Page 111 of Darkest Deception

What else did he do?

Suddenly, the man who I was going to consider my lover doesn’t feel like it anymore.

And it feels like I just broke through the water, realising it was all an illusion.

“Do you know that I feel what others call love for you?” Helia murmurs against my neck.

My mouth doesn’t want to open to answer.

It can’t.

I’m stuck. Paralyzed.

I slept with a cold-blooded serial killer.

With my own stalker.

And I’ve fallen in love with him, too.

33

I’m hiding.

In my bedroom.

I haven’t gone to work. I asked for leave for a few days, and I’m waiting. I’m biding my time, not knowing how exactly I would go about this.

Not only am I ignoring Helia, but I left that same morning, silently, without telling him. He has been calling, he’s been messaging, and I’ve only replied with one-word answers.

I’ve been giving him the cold shoulder. It hurt to put myself out there in front of him, to reveal such a crucial part of me, to show my weakness, and yet he betrayed me?

When was he going to tell me?

Doesn’t he realise that what he did has weighed heavy on me?

I keep refreshing my email, waiting for the hackers to get back to me.

Time is ticking. I need to know if the stalker in the pictures is actually Helia.

Why was my stalker there the day I saw Remo leave our house? The day my father was murdered?

“Ambrose! Get out of that room now!”

A bang startles me. I glance at the wooden door, dread settling deep within me.

“How much longer will it take you to get ready for this ring appointment?”

My mother had picked the very next day for me to grab the groom’s ring. She didn’t wait. Not for a single second to ask me, to give me time. No. She wants this done fast to get rid of me, to secure herself.

I used to feel bad for Mum, for what she has been through, but now… now I see that while she may have had depressive episodes, she has bounced right back to her normal self and has not for one second shown any remorse, love, or affection to either of her daughters.

“Coming!” I rush out, leaving my laptop, then we head to the jewellers in Knightsbridge.

“How about this one?” Mum points to a simple band with diamonds encrusted all around it.

“It is a very good choice, ma’am. It’s one-of-a-kind and very unique.”

I glance around the private room, feeling caged.

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