Page 63 of Closer

I want to believe him. But safety is an illusion. One I can’t afford to trust.

“For now.” I’m so tired of fighting. Of pretending I don’t need this. Need him.

His lips graze my ear. “Forever, if you let me.”

I squeeze my eyes shut against the sudden sting of tears. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep.”

“I’m not.”

“We should sleep.”

He presses a kiss to my hair. “One day left, princess.”

I wake to the sound of Sebastian’s muffled voice from the other room. “Son of a—”

What is going on? I glimpse at the clock. 9:42 AM. Who is he talking to?

Slipping out of bed, I tiptoe to the door separating the bedroom from the lounge. I press my ear against the wood, straining to hear.

His voice is tight with barely contained fury. A pause. “Keep me on the call. This is my sister.”

Sister?

I chew on my lower lip, debating whether to open the door or not. But something in his tone stops me. I’ve never heard him sound so dangerous.

“That son of a bitch,” he says.

Did something happen to Gemma?

I press closer to the door, holding my breath, trying to catch every word.

Muffled curses. “I’m going to kill him.”

I’m reaching for the doorknob when I hear footsteps approaching. Shit. I scurry back to the bed, diving under the covers. Hiding.

The door opens, and it sounds like he stops in the doorway.

“Did I wake you?”

“Hm?” I sit up, feigning sleepiness. “Is everything okay?”

“Did you know?”

My heart skips a beat. Is this about our fight yesterday? I want to snap at him, to tell him to fuck off after how he treated me. But the way he’s looking at me, the tension in his shoulders…

“Did I know what?” I ask.

“About Gem and Oliver.”

“Oliver?” I pull the covers tighter around me. A barrier. I won’t let him close, not after yesterday.

“The divorce. It didn’t go through,” he says.

“Uh… Gem mentioned complications. Oliver’s lawyer was accusing her of cheating, throwing up roadblocks. That was the last I heard. I don’t think there were any new developments, so…”

His eyes narrow. “And now she’s gone. Left with him.”

“What?” I sit up straighter. “What do you mean, left with him?”

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