped in colored paper.

"That…" Sisi trails off, squinting to get a better view of the picture. "That's Mother Superior. I'm sure of it. But how?" She shakes her head. "She's not wearing her habit," she notes and I nod.

I've seen enough fucked up shit in this world that nothing phases me anymore. The fact that Mother Superior might have been some type of scout certainly wasn't something I'd anticipated, but I'm not surprised. More than anything, I'm pissed that I'm only finding outnow.

"ItisMother Superior," I agree grimly. "And that complicates things."

Because if Mother Superior is in any way involved, then this shit has been going on right under my nose.

"But if she's involved." Sisi looks up at me, her brows furrowed as she's working out all the implications.

"If she's involved, then Sacre Coeur is involved. And if Sacre Coeur is involved," my lips stretch in a thin line, "then the five families are involved."

"We know Miles approached my father, but the others? Did you ever suspect?"