Page 14 of Chasing After You (Twisted Desires #3)

He flinched, biting his lip in worry. “Okay.”

“And,” I added, “I want to know about what happened to you after the gala that year. You disappeared, and then suddenly, you were there, hitting Daniel over the head. I knew they were lying about you being in a hospital. They refused to give me any details about what you were sick with, which hospital you were in, anything.”

“Oh… Yeah, no hospital. I was in my room.”

I frowned, not understanding. “The whole time?”

He exhaled, then whispered, “Most of it. I wasn’t allowed out at all for the first few weeks.

Then they started to let me out to work, but only when you were asleep or out.

Were you… Were you scared? I wanted to see you, I did.

B-but Victoria said I’d only get to say goodbye to you on my birthday if I stayed away and did all my chores.

I couldn’t… She said I’d have to leave without talking to you—” Josh’s eyes filled as he clenched his jaw, as though holding the pain inside was the only way he knew how to protect himself.

Anger burned within me. I asked through gritted teeth, “They were planning to keep you locked up and hidden until your birthday? Then what? They were going to kick you out, weren’t they?”

“Yeah,” he sniffled.

I schooled my facial expression, not wanting him to think my anger was directed towards him. “Thank you for telling me.”

“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry,” he said, his voice cracking.

“What? Josh, don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. What they did to you is horrible. I’m sorry that I didn’t realize you were there all along. I should’ve done something. Protected you.”

His head snapped up. He blurted out, “I was supposed to be protecting you .”

“Josh,” I lamented. “You did. You saved me.”

He shook his head furiously, tears leaking down his stricken face. “I was a bad big brother.”

“No. You were the best thing to ever happen to me.”

A long pause passed between us. Josh shifted in his chair. I so desperately wanted to take away his pain, but I couldn’t, and I hated it.

“Give me your hands,” I instructed.

“What? W-why?”

Sternly, I repeated the command. “Give me your hands, Josh.”

His hands fluttered back to the center of the table. I inwardly groaned at how easily he’d complied. He had always been so eager to please. I took his hands in mine, rubbing my thumbs over the backs of his hands.

He flinched slightly, but didn’t draw away.

“Good. Thank you.” He blushed lightly. “I need you to understand that I don’t hate you, blame you, or anything else you’ve been telling yourself. I came here to bring you home. I want to be a family again.”

“B-bring me home?” he cried, his head recoiling. He didn’t like the idea. Fuck.

I calmed myself the best I could, hoping he hadn’t noticed my slight moment of insecurity. I squeezed his hands. “We don’t have to go back. We can go somewhere new. I don’t even care where, I just want us to be together again.”

“But I… I have a life here, Dorian. I don’t want to leave.”

“Okay. That’s okay,” I reasoned. “We can stay here. I can check on available properties and call—”

Josh cut me off. “Properties? You’d move here?”

“Of course. I’ll find something nice for us—”

And again. “For us?”

“Yes,” I stated, raising an eyebrow at the incredulous look on his face. “Don’t worry about the cost, you won’t be expected to contribute anything. I have more than enough money to take care of you.” I straightened a bit, proud of the fact that I could finally be the one taking care of him.

His hands drew back. “Wait a second, please.” He took a deep breath in and out. “I can’t live with you. I would love to rebuild our relationship, really, but Dorian… I can’t live with you.”

I felt my eye twitch. “Why can’t we live together?”

Josh sent me a concerned look, hesitating for a breath before speaking. “I mean… It’s been eight years, Dori. That’s a lot. And,” he lowered his voice, “you… you kind of stalked me. It’s going to take some time for me to trust you.”

“But don’t you want to be a family again?” My chest felt tight, like my rib cage was going to burst through my skin.

Josh smiled sadly as he quietly murmured, “I do. I do want that, Dori. So, so much. But we don’t have to live together to be family, right?”

“Are you hiding something from me? Do you have a partner? Why can’t w—”

“No,” he said. “There’s nothing I’d need to hide from you. I just can’t live with you, okay?”

I forced myself to stay silent. Compromise , I thought.

I nodded, sighing, “Okay.”

I’d need to find a way to convince him, but not now. It was clear when he relaxed in his chair that the idea made him nervous for some reason. I needed to drop the subject for now. Revisit it later.

He was quiet for a beat, then pulled his cellphone out from his jeans’ pocket. He awkwardly chuckled, placing it on the table between us.

“So, uh… What number should I use to contact you? You called and texted from so many different ones, so I’m not sure… I mean, obviously you already have my number.”

I let out a small sigh of relief. “I did use my personal number at the start. I’m guessing you probably have it blocked. Can I?” I pointed at the phone. Josh’s lips tilted up slightly. Nodding, he unlocked his phone and slid it back towards me, the contacts app already open.

I found the list of blocked callers, cringing at the number of them.

I would bet that at least half of the numbers, if not more, were mine.

Scrolling through the list, I found the one I was looking for, unblocked it, and updated the contact as “Dori” with a heart emoji.

Pleased, I slid the phone back across the table.

It was time for the next order of business. If Josh refused to move in with me, there was no way in hell I would be letting him stay at his friends’ house any longer. He needed to go back to his apartment, where he’d be alone and back under my surveillance.

“So,” I tried to speak casually. “I guess you can go back to your apartment now that you know I’m not planning on killing you? It’ll probably be nice to be back in your own bed finally.”

He looked at me curiously, but shrugged and replied, “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I wasn’t even thinking about that.” He laughed softly. “But no more stalking, promise?”

“Promise,” I lied.

Josh believed me, or, at least, was trying to.

That much was evident in the way he smiled, all soft and hesitant, like his heart had already started opening to me even if his mind hadn’t caught up.

He looked tired. Beautiful, but so incredibly tired.

I wanted to reach across the table, press my palm against his cheek, and say something gentle—reassure him, tell him I would never stop loving him, no matter how long it took him to trust me again.

But I knew if I touched him now, I might end up scaring him away.

I needed to be careful. He needed to remain oblivious for now.

Instead, I leaned back in my chair and offered a genuine smile.

“So,” he said again, clearly searching for something lighter. “What do you… do now?”

It was such an ordinary question that it caught me off guard. I wasn’t much for small talk, but I’d indulge him the best I could.

“What do I do?” I echoed, amused. “For work, you mean?”

Josh nodded, looking shy. “Yeah. I mean, you said you’d move here and take care of everything… so I just wondered. Most people can’t just randomly move places.”

“I don’t work,” I said plainly.

His brows furrowed a bit. “You don’t?”

“I don’t need to,” I continued. “Trust fund. Inheritance. Estate payouts. All that boring old money shit. I got Victoria’s fashion investments. Long story short, I took everything, thanks to a few legal technicalities. I live off it. Quite comfortably, too.”

“Oh.” He didn’t sound judgmental, more like he couldn’t comprehend what I was saying.

“I did go to college, though,” I added. “Philosophy and art. Just for the experience.”

“Just for the experience..? You didn’t need a degree? Or have something you wanted to work towards?”

I shook my head. “I just needed something to fill the time.”

He looked away at that.

A long, slow silence crept in, but I didn’t rush to fill it. I wanted him to sit in the idea of it—me, floating through years of life with nothing tethering me to the ground except the thought of him.

When he looked back at me, his voice was quieter. “Do you have… friends?”

It was a strange question, and it made me huff out a laugh.

“No,” I said. “Not really.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t need anyone else. Because no one else is you.”

Josh looked like he wanted to say something about that, but Oliver suddenly cleared his throat loudly from the other side of the cafe. I didn’t turn. I didn’t give him the attention he wanted. This moment wasn’t his—annoying little pest.

Instead, I leaned in slightly, my voice low. “Can we meet again? Soon. Not like this—public, with someone watching your every move. Just you and me. Somewhere quiet.”

Josh hesitated, worrying his bottom lip between his front teeth. He seemed to weigh the request with surprising seriousness. And then, at last, he gave a slight nod. “Text me and we’ll figure something out.”

My breath caught. He didn’t say no.

I could feel Oliver’s glare scorching a hole through the side of my head as I stood. He was tense, ready to interfere again if he thought I so much as flinched in the wrong direction. I didn’t look at him.

I looked at Josh.

He looked up at me like he didn’t want to admit he was already sad to see me leave.

I forced myself to walk away.

With each step toward the door, I cataloged every detail of this place—not because I cared about the cafe, but because it had him in it: his scent, his voice, his presence.

“Bye, Josh,” I said, just loud enough for him to hear.

He smiled softly. “Bye, Dori.”

My hand closed around the door’s handle, and I let the bell ring out above me.

The door shut behind me.

And I walked away.

But not far.

I would never be far again.

Let him go home to his apartment. Let him think the stalking was over. Let him believe, for now, that he had a say in how this would unfold.

Because I wasn’t done.

Not even close.

He had given me a second chance—and I was going to use it to make him mine again.

Completely.

The way he needed.