Page 134 of Lust & Lies

I should’ve been paying attention while driving. I’d gotten distracted. My mind had been in chaos, and I’d almost hit another vehicle. It was mostly the other driver’s fault. But it was my job to protect Noe at all times, and I’d failed.

Now, she was being distant again. It was growing wider with every minute that passed. I could see the distance in her eyes. I could hear it in her voice when she told me she wanted to rest. She’d been nicely forcing me out of the room, out of her space.

I could tell from the way she pulled away from me that she no longer craved my touch, my closeness. Andfuck... that hurt. I was losing her all over again, and I couldn’t survive it if she left me like before.

I didn’t want to survive without her. I knew it was toxic to feel that way. I knew I was obsessed. I knew this shit was crazy. But I didn’t know what else to do. I couldn’t breathe without Noe. Her life gave me life. Her breath gave me breath.

Her love spoke to my soul, letting me know everything would be alright. Without Noe, I was just a shell of a man. I’d nearly lost my mind the last time we broke up. I was close to losing it now.

That panicked feeling from before was closing in on me. My thoughts were turning dark again. There would be no more me if she left me again. I knew that in my soul. The fear of losing her was pressing in on me, making me think crazy things.

Like locking her in this house if she tried to leave. Bolting the doors and windows, leaving us both trapped here together.Fuck!That was insane. But I knew I’d do it. I couldn’t let this woman go.

However, I could feel her letting me go. The wreck must’ve caused her to remember something else, one of our darker moments. Dr. Mercer said the shock of the accident could’ve caused her to recall her previous wreck.

But that accident couldn’t be the reason she was distant. Unless... unless she remembered that she’d been in the car with Ellie and Ellie’s boyfriend when it happened. I’d only sent Ellie after her so she could explain everything to Noe.

Explain that we’d never had sex. Explain that we’d only gotten married because we’d been forced to. And even after marriage, I never touched her, never held her, never kissed her. The only time we’d slept under the same roof was during the times she forced her way into my home.

Or when my grandfather decided he wanted to visit me, so we had to pretend we lived together for his sake. Even then, we had separate rooms. Other than that, I kept my distance from that woman. I loathed her. Being near her always made me want to strangle her to death.

I’d told her to tell all of that to Noe in exchange for my help. I’d been sure once Ellie explained everything, and even showedup with her boyfriend, Yo-Han, Noe would’ve believed me and been willing to see me, to talk to me.

For two years, all my previous attempts to reach out to her always ended with me bleeding or limping. Sometimes both. And then she followed my grandfather’s wishes and started dating Seo-Jin.

After that, I was no longer able to get close to her. Seo-Jin and his security team of Watch Dogs had prevented that. It had taken careful planning to get Noe into that car with Ellie. No matter how much she hated Ellie, she’d never hurt her.

So when Ellie volunteered to confess everything to Noe in exchange for a divorce and a way for her and her boyfriend to escape my grandfather’s clutches, I’d been okay with that. I promised to provide her and him with new identities as long as she stopped lying to Noe and confessed everything.

Unfortunately, things hadn’t gone as planned. According to Ellie, Noe had gotten into the car after agreeing to talk to me. But suddenly, she changed her mind, wanting them to let her out of the vehicle.

When Han refused to stop, Noe lunged toward the driver’s seat and tried to jerk the wheel, causing the car accident that left her unconscious. I’d believed Ellie, not because I trusted her. I would never trust her.

In the past, she’d been determined to marry me, despite knowing how Noe and I felt about each other. She’d willingly gone along with my grandfather’s plans, knowing it would hurt Noe.

And after our forced marriage, she’d been obsessed with me. Even going to Noe to complain about me, complaining about how I didn’t love her, how I wouldn’t touch her, how I was always cheating on her.

She’d stalked me around the city, showing up at whatever bar I was at, having a fit, forcing me to drag her out of the bar. She’d ruined my life. I could never trust a woman like her.

However, I’d believed that Noe caused the accident because I could see Noe doing something like that. I could see her being willing to crash a car and put her life in danger, rather than come see me.

But the way Noe was responding to this current wreck had me wondering if Ellie had lied about confessing things to Noe. If she’d told Noe the truth, then remembering the accident would make her forgive me, not grow more distant.

Unless something else had gone wrong during the accident. Was there a chance Noe hadn’t caused the accident at all?Fuck. Had Ellie lied to me? I didn’t want to contact Ellie’s manipulative ass, but I needed to. I needed the truth. And if I had to torture that boyfriend of hers to get it out of her, I would.

“Aiden. Aiden!” Ethan yelled.

I stared at the computer screen.

“Why are you yelling?” I asked, irritated.

“Stop staring at Noe on the security camera and listen to me,” Ethan insisted. “My girl is risking her job by agreeing to help us with this Clark Constructions shit. We’ve got to make sure she doesn’t get caught.”

“Your girl?” I asked. “So you’re dating her?”

Smiling, Ethan rubbed the back of his neck. I’d never seen my wild baby brother be shy like this.

“I wouldn’t say we’re dating. Not really. But, she cares enough about me to help me out.”