Page 46 of Lust & Lies

“Because...” I paused, unsure how I should answer that.

Because I’d watched the woman I love cry alone on a couch in our home.

The estate was supposed to be her happy place.

The garden room was supposed to be her haven, a place to relax.

Because of me, that room was now the place she went to weep.

I didn’t deserve this woman or her love.

But damn it, I couldn’t live without it.

So I would fight for it until I couldn’t fight anymore.

“Because... remembering on your own could be traumatic,” I finally told her. “Especially if you remember things out of order.”

Which had to be the case if she was crying.

“Out of order?”

“Yeah. We went through a rough patch, Noe. But it was only a patch. It shouldn’t define our forever. And I’m scared you’ll be hurt by those memories if we don’t discuss them. If we don’t talk through them.”

I waited for her to respond, to say something, anything. But she remained silent, just staring at me. I kept my eyes on the road, but from the corner of my eye, I knew she watched me the entire rest of the drive. I arrived at the site and pulled into the parking space.

As I turned the car off, I told her, “I’ll try to be as quick as possible...”

“Take your time, Aiden.”

She didn’t sound as distant as before. I looked her way to find she was no longer glaring at me. Damn, now I didn’t want to leave her side.

“I love you, Noe. So fucking much. I always have,” I told her.

She chuckled, but the sound held no mirth.

“I think we have a lot to talk about. But it can wait, husband.”

“Can you say I love you back?” I asked, needing to hear those words.

She hesitated.

“Only if you mean it,” I told her, knowing I didn’t deserve her precious heart, but craving it anyway.

She swallowed, tears filling her gaze. Yeah, she’d remembered something. And she was hurting because of it, because of me. Fuck!

“You don’t have to say it...”

“I love you, Aiden Park. So much, it hurts.”

But love shouldn’t hurt. Not the way she was hurting because of me. I took a deep breath, trying to control my emotions, afraid that this could be the last time she said those words to me. Afraid the pain from our past would overshadow the joy of our present.

“Noe...” I started.

“We’ll talk over breakfast,” she added. “Go. Handle your business.”

“I love you,” I said again, unable to help myself.

“I know.”

“So fucking much.”

“I know.”

“I need you to breathe, Noe.”

She chuckled, and this time there was mirth in her laughter. It was music to my ears.

“I know, Aiden. Go. Before Julian or whatever his name was comes looking for you.”

“Fuck him. You’re what’s important to me.”

Her gaze softened. “I hope that’s true,” she whispered.

“It is, love.”

“I hope that’s always been true.”

Fuck! She remembered. She fucking remembered.

“I swear, it’s true.”

“I’ll believe you, for now,” she told me.

“Thank you, baby. I’ll be right back.” I leaned closer and pressed a kiss to her temple.

“Take your time,” she told me, a slight smile on her face.

I smiled back, hope blooming in my chest. Maybe I could fix this. Maybe. I climbed out of the vehicle, irritation returning as my brain switched to work mode. What the hell had happened to make Julian Cattaneo need to see me ASAP?

I saw Julian heading in my direction. His gaze drifted from me to my car. He saw Noe. If he said anything crazy, I would lose my shit right here, right now.

“Julian. What’s so urgent?” I asked, pulling his gaze to me.

“Let’s take a walk. There’s something you need to see,” he told me.

We walked in silence. But I didn’t like the way he kept looking back toward my car, toward Noe.

“Noelle looks happy,” Julian stated.

“What happened with the woman you’ve been stalking?” I fired back, deflecting.

But Julian wouldn’t let it go. His gaze was still on Noe.

I looked back to find her smiling and waving at him.

He didn’t know her well enough to know she was putting on an act, that she was forcing herself to be polite while probably thinking of ways to kill him if something went wrong out here.

I faced forward and continued toward the setup.

“Noelle smiled at me,” Julian stated, sounding surprised. “She’s never smiled at me before. I heard she was in a car accident recently. Did it lead to a change in her personality?”

I halted and turned to face him, sliding my hands into my pockets.

“You’re awfully interested in my wife, Mr. Cattaneo.”

His gaze drifted back to her.

“Don’t look at her,” I snapped.

Julian smiled. “Taking her to breakfast. Kissing her forehead. Getting jealous of men staring at her.” Julian stared me up and down. “It seems you’ve fallen in love with your wife, Aiden Park.” He patted me on my shoulder. “It’s about damn time.”

Even my friend, Julian Cattaneo, didn’t know the truth behind my love story with Noe. He thought he did, but he had no idea. If he knew the real story, he’d be shocked as hell. He’d probably call me crazy, a jerk, a poor excuse for a man.

And that would be a proper response. Noe had called me those same things in the past. The fact that she was hurt and upset right now meant she’d probably remembered that she’d once caught me in bed with another woman.

But she couldn’t have remembered who that woman was yet. If she had, she wouldn’t have asked me to breakfast. She would’ve killed me. And I would’ve deserved it. But the truth wasn’t always what it seemed.

I just hoped that when I told her the truth, she would believe it. After all the lies I’ve told her, there was a chance she’d think this was a lie too. But I had proof. The woman she suspected me of sleeping with was that proof.

Unfortunately, my proof was also the person who’d caused the damage in the first place. And Noe didn’t trust her. Hell, she wouldn’t trust me either once she remembered that we hadn’t gotten married.

Though there had been a wedding, Noe hadn’t been the bride. The woman I’d married was her enemy. The same woman she’d once accused me of sleeping with. The only person who could prove to Noe that I’d never cheated on her was the woman I’d married.

Yeah, this was a fucked up situation.