Page 109 of Lust & Lies

Yeah, and that was a fucking problem.

“They were showing people pictures,” I muttered.

Tristan raised an eyebrow. “Pictures?”

“They were showing pictures of Noe. Asking if anyone had seen her.”

“Shit.” Tristan lowered his glass to his desk.

“Yeah. Shit.”

The fact that they were even in this area meant my grandfather had found out about this place, or at least knew I had a home in this area. Thankfully, no one around here would give information to men who’d hopped out of black SUVs. Still, they shouldn’t even know about this place.

“You know this means you and Noe can’t stay there much longer,” Tristan stated what I was already thinking.

“Yeah, I know.”

“I’ve got a question. Answer it honestly. Was your plan working? Did you truly manage to win over Noe?”

I sat back, gripping the arms of the chair. “Yeah. It was working. We were doing great. She’s happy and relaxed. No longer having to look over her shoulder all the time. She was finally opening up to me again. Today, we even did a little gardening.”

Tristan smiled. “Did you actually help or did you just stare at her like some lovestruck fool?”

“Both,” I admitted, not the least bit ashamed.

“You still don’t regret what you’ve done, do you?”

Shaking my head, I said, “No regrets. It’s been so damn good not to have her stare at me with disgust. It feels good not to have her leave the room as soon as I enter or avoid it entirely if she knows I’m there.”

“Or threaten to cut your balls off and feed them to you if you talked to her,” Tristan added.

“Yeah. She hasn’t once threatened to cut my balls off. That alone is progress.”

“There’s only progress because she doesn’t remember that she hates you, Aiden.”

“Why do you always have to say shit like that? I can’t deal with you and with the fucking dogs grandfather has sent sniffing around my doorstep.”

“You knew this experiment you were doing with Noe wouldn’t last forever,” Tristan told me.

“It could if everyone would stay out of our business. And it’s not an experiment. It’s our lives. This is what we’d planned for together.”

“You’re losing your mind over Noe and can’t see things rationally. This won’t end well. You need to consider...”

“She is my only consideration. So don’t fucking tell me what I need to consider, Tristan. I’m not letting her go. And if that’s what you plan to say, we may as well end this fucking call,” I snapped, anger rising.

I would not let go. And I wouldn’t let anyone take her from me. I had no problem killing the men grandfather sent my way. If the old man wanted his watchdogs to live, he needed to keep their bitch asses on a leash.

“Calm down,” Tristan told me. “Mistakes are made when you try to handle shit while pissed off. Calm down. For Noe.”

For Noe.Those were the words that got through to me. I had to handle this calmly for Noe. She was the only thing that mattered. Grandfather and Seo-Jin could not find out she was alive and with me.

Swallowing, I swiped my hand over my face and took a few deep breaths. I’d much rather be with her, bathing and relaxing, instead of talking to my brother. But this call was necessary.

“I’m calm,” I stated after a few seconds.

“Good. What about Min-Gi? How are things on his end?”

“He’s already upped surveillance. The woods around the estate are being patrolled around the clock. The main road leading in is being watched from his side.”