Page 170 of Lust & Lies

Looking guilty, he stared down at the bed. “So, youdostill hate me.”

“We have a lot to talk about,” I told him. “We have a lot of things to clear up and to apologize for. Both of us do. But let’s start with one very important truth. During our time apart, I never hated you. I’ve always loved you and only you, Aiden Park.”

His dark gaze snapped to mine.

“You are My Heart, Aiden Park. And I will never leave your side again.”

He swallowed, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. And then he did something that made me smile. He leaned down and gifted me with a sweet kiss. I closed my eyes, heart swelling with love for this wonderful man.

There was that forehead kiss I craved.

CHAPTER FIFTY

NOELANI

I NEVER REALLY THOUGHTabout how important memories were. Not until I was lying in bed with Aiden, clearing up misunderstandings and revealing things he’d never known about. I’d lain in bed with him this way just a couple of days ago.

And I’d loved it. Yet, with my memory back, it felt different. I kept tearing up, making him worry about me and ask if I was in pain. I was sore, of course. The pain pills Gertrude had left for me hadn’t fully kicked in yet.

However, that pain wasn’t the reason I was tearing up. I teared up because I’d been waiting for this day for so long. The day I could return to his arms. The day I could stop keeping my distance from the man I loved.

The day I could stop pretending to hate him and emotionally punishing him for a crime he hadn’t committed. As we lay side by side with my head resting on his chest, I couldn’t help but cry for all the time we’d lost.

For all the mean things I’d said to him to keep him away from me. With his arm wrapped around me, he was careful not to touch my bandaged side. But his fingers trailed up and down my arm. That simple touch felt like a dream come true to me.

Likewise, I couldn’t stop touching him either. My hand was on his chest, fingers walking up and down his torso, carefulnot to dip to the bandage on his stomach, where he’d been cut during the fight.

We’d been talking for hours and still there was so much to say, so much to discuss. It would take time to clear the air about everything. For now, we had to focus on the more pressing matters.

“I can’t believe my grandfather threatened the Hatfields,” Aiden stated. “I take that back. Yes, I can. It’s still shocking, though. I shouldn’t be surprised by anything he does, considering he’d threatened to kill you back then. I hadn’t believed him. So I’d resisted his demands. I only gave in after he threatened to send you far away with Seo-Jin’s weak ass.”

I held back my smile.Poor Seo-Jin. Aiden still hated him even after I explained that the Leader and I were never truly a couple. Even after I told him that Seo-Jin had suffered because of his grandfather, he continued to call the man names.

“That was the only way he’d gotten me to marry Ellie,” Aiden continued. “And I never touched her. She tried everything to get me to sleep with her. Even drugging me once.”

“She drugged you? Was it an aphrodisiac drug?”

“Yeah, it was. Luckily, Ethan was on his way to the bar that night when she had the bartender slip something in my drink. He took me home after realizing something was wrong. She’d knocked on the door all night, begging me to let her in.”

“Those aphrodisiac drugs are strong. How did you endure it without going to the hospital?” I asked.

“A few cold showers and jacking off while thinking about you did the trick. I still have that video we made...”

“Aiden!” I exclaimed, thinking he’d thrown that sex tape away.

“What? When you left, you left me wounded. Your old messages and videos were the only things that kept me going.That night, our sexy video was my medicine. It took hours for the drug to wear off.”

Damn. That had to be a whole lot of jacking off. I needed to try that drug. Of course, I would get his permission before I used it on him. I would take it too. That sounded like a weekend of naughty fun.

“The next day, after it wore off,” he told me. “I visited her place for the first time and held a gun to her head.”

“Are you serious?” I asked, smiling, wishing I’d been there to see it.

“Yes. I told her if she came near me again, I would blow her brains out. She’d made my life a living hell. But I think that was her wake-up call to stay the hell away from me. A few months later, the security guard I’d assigned to watch her and ensure she stayed away reported that she was dating someone.”

“You should’ve put a gun to her head sooner.”

“Yeah, I should’ve.” He chuckled. “Hearing about her boyfriend was the best news I’d had in a long time. I had my guard follow them and take pictures of her and the guy for a few weeks. Once I had enough proof, I met up with her and showed it to her.”