Page 53 of Lust & Lies

AIDEN

I SAT AT MY DESK, STARING at Noe on the security camera. She was lying on her side, facing away from me, cover pulled over her head. She hadn’t touched her tea. She stared at it for a long time. However, she hadn’t taken one sip. Was she sleeping now? Or was she lying there, angry with me?

Damn it!

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. And fuck... 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 showed up 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.”

“Can you trust her?”

“Yeah. She wouldn’t do anything to betray me.”

“Would you betray her?” I asked.

“Never,” Ethan vowed.

“What if grandpa told you to stay away from her? What would you do then?”

“I’m nothing like you and Tristan. I’d never let grandpa find out about her.

The old man will retire to the countryside one day, and Tristan will take over as the head of the family.

You’ll handle the Korean-Inspired Luxury Hotels.

I’ll work on my new liquor brand, Bak Soju.

And Noe will take over the Watch Dogs. And Ellie, I guess she’ll continue handling marketing if you all decide to let her back in.

We’ll all be free then. And when that happens, I’ll be able to be with whoever I want. ”

“You’re willing to wait that long?”

“For the right person, I’ll wait however long it takes.”

Should I have waited instead of trying to escape with Noe? Had I rushed things? Had my impatience led to our current predicament? Maybe. The past mistakes couldn’t be changed. I could only look to the future. I smiled at my wiser-than-he-looked baby brother.

“I don’t believe this woman of yours is just a friend,” I teased.

Ethan chuckled. “She’s a friend until she’s my wife. That’s what she says. She doesn’t do boyfriend and girlfriend shit. Either I’m her friend or her husband.”

“That’s her way of telling you she’s ready for a ring.”

“I know. I keep urging Tristan to dethrone grandpa, but he won’t do it.”

“There are rules to follow. He won’t break the family rules.”

“Fuck those archaic family rules. You and Tristan are too focused on pleasing the old man. If it were left up to me, I’d force him to retire and let his old ways and beliefs go with him.”

“That’s your grandfather.”

“I know, which is why I’m willing to visit him after he retires and even go fishing with him.

But I’m not able to support his beliefs.

Look at what his beliefs did to Noe and Ellie.

I mean, I’m not that close with Ellie. But she’s the way she is because grandfather spoiled her and treated her like a princess. ”

“He did do that.”

“And Noe is the way she is because Grandpa decided her life for her. He taught her to be tough and treated her like a weapon. She lost her parents because of him. She lost her identity because of him. And now, she’s hiding out in the country because of him.

I’m surprised she doesn’t hate the man. I’m surprised she doesn’t hate our family. ”

“She grew up with us. Was raised with us. She respects him, the same way we do. It’s hard to bite the hand that feeds you. It’s hard to hate someone who’s always provided for you.”

“Ellie grew up with us, too,” Ethan pointed out. “Why did she get to have the life she wanted, and Noe didn’t?”

“You know what happened back then that forced Noe to live with us full-time. As for Ellie, she spent time at our estate, but she was raised mostly at our aunt’s house.

Noe was raised at our house. It would be hard for her to hate grandfather, since she’s always been just as close to him as we are.

Despite everything, they do have a bond. ”

“I still don’t understand how you can defend him like this. After everything he’s done to you, how come you don’t hate him?”

Part of me did. Part of me always had because of the way he’d treated Noe. I knew he loved her. And I understood why he’d made the decisions he’d made. But there had to have been a better way.

“I love him because he’s my grandfather. If he weren’t my grandfather, I would have nothing to do with him.”

“But...”

“Enough! We’re getting off track, Ethan. Let’s stop talking about grandfather and focus on the Clarks. You know what needs to be done, right?”