Page 17 of The Truth Between

Franklin appeared out of the corner of my eye, and I quickly turned on my heel and ran out of the room. I was gone before Franklin could follow. I needed to put distance between Soren and me—now.

I needed to be alone to calm my nerves and lick the wounds that Soren had ripped open when he terrified me.

9

SOREN

Istormed into my study and slammed the door shut behind me. I was still pissed as Iris’s words played on repeat in my mind. My hand impulsively reached for the crystal decanter and clean glass on my desk, something that I should have put back in its place the last time I used it. I poured myself a glass of whiskey, getting a small thrill as I watched the amber liquid fall into the glass.

“Damn her,” I muttered under my breath, my voice filled with anger. The truth was, she had struck a nerve, and I wasn’t sure if she completely understood the effect she’d had before I reacted. Her words were a mirror reflecting the darkest parts of myself that I had done my best to ignore. My grip tightened around the glass, and I watched as my knuckles turned white.

She didn’t know what the fuck she was talking about.

As I stared into the depths of the liquid in my hand, memories that I wanted to keep buried began to resurface. I’d done my damnedest to hide them, but they erupted within me and now I had to deal with them once more.

I was the reason why Eden was dead. It was all because of me.

The feeling of the slightly chilled glass pressed against my lips was a stark contrast to the fire that was brewing inside of me. I took a sip, feeling the burning sensation spread through my throat and enjoying the feel of it. It all was a temporary escape from the world outside the walls of my study.

“Or perhaps the truth will come out anyway. Like revealing what happened to Eden, right?”Iris’s words rang in my ears, and they only made my anger grow. Her piercing blue eyes shined with defiance and fear, and I had to admit, she was brave for saying the words out loud.

My fist clenched as I recalled our argument once more. I began to pace across the floor of my study as I tried to calm myself. The drink didn’t help, but it was better than me going to her and taking my fucked-up emotions out on her. Hell, maybe fucking her emotions out of her until the only thing left was her writhing under my body, crying out my name.

I shook my head to remove the idea from my mind. I had no business thinking about fucking her when she was determined to tear the Chevaliers apart seam by seam. What kind of man would that make me?

Then again, I’d made some interesting choices in my life, so that wouldn’t be the strangest thing I’ve ever done. I took another sip from my glass and allowed the bitterness of the drink to mingle with the bitterness that filled my heart. The liquid was slowly scorching away the lingering traces of Iris’s words in my brain.

However, no amount of alcohol could erase the memories of that night. The night when everything went to shit, and I lost the woman I was supposed to protect. Eden’s face flashed before my eyes, haunting me like a ghost. Hell, I wouldn’t be surprised if that was something she’d decided to do.

I downed the rest of my drink and slammed the glass on the desk, the sound echoing through the room. I needed to think. To figure out what my next move was going to be. I wandered over to the window, my eyes scanning my landscape.

Iris had struck a nerve, and I wasn’t sure if I could keep ignoring it any longer. Maybe it was time to face my demons head-on, no matter how painful it might be. But I needed to go back to when things weren’t as shitty as they were now.

I stared out the window of my study and let my mind drift back to Eden and our wedding day.

* * *

The warm suncast a golden haze over the garden as the aroma of flowers filled the air, unsurprising given where we were.

I stood next to Eden as her eyes darted all over the scenery before us. She was dressed in a soft, elegant ivory gown made of lace. Her chestnut curls cascaded down her back and were caught in the light breeze that blew around us.

“Eden, you look beautiful,” I said without a hint of humor. Normally, we would tease each other about things like this, but this wasn’t the time to do so.

She turned to face me, a smile playing on her full lips. “Thank you. Today wasn’t exactly how I imagined my wedding day would go, but this is a beautiful day nonetheless.”

I agreed with her only because I never imagined getting married, but I was willing to do it for her. All of this was for her.

“Are you ready?” I asked.

“Yes, I’m ready,” she whispered. She offered me her trembling hand and I grabbed it, trying to steady her in any way I could.

This hadn’t been the first choice of either of us, but we were going through with it anyway.

There wasn’t much of a crowd here to witness our big event. We didn’t need it. Franklin and Molly served as our witnesses as we walked up to the officiant, who gave us a big smile.

“Eden, Soren,” the officiant began, “today is a day of celebration. A day where love comes together to create something even more beautiful.”

I glanced over at Eden, noticing the tears welling up in her eyes as she looked at me. The officiant continued to speak, but I barely heard the words. We recited the standard vows, choosing not to waste any time creating our own. We just needed to get this done as quickly as possible.

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