Page 39 of Love Triggered

“Uh huh, sure. As for your question, no, I don’t bring my dates here. You’re the first. I discovered this place about six months ago, and I’ve been coming here ever since.” His eyes are soft at the thought, like Juli’s is someplace special to him.

“Six months ago? Isn’t that when…” I let my voice trail off, waiting for him to finish my thought.What the hell, Lainey? You’ve been here all of five minutes and you’re already bringing it up?I can tell he’s uncomfortable by the way he shifts in his seat, clenching his jaw.

“When what, Lainey?” His tone is serious, almost a growl. Judging by the way he called me Lainey, I can tell he doesn’t want to talk about it.

“Greyson, I know what happened. Lya told me. I just— I want to hear it from you. Please.” I hate to beg, but I need to hear it from him. I believe what Lya told me, but people will always tell things from their own perspective. So if I hear it from him too, then I can piece it all together.

“No, Lainey. I don’t want to talk about it right now while we’re on our date.” His response is short and standoffish.

Being my typical self, I don’t let it go even though I should. “If we’re going to make this happen”—I point back and forth between us—“you’re going to have to tell me eventually. I won’t stop asking, so you might as well just say it.”

“You really want to know? You want to see that part of me? There’s no going back once you know.” He furrows his brows, and shoots a glare in my direction. All I can do is nod my head, refusing to take my eyes off of him.

Just as he’s about to speak, our waitress comes back, interrupting the moment. “This isn’t over,” I whisper to him.

After both of us order—tacos with rice and beans, plus my appetizer of queso dip—I stare back at Greyson.

He sighs. “Alright, just hear me out before you go running, okay?” I nod. “For the last six months, my life has been hell. I’ve been drinking myself into oblivion, just to try and make the pain go away.”

The thought of Greyson punishing himself with alcohol hurts me more than I expected. Instead of saying anything, I lean back in my seat with my hands folded in my lap. My eyes never waver from his, encouraging him to keep going.

He looks unsure about whether he should continue, but he does. “I’m sure Lya told you most of this, but here’s my side.” His voice is shaky, and all I want to do is reach out and hold him tight, but I don’t. Instead, I remain locked in my position, waiting to hear what he has to say.

“Lainey, when you were ripped from my life nine years ago, I felt lost. Everything became dull. Nothing seemed to spark happiness or joy inside of me. It felt like I had nothing left. My father was a sadistic asshole, my mom was gone, and then you were sold. It was all crumbling down on me.” He reaches for his water and takes a large gulp.

“But how did you not know I was being sold? Your father was including you in everything at that point, to ensure you could eventually take over.” I fold my arms over my chest and narrow my eyes. He said he never betrayed me and that he didn’t know, but this is the one little detail that I can’t make add up.

“I would’ve never let you slip away from me that easily. We were young—shit, we might have even been a little naive to think it was going to be easy—but I never would’ve done that to you.” Greyson’s eyes are filled with fury, but I don’t think it’s directed at me. “I already briefly mentioned what happened that last night I saw you, but you don’t know the full story. After I said those terrible things, my father dragged me out of the warehouse and took me home. The entire drive, he was far too calm; it was terrifying, because he was not a calm man. Usually, I could feel his anger and fury, but in that car it was gone. It was like he was possessed by something else. Something that made him almost serene. But it didn’t last long.”

I knew exactly how his father was. He was an actual demon who had escaped from the pits of Hell. He made everyone’s worst nightmare seem like a vacation, and had evil flowing through his body.

“Once we stepped into the house, everything turned. He beat me, punching and kicking as hard as he could. Right there in the middle of the entryway of the house, he ripped me apart. When I was no longer able to fight back, he dragged me upstairs to my room. I remember seeing a trail of blood behind me. Then he locked me in there for days, only allowing Doctor Finley to come in and out. I had four broken ribs, a fractured cheekbone, three broken fingers, and so many more injuries. I could barely stand, let alone speak.”

A tear slides down my face that I quickly wipe away. “He... He told me that it was your idea. That you were tired of me, so he let you make the decision to sell me.” My voice cracks as more tears fall.

He reaches out across the table, begging me to meet him halfway. Against my better judgment, I place my hand in his.

"Angel, never. I would’ve let him break every bone in my body over and over again if that meant we could’ve been together. I would never have told him to sell you.” He squeezes my hand.

“I’ve spent nine years hating you for betraying me. Now it feels like I don’t really know anything.” That anger and hatefueledme. It helped keep me alive, reminding me that he was the reason I was there. To know that he wasn’t aware of what happened until it was too late, makes me feel conflicted.

I want to let go of that hate in my heart, but it’s easier said than done. Clearly he didn’t do that to me, but how do I just forget all about it?

“I didn’t even know you were gone until I was healed enough to go to the warehouse. I tried so hard to find you, to figure out who my father sold you to, but he wouldn’t tell me. He gave me a name right before he died, but he was a sneaky asshole who wanted me to suffer, and it seemed like a bust. When I was able to, I hired a guy who was well versed in technology to track you down, but even that was a disaster.” His thumb rubs back and forth against my hand. It’s comforting.

“Brandon?” Lya mentioned this man to me, but I still don’t know much about him.

Anger and disgust flash across his face, causing my body to tense. “Yes, Brandon. He was my right hand man. He told me he was trying to help, that he couldn’t find the man who bought you. I blindly trusted him, because I figured he was an expert on the dark web, so he would be the best at tracking you down. But over and over again, he said there was no paper trail, no trace of who took you from me. Until one day, he told me that he’d found where you were. I was so blinded by happiness that I couldn’t wait to have you back.” He looks guilty, and full of shame.

“Brandon told me you were in Craibridge, running a tech company under the name Lya. He showed me a picture and I couldn’t believe it. You were in front of me again, you were right there and I was so desperate for you. I knew I had to play my cards right and get you to trust me and let me in. At first, I was shocked that you didn’t remember me, that you acted like I was a complete stranger, but then I realized trauma can make people do that.”

I slowly pull my hand from his grip, placing it back in my lap. My chest tightens, and it gets harder to breathe. This is a lot to take in.

“Lainey, please don’t pull away from me. Don’t put more distance between us.” He’s pleading with me to hear him out, and I know I need to if we’re ever going to work.

“Keep going.” It’s all I say, but he listens.

“So I got closer to Lya, the entire time believing that she was you and that you just didn’t recognize me, or that you’d just blocked all of those memories from your brain. At first, I felt like something was weird or off, but I was so blinded by having you back that I allowed myself to ignore it. When I started building a relationship with her, Brandon became jealous and ended up kidnapping Lya. She managed to escape him, but after that she was suspicious of me. I confronted Brandon, and discovered that he was in love with me, and that he believed Lya was standing in the way of us being together.” The rage is back on Greyson’s face now, as he remembers Brandon’s deception.

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