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Saying those words felt like a weight had been lifted off my chest.
Cole sat back, his hands curling into fists on the table.
For a moment, he didn’t say anything, and the tension between us felt like a physical weight.
“I can’t believe he’d go this far,” he said finally, furrowing his brows.
I watched him silently for a moment, my chest tightening with the weight of what I needed to say.
His gaze was steady, patient, and impossibly understanding.
Yet, I hesitated, the words caught in my throat.
“Neither can I,” I admitted finally, hating the way my voice trembled a little. “I thought I could handle Marcus myself, but maybe… I’m way over my head.”
Cole leaned forward, his hands reaching across the table to cover mine.
His touch was warm, grounding me in a way I hadn’t expected.
“It’s okay to ask for help sometimes, Tori,” he said softly.
I nodded, swallowing hard. “I know, but it’s hard,” I said. “When we first started dating, Marcus seemed like a different person.”
Cole’s brow furrowed, but he didn’t interrupt.
“He was charming, attentive. He made me feel special.” I paused, my fingers tightening around Cole’s instinctively.
I continued, “But it didn’t last. Once he felt like he had me, he started to change. Slowly at first. Little comments about what I wore, who I spent time with. At first, I thought he was just protective.”
Cole’s jaw tightened, his eyes darkening slightly. He looked terrifyingly still, as though he were trying to hold himself together.
For a moment, I worried he might explode, but then he looked at me, and the concern in his gaze shattered the illusion of anger.
“It wasn’t protection,” I continued. “He wanted to know where I was all the time, who I was talking to, what I was doing. He isolated me from everyone..”
Cole exhaled sharply, his grip on my hands tightening.
“I’m worried about your personal safety,” he said, his voice low but intense.
“I know,” I said, my voice barely audible.
“That’s why I haven’t dismissed Aden,” he said carefully.
I blinked. The revelation hit me harder than I expected.
“You didn’t dismiss him?”
“No,” Cole admitted. “I want his eyes on you in case Marcus makes a move on you again.”
He seemed to be watching for my reaction, his gaze searching mine as if bracing for an argument.
I expelled a shaky breath, my thoughts swirling.
Back when I found out about Aden, I’d been furious. I’d insisted I didn’t need a bodyguard, that I could handle myself.
But now? Now I wasn’t so sure.
In the past, I didn’t think Marcus would become such a danger to me.