Page 60 of Deadly Obsession

Her eyes widen, and she nods. “When we were married, Chase would call me his sunshine, and I’d call him moonlight.”

I raise my hand to push away a piece of her hair, and she flinches. When she relaxes, I cup her cheek. She closes her eyes and inhales deeply. She’s trying so hard not to break down in front of me.

She’s being so fucking strong.

“The night we met...” Her bottom lip shakes again, and I refrain from pulling her into my arms again. I can’t. Not yet. I need to hear the rest. “I promise I didn’t know who you were. Chase had nothing to do with us meeting. He had men at the Christmas party who saw me talking to Noah. He found out we fucked in the bathroom and he...”

“What did he do?”

I drop my hand from her face and fist it next to my thigh. I’m going to fucking murder him.

“He, um... he...”

“Did he put his hands on you? Hurt you like he did tonight?”

She nods, swallowing hard.

“Did herapeyou?”

Her eyes widen. “No!”

My tense shoulders sag, but anger prevents my body from relaxing completely.

“He was super controlling when we were married, and he’d hit me if I angered him, but he never forced himselfon me. But that was then. Now... he’s changed. He’s even more unpredictable than when we were married. I never feared him then like I do now.” She swallows hard, her bottom lip still shaking. “He threatened to kill my parents if I didn’t help him. When I told you I didn’t know about Noah’s life and her involvement with the Empire, I meant it. Us meeting was truly a coincidence, but when Chase found out I was friends with Noah and that you and I were... you know... he made me wear a wire to that dinner.”

I curse but Sage’s palm on my chest immediately pushes the boiling rage to a simmering point.

“Don’t worry. It didn’t work. I think it malfunctioned or something.”

We sit in silence for a minute or two while I process everything she’s told me.

“Why didn’t you come to me... or Noah? Either one of us could have helped.”

She shakes her head.

“I couldn’t take any chances. Chase had men here watching my parents. One call from him and they would have come inside and harmed them... or worse. I wanted to try and figure this out for myself first.”

“And did you?”

“I was waiting on my parents to fall asleep, then I was going to take leftovers to those men outside. My mom has some old sleeping pills that I was going to crush and put inthe food. Then, when they passed out, I was going to take my parents away and hide them.”

I rub my palms over my face.

“I’m sorry, Elias. I never meant to lie to you or deceive you. I did what I had to, even if it wasn’t the right thing. Fear led me to make irrational decisions. I realize that now.”

Her palm is still flat against my chest. Surely, she can feel how fast my heart is beating.

“Why did you leave me the night we met?”

“Because I was scared. Not of you,” she adds quickly. “I was scared to put myself back out there again after giving my heart to someone who didn’t deserve me. I was scared because you did more to take care of me than Chase ever did. You protected me without a question. I mean, you killed that man who groped me for fuck’s sake. No one’s ever done that for me.”

I bark a laugh, and she smiles, her watery eyes staring up into mine.

“No one’s ever killed someone for you?”

She laughs, and it’s the best sound I’ve heard all night.

“Surprisingly, you’re the first. But you know what I mean. No one’s ever put me first. No one’s ever looked at me the way you did that night... the way you are right now.”