Page 111 of Always Right

She smiled.

That was all it took. That goddamn smile took my breath away.

“My mom hated you that same day,” Hannah admitted, recalling my meeting for the restaurant. “You weren't profitable enough. And well…I think she knew right away who you were.”

I smiled, brushing my fingers against her cheek. “Well, she must be rolling in her grave now.”

Hannah laughed softly, but that smile quickly disappeared when we heard items clattering in the kitchen.

Dread clawed at my insides.

The movement continued, followed by heavy steps that made sure we knew there was someone else in the house.

Fuck.

Hannah whimpered when the clear sound of something breaking against the wall echoed throughout the house. Her eyes, wide with fear, pleaded for me to stay, for comfort, but instead, I shushed her with a finger on my lips.

“Derek, what’s happening?” Hannah ignored me, her soft footsteps following behind me as I pulled on the first sweatpants I found and a t-shirt. I looked at our dressers and nightstands for a phone, quickly realizing that we’d left them somewhere in the living room.

“Fuck, fuck, fuck,” I muttered.

I looked at her then, memorizing the beautiful features of her face, her messy hair that screamed recently fucked, and the way my name fell from her lips and then I kissed her, extending the moment much more than I should have, but I did it anyway, because the clattering in our home continued and it grew closer.

Our minutes together were counted.

I could feel it in every bone in my body.

“Stay here, Hannah, do you understand?”

She shook her head to speak, but I didn’t let her, kissing her one last time.

“I love you, baby. I love you.”

And with those words, I left.

Chapter 40

Hannah

This can’t be happening.

This can’t be happening.

Derek walked out of our bedroom, closing the door quietly behind him, but I could still hear his footsteps as they grew further and further away and my heart...it raced.

It raced and beat so hard I was sure even the neighbors could hear it.

I felt myself hyperventilating, trembling as I waited for something...anything. A sound. A voice. Something that told me he was okay.

Something that told me it was anything but an intruder but deep down I knew. Deep down I knew that this was what we’d been waiting for.

No way did I have a stalker that just wanted to keep tabs on my life.

This was someone who was planning something.

I stood up and tiptoed around the room, grabbing one of Derek’s t-shirts and throwing it on and did the same with my discarded underwear but it wasn’t until I was trying to find a robe that I heard the commotion.

The loud sound of someone being slammed into a wall, and then Derek’s angry voice. The anxiety clouded my hearing, but I heard it then...in three simple words...a voice I hadn’t heard in a long time.

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