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I didn’t know why, but tears overflowed from my eyes. Attikus understood me more than I realized.

“I’m not crying because I’m sad,” I said to relieve the worry in his eyes. “You’ve read all the messages woven into the painting so well.”

He reached for a tissue on the side table and offered it to me. “So what happened after you escaped Florida?”

“We settled in Providence. Mom changed my name to Vanessa Lam.”

“What was it before?”

“Van Kha Lam is my Vietnamese name. To be safe, I went by Vanessa, and Mom went by Hannah because it was similar to Hanh in Vietnamese. Miranda only knows about Van, not Vanessa or Nessa.”

“People who have multiple aliases seem to have multiple personalities.” He smirked.

“It’s for safety reasons.” I pinched his cheek playfully. “Sometimes, survival of the fittest requires adapting.”

“You’re with me now.” He kissed me gently. “I won’t let anyone hurt you. You can be Vanessa in private and Nessa in public; it’s your artist’s name. I’ll make sure of that.”

I thought about Emmanuel and his blackmail. If he wasn’t behind it, would the people he worked with give me trouble?

“The story I told you is a prologue of what triggered me at the beach.” I straightened, resting against the headboard.

Attikus did the same and took my hand in his while I described the event in the alleyway. I toldhim about the man who tried to rape me, how I stabbed him with the shard of glass, and how my mom was sent to prison because she protected me.

“What?” Attikus curled his fingers in a fist.

I placed my hand over his fist. “M?is doing well in prison. I’m not ashamed of having a mother in prison. She’s innocent.”

“You defended yourself.” He seethed. “Your mom shouldn’t be in there.”

“I’m trying to get her out.”

“Who’s your lawyer? Fire the fucker. I’ll have my lawyer take over your case. Your mom can sue the officials and the state for not doing their job properly. She’ll get the justice she deserves.”

“I’m telling you this so you understand me better. I don’t want it to burden you.”

He gripped my chin, tipping my face up to meet hardened eyes. “It’s not a burden to help my wife.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

ATTIKUS

Vanessa openedher mouth to reply, but I kissed her. She sighed, and her lips opened for me. I could kiss her all night. I didn’t want to hear her say this was a fake marriage or that I’d done enough for her already.

My life had been difficult, but after hearing her story, I admired her resilience and determination.

“You’re not a burden,” I spoke against her soft lips. “You’re the hope I’ve been waiting for—the spark of light that showed me new possibilities.”

She showed me the way to my salvation. That profound revelation hit me hard, and I needed time alone to ponder on that later.

She sucked in a breath, gripped my face, and kissed me hard.

I didn’t know what my relationship with Vanessa would be after six months. But in my eyes, that timeline was irrelevant. That contract we signed was now insignificant. I didn’t need signatures to define what she meant to me. What we did tonight and what we shared was an invisible promise we made to eachother. She trusted me enough to pour out her dark past. Those who had hurt her would pay.

She broke the kiss and smiled. “Now I want to know your story.” She lifted my right leg and patted my knee.

My cock hardened as she massaged my knee. “Someone’s jealous.”

She chuckled. “I’ll give him attention after you share your story. If I touch him now, we won’t be talking much.”