Page 96 of Love Not Qualified

No, I wasn’t going to look into his phone after a few nights together.

I bit my bottom lip.Shit.

I grabbed the phone in a hurry, expecting to find a conversation with a woman where they flirted and they eventually met, but the last thing I expected to see was the notification at the top.

No.

That couldn’t be true.

I blinked and the notification remained there.

My palm covered my mouth as a silent gasp slipped by. My stupid body still trusted him because my head shook in denial when the proof was right in front of me.

From the warmth I felt two seconds ago at the thought of him, now my blood was running cold in my veins, heaviness expanding in my core.

I blinked and blinked when the dizziness fell over me. I was instantly sick, my eyes looking for the closest spot to puke.

How could I be so naive and believe I got through the walls of the cold Tristan Graves? That I somehow slipped past his mask and got to know the real him?

He was a good actor, hence the false name he used on the app.

Chad Bitt wasn’t real—at least not the one I knew—it was just a cover-up for Tristan’s twisted mind.

Tristan played me like a puppet and I danced as his fingers sang.

I took a deep breath, closing my eyes.

Why would he do that? What did I do to him to do something like this?

My mind suddenly started displaying memories, making things click.

He… The CVs, the interview, the job, everything was planned since the first moment we talked. What exactly was he following by setting me a trap and feeding me a false reality?

My chest tightened and I put a palm over it, hoping to dim the ache. I was out of breath, my eyes roaming over the text once again.

‘Notification from Unlock: Haelyn Ross closed the chat. Tap to see other matches.’

Tears burned in the back of my eyes, anger boiling in my veins in a path to my shattered heart. Why was I feeling betrayed when he was never anything more than a boss to me? How could I believe even for a second that I could’ve been more to him?

Idiot. Idiot. Idiot.

With the tears running down my cheeks and my vision blurred, I threw the sheets off me and picked up my clothes from the floor, one by one. I sniffled, trying to keep silent as I went back, grabbed his phone, and burst into his bathroom.

He was just tying a towel over his abdomen and his eyes shot up to me. Tristan was wearing a cocky smile, but it wiped off real quick when he took in my expression.

Maybe I was making a fool of myself for showing up so vulnerable in front of him—eyes bloodshot, chest heaving, and fingers clutching onto his phone until they turned white—but I couldn’t care less.

“I trusted you,” I whispered in a cry, my thoughts speaking for me. Until this moment, I didn’t even realize I trusted him.

He frowned, then glanced at the phone I had clutched at my chest, awareness settling in his eyes. I was surprised it didn’t shatter from how hard I was holding it.

I was watching him through a blurred sheet of my tears and no matter how many times I blinked to push it away, it stayed there. I couldn’t understand the pain violently forcing its wayinto my chest, but it hurt so bad I couldn’t even form proper words.

“You—I,” I breathed out, my palms shaking.

Tristan stepped closer, swallowing. He was being careful. Maybe he was afraid I was going to lash out at him or strangle him. While it was something that entertained my mind, I was too busy trying to not fall on my knees.

Why was I so affected?

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