Page 114 of Lust & Lies

Now, even the happier dreams felt like a cruel nightmare I wanted to awake from. The next morning, when I did finally escape a sweet dream, a sweet memory of me and Aiden, he was already up, sitting there, staring down at me.

How long had he been watching me sleep? And why did it feel like a violation instead of something romantic?

“Good morning,” he greeted.

I didn’t reply. When he leaned in to kiss me, I turned my head to the side.

“I have morning breath,” I stated, unable to pretend I wanted to kiss this man. “I need to get up and wash my face and brush my teeth.”

“I’ll cook us some breakfast while you do that. What would you like to eat?”

“Can we go out for breakfast?” I asked for his safety.

If we ate in for the discussion we were about to have, I may end up slitting his throat. If we went out, he had a better chance of surviving. Plus, I wanted to see if he’d actually take me out of this house.

If he didn’t, that would let me know that this beautiful house was nothing more than a pretty cage he’d trapped me in with sweet lies. I stared up at him, awaiting his response.

“Are you sure you want to go out?” he asked after a moment of hesitation.

“I’m positive.”

With a nod, he said, “Okay. Let’s go out for breakfast.”

That caught me off guard. “You sure?”

“Yeah. Get dressed. I just need to make a phone call real quick.”

Oh, really?“More work?” I asked.

“Yeah. There’s a problem at work, but my people are handling it. I just need to check in with them before we head out.”

He pressed a quick kiss to my forehead, then climbed out of bed, grabbed his phone from the nightstand, and walked out of the room without another word. I watched him leave as anger and confusion swirled through me.

Why was he always shirtless? All those shirts in that damn closet, and he couldn’t bother to put one on. I sighed. Even with the storm of emotions twisting inside me like a tornado of rage, I still couldn’t help but notice how good he looked walking away.

Broad shoulders. Defined muscles. Sexy stride.

This man was a walking aphrodisiac. I would hate to have to kill his sexy ass.Ugh!Why did I keep thinking about murder and ways to commit it? What the hell was wrong with me? My thoughts drifted back to that day in the kitchen.

The day I first saw Dolores. The day I plotted how to kill her. I’d gotten so riled up because of that dark moment. But Aiden had calmed me down by giving me an explanation for why I’d reacted that way.

And, at the time, it made sense. However, now I wasn’t sure if that hadn’t been one of his lies, too. Who was I really? And who was Aiden Park? I had so many questions and not enough answers.

But I was determined to get some today. Today, if Aiden couldn’t answer my questions with proof to back up his answers, then I would leave him. I closed my eyes, ignoring the ache that thought brought me.

Stupid, Noe. How can you still feel this deeply for someone like him?

But what if it was really a misunderstanding? What if the man I’d fallen in love with out here on this country estate was the real Aiden, not the one from my nightmares? What if those were the false memories Dr. Mercer warned me about?

I swallowed back my tears. That’s why this conversation was so important. I needed answers. No matter how harsh or painful it ended up being, I needed the truth before I completely lost my damn mind.

Pushing my feelings aside, I climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom. I froze with my hand wrapped around thedoorknob, eyes widening as a memory from last night filtered into my thoughts.

In the dream, I’d mentioned Aiden’s grandfather and fulfilling a contract. What type of contract could I possibly have with my husband's grandfather? If I asked Aiden about it, there was a chance he’d give me another one of his BS answers.

Maybe I needed to find the old man and ask him myself.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR