Page 53 of A Lie so Dangerous and Fragile

I stood up and leaned down to his body. My arms spreading out to the sides of his head, I moved the pillows gently.

“Is this okay?” I asked, looking down at his face that was a few inches away from mine.

He was quiet and just stared at a spot on my temple. He moved his hand and traced a small cut I had gotten from last night.

“I’m fine, Tristan,” I said as I saw his jaw harden. “Tristan,” I called as he kept tracing the cut with his thumb and not saying anything. “Tris—”

“You deserve to be happy, Chloe. I returned, and your life is already a mess. I tried so hard to stay away from you, but I couldn’t.”

“Tell me something I don’t know,” I said in utter honesty.

He didn’t say anything afterward. Everything had been going my way till they showed up.

“Are you comfortable?” I asked, moving the pillow a little to the middle.

“Fuck,” he groaned, closing his eyes.

“What? Did I hurt you?”

“This will make me sound selfish. I can’t stop loving you, Chloe.” He opened his eyes and turned his face to me. “I can’t stop it, no matter how much I try. You’re the only reason I was able to hold on for this long.”

I didn’t know what to say. My mouth opened and closed with no words leaving. He’d said it countless times last night while I was trying to stop him from dying.

“It’s okay if you hate me.” He brushed my baby hair back. His intense gaze was almost reaching my soul, unlocking the feelings I’d shoved down to the deepest recesses of my heart.

Why did he have to say that?I hadn’t been ready, and neither was my heart.

I recalled everything he had said last night when he thought he was going to die.

My eyes flickered to his eyes, blue like the ocean and filled with longing. I tried to avoid the feeling. I wanted to pull away and walk out, but a part of me wanted to move closer. A part of me craved the familiarity of his touch. The bliss of being this close to him and feeling like my heart was going to burst.

His hand glided down to my neck, his thumb caressing a spot on my throat that made my knees go weak and dissolved my senses.

“I miss you,” he whispered in the small space between us.

I forgot to breathe for a moment. My stomach tightened, and my throat went dry. He pulled me slowly to his lips. His eyes searched mine, drifting to my parted lips. My pulse quickened, anticipation sparking through me. I couldn’t think clearly or stop myself from drawing closer, removing every bit of space between our lips. Just when our lips brushed like feathers against each other, the door opened. I pulled away quickly, as if he had burned me.

We both turned our heads in the direction of the door. Detective Emily and Detective Clooney smiled at us.

“Sorry. Should we come back later?” she asked.

“No, it’s fine,” I said, taking a step back.

“Thank you,” Detective Clooney said as they walked in. “How are you feeling, Mr. Sanchester?”

“Have you found the person behind this?” Tristan said instead.

“We are still trying our best. We went through the CCTV in your house. It wasn’t that helpful.”

“Seriously, someone took my child and tried to kill us, and you have no lead on this person? Who knows what he’s planning next?” I almost screamed.

“You are safe here. We have security stationed outside. Can you tell us exactly what happened last night, Miss Simpson?” Detective Clooney turned to me.

I was still flushed from what had happened a minute ago. I nodded and gave them every detail.

“What about Ryan?” I asked.

“Who is Ryan?” Tristan asked, looking at me.

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