Page 52 of Lust & Lies

NOELLE

NO MATTER HOW HARD I tried to believe in this man, believe in our love, something ugly always reared its head to remind me that I shouldn’t be so damn trusting of him. A phone that couldn’t make outbound calls.

There was only one reason such a phone would be necessary, and that was to make sure the person you’d kidnapped couldn’t call for help if they escaped. I swallowed back tears.

I’d been kidnapped. And my kidnapped ass had been walking around here, smiling, laughing, and enjoying life with my kidnapper. I’d been eating with him. Gardening with him. Sucking his dick and jacking his kidnapper ass off.

I’d called him my savage, not realizing just how savage he was. I placed the phone back on the receiver. I needed to get back to my room before he returned. I turned to leave, but movement on the desk caught my attention.

It was an iPad or something. Had Aiden been in here watching movies? I moved closer to the desk. No, it wasn’t a movie playing on the screen. This was a fucking reality show. On the screen, I saw Aiden, standing outside, chatting with Dr. Mercer.

Dr. Mercer patted him on the shoulder, then moved to get into the passenger seat of the car. The nurse was in the driver’s seat. Aiden stayed there, watching the car until it pulled off. This was a security camera.

The feed was minimized, allowing me to see the other available icons. Front Yard was the one I was currently viewing. There was also an icon for the Garden Room, Main Bedroom, Guest Room 1, and every other room in the house.

This man had the entire house under surveillance. He was able to monitor every step I took, see every room I’d wandered into, even this one. He could see whatever I did, whenever I did it. There was no hiding anything from this man.

I couldn’t escape the clutches of someone who was watching my every movement. My breath hitched as I saw him on the camera, turning back toward the house. I started to turn and run back to my room, but another icon caught my attention: Home Security System.

I clicked that one. A screen pulled up with numbers on it. The screen flashed gray and then read: Front Door Open. Aiden was entering the house. It then read Front Door Closed. He was closing the door.

He still had to go to the kitchen to make the blooming tea, so I had a little more time to snoop. I exited out of the Security Icon, then found the one that said Front Entrance. I clicked that one, and it opened up in time for me to see Aiden punching in the security code.

Damn it. He did it too fast. Could this be rewound? Yes! It could. I slid back the little bar and zoomed in. I could even maneuver the camera and have it turn a little more to the left. Perfect. I replayed the clip. Into the security pad, he’d entered the numbers 0213.

My birthday. I remembered my birthday! It was the day before Valentine’s Day, and Aiden, Ethan, and Tristan always gave me chocolates on my birthday and on Valentine’s Day. I usually ended up with so much candy that it lasted me the entire month.

My eyes widened. A memory! I’d had a memory that didn’t involve me having to dream it or be traumatized into having it. I stood there smiling, proud of myself, until an icon flashed on the device.

It was the kitchen icon. And the words below the icon read, Motion Detected. I clicked it and saw Aiden in the kitchen, preparing to brew some tea. He’d be returning upstairs soon. I needed to get out of there, but I had to leave everything the way I’d found it.

I hoped, no, I prayed he didn’t replay today’s video and see me entering his office. I closed icons, leaving only the front yard icon open, just the way he’d had it. Then I bolted from the office, easing the door shut behind me.

Heart racing, I tiptoed down the hall as fast as I could. I slipped into the bedroom, closed the door behind me, and raced to the bed, climbing in and pulling the covers over my head. I lay there, trying to catch my breath.

That was almost impossible to do, considering I was on the verge of a panic attack. Tears burned at the corners of my eyes, threatening to fall. Aiden was in control of everything, and he saw everything.

There was no sneaking around on his watch. No calling for help. No way of escaping without him knowing. I lay there for a long time, staring at the inside of the blanket, trying not to cry, trying not to scream, wondering who the hell I had married.

Or had I married him? I don’t think I had. I couldn’t have. Sure, he had a wedding photo of us, but that could be fake. Just as fake as my name. Noelle Park. I was confident that I wasn’t Noelle Park.

From the moment I woke up, that name hadn’t sat well with me. I didn’t feel like a Noelle. And now I understood why. Because I wasn’t Noelle Park. I wasn’t Aiden Park’s wife. I was his ex-girlfriend. But I was not the woman he married.

The doorknob twisted and eased open. Fear gripped me. I swallowed it down, refusing to be controlled by it. Plus, I needed to play it cool. I didn’t want to act suspicious and send his kidnapper ass running into his office to check the security cameras and see what I’d been up to.

I sat up as Aiden carried a saucer with a mug on it over to me. The blooming tea. He set it down on the nightstand beside me. I won’t lie, it smelled good, but there was no way I was drinking that shit. I was hoping he’d drop it off and leave. Nope. He sat down on the edge of the bed and sighed.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “About the accident. I know it scared you and probably made you remember the other accident. I have no excuse. I should’ve been paying attention to the road.”

I swallowed hard. “It’s not your fault,” I told him.

But even I could hear how distant my voice sounded, how emotionless, how I-Don’t-Give-A-Fuck-ish. He heard it too. I saw it in the way his shoulders slumped, and more sadness filtered into his gaze.

Do not feel guilty for him, Noe... or whoever you are. He doesn’t deserve your guilt.

This distance between us had been growing ever since I remembered him cheating on me. I’d hoped we’d be able to talk about things over breakfast. I’d prayed it was all a misunderstanding.

I no longer wanted to talk things over. I no longer believed it was all a misunderstanding. I didn’t want to discuss the past with him. I wanted out. However, I couldn’t let him know that. I couldn’t let him suspect anything. So, I forced a smile.

“It’s really not your fault, Aiden. That guy drifted into our lane. What happened is on him. Not you. I don’t blame you. So, you shouldn’t blame yourself.”

“But...” he started, only to have his phone ding.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. I’d never seen him look this weary, this exhausted. My poor Aiden. He had a lot on his shoulders with work and all. I wished I could help him and...

Wait. What the fuck was I doing? He was not my poor Aiden. He was not my Aiden at all. He was the man I was trying to escape. And I would escape him. I just had to put together a foolproof plan because I was pretty sure I’d only get one shot at it.

If I failed, it was over for me. Therefore, I could not fail. I would not. His phone dinged twice more. He ignored it, opening his eyes to stare into mine. I steeled my heart against that fake puppy dog expression of his.

“You should go work, Aiden. They’re going to keep calling and messaging you until you get this problem figured out.”

“How can I focus on work when you’re not well?” he told me.

Awww. How can you make me swoon and also terrify me at the same time? I swallowed, steeling my heart against his charm.

“Go work. I’m tired and want to sleep some more. I’ll rest while you handle business.”

He nodded. “Okay, love. Do you need anything? Maybe a snack. Fruit? Chips? Juice?” He paused. “Damn it. You never got to eat. I can make breakfast for you.”

I shook my head, stomach churning at the idea of eating anything he prepared.

“I just want to rest.”

“I understand, love. But you have to eat something eventually. I’ll cook something for you to eat later and...”

“Can Dolores do it?” I rushed to say, not wanting to eat anything he’d prepared, but knowing I’d need my full strength to escape this cage.

“Dolores? She’s on vacation.”

“I know. But I really liked her cooking. If you ask, will she cook for me for a few days?”

It would take me a few days to plot my escape. It couldn’t be a half assed plot that led to me being captured and possibly locked down even tighter.

“Okay,” he whispered, looking hurt that I wanted someone else’s food.

I ignored the guilt humming through me. How dare he have the audacity to look hurt while he had me running around here thinking my name was Noelle?

Fuck your pain, sir. Tell me my real name.

“If that’s what you want, I’ll call her now and have her stop by to prepare a few meals for us.”

“Thank you. I’m going to rest now.”

Get out!

He sat there for a moment, just staring at me. I felt awkward, not wanting to meet his gaze but not knowing where else to look. Finally, he leaned forward and pressed a kiss to my forehead.

Those damn forehead kisses got me every time. I was going to miss the hell out of his tender forehead kisses. I was going to miss the hell out of this man. At least, this version of him. Finally, he broke the silence, putting me out of my misery.

“I need to make some phone calls for that problem at work. But when I’m done, I’ll come back and check on you.

I nodded, not wanting him to come back, but knowing I couldn’t stop it.

“I’ll contact Dolores and have her bring the food also.”

Again, I nodded. Go away, Aiden. He was stalling, not wanting to leave. And if I was honest, I didn’t want him to leave either. I wanted him to climb into bed with me and hold me while we discussed my memories.

However, I couldn’t risk believing in him. Not when my life was on the line. Trusting this man with my heart and my life was too risky. I wouldn’t do it again. I’d already lost my identity and my memory. Love was not worth losing my life over.

“Rest well, love,” he whispered.

Why did my traitorous heart skip a beat whenever he called me love? Calm down, heart. This man doesn’t really belong to you. He belongs to the real Noelle. I think. He started to say something else, his lips parted, but no sound emerged.

Pressing his lips together, he gifted me a sad smile, then rose from the bed and left the room, closing the door behind him, leaving me staring after him. Tears blurred my vision as I stared at the closed door, wishing he’d come back.

I was so confused, so lost, so afraid. The man I wanted to desperately believe in was also the man I feared. He was watching my every move. There was even a chance he’d planned my accident, probably so he could get me here, in this gilded cage.

Though my heart wanted to believe in the fairytale he’d created for me, in his sweet smiles and forehead kisses, my mind could only believe in the facts. And all the facts pointed to Aiden Park not being my husband.

And that hurt. That hurt so fucking bad. Because if I wasn’t Noelle Park, if I wasn’t Aiden Park’s wife, then who was I? The sweet scent of the blooming tea permeated the air, reminding me of the beverage he’d prepared for me.

I looked over at it, staring into the cup. The bloom had opened, its petals unfurling as steam rose around them. Watching that happen felt magical. But it also felt ironic, considering that my life was anything but magical.

Right now, my life felt more like a horror story. I continued staring at the tea as I held back my tears. I watched and waited, wondering if I left the precious flower in the hot water long enough, would its pretty petals begin to wilt the way my life was wilting.

Would it fall apart the way I was slowly falling apart? And once it was wilted, once it was broken, would it no longer be loved? A tear trickled down my cheek. I would not end up like this pretty flower. I would break free of this cage soon.

Very soon.