Page 37 of The Truth Between

What the hell was wrong with me?

The morning after my failed escape, I rubbed a hand down my face as I looked down at the counter. I refused to look up at myself in the mirror for fear of what I would see.

I should be angry. Yet it had been one of the most thrilling moments of my life.

Chaotic thoughts churned in my mind as I thought of Soren. Everything about him was a walking contradiction.

What I also couldn’t get out of my mind was the door that was slightly hidden by the bookcase in Soren’s office. It could be a pure coincidence that the bookcase was positioned in such a way that it made it seem as if the door wasn’t there.

But I rarely believed in coincidences.

With a heavy sigh, I left the bathroom without looking up at myself once. I paced the bedroom, listening to my steps echoing on the hardwood floor. Nothing could change the feeling that the walls were closing in on me.

Desperate for something to do, I walked toward the door of the guest room. Maybe leaving this room was the only way to get away from the suffocating feeling that surrounded me. I tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear and opened the door before stepping out into the hallway. The slight change in scenery didn’t do anything to help my state of mind, but I kept on walking.

I ended up walking down the steps to the main floor. My gaze was focused on the door ahead, the one leading to the outside, but I was convinced that before I even made an attempt at reaching the door, someone or something would yank me back into this place.

“Good afternoon, Ms. Bennington. Is there anything you want from the kitchen?”

I blinked, startled by the intrusion on my impulsive thoughts. Then again, it was probably for the best if I didn’t want to incur Soren’s wrath for the time being. I turned my head and my eyes landed on Molly. To be honest, I was slightly surprised by her friendliness. Normally, I wouldn’t be questioning whether her smile was genuine or not, but given the circumstances, I wanted to be cautious.

I shook my head. “I’m good. Thank you.”

“If there’s anything you need, just say the word.”

“Will do.” I hesitated momentarily, but curiosity won in the end. “Molly, is Soren in?”

She quickly shook her head. “I think he has a meeting on campus.”

That was interesting, given that we were on winter break, but she probably didn’t know what it was about. It was time to shift my questioning. “This is going to sound random, but I was curious. How did you end up coming to work for Soren?”

Molly’s eyes widened a smidge, probably because she hadn’t been expecting me to ask the question. That made two of us. Her expression shifted back into the small smile she’d had on her face when she greeted me. “Maybe, like, twenty-five years ago, I was hired by Mr. Grant’s father after Mrs. Grant died. A friend of a friend mentioned that they knew someone who needed a cook. While I’m not classically trained, I was home-taught, so I figured, why not apply? I got it and have been here ever since. The only time I hadn’t worked here was when Soren briefly dismissed and rehired both Franklin and I recently.”

That was weird. “That’s fascinating. What an amazing friend to have been looking out for you.”

“Yes, I was so thankful for that and the opportunity to prove myself in this job. Then again, I can’t help but wonder if the reason why I was hired was because…” Molly’s voice trailed off as she looked away, and I wondered if she would say anything at all. Instead of interrupting her, I decided the best course of action was to be patient with her and let her tell me in her own way and time. “Mr. Grant wanted a motherly figure to help with his son.”

“I could only imagine,” I whispered as thoughts about what it was like to lose my parents wandered to the surface.

Molly nodded and continued. “Through it all, both Mr. Grants have been great employers. They’ve compensated me well, and I could tell they appreciate the meals I cooked for them and Franklin. We’ve never spoken much about what had happened to his mother or his wife, but it was clear that Soren was still grieving. The change that I see in him from before his wife’s death until now has been a complete one-eighty.”

I narrowed my eyes as I tried to make sense of her words. “What do you mean?”

Molly sighed before she began to explain. “Mr. Grant stayed home a lot after her death, not that I blamed him. It’s only been in the last few months that he started going out more, sometimes coming home when I would be waking up to start prepping for breakfast.”

I bit my lower lip as I tried to process this new information about Soren’s life after his wife’s death. I couldn’t help but wonder what caused the shift in his schedule. It made sense for him to want to stay home and grieve the loss of someone he loved, but him leaving and staying out later the last few months likely meant. . . he’d changed his routine when we ran into each other on Westwick University’s campus.

“That’s interesting. Maybe that was his way of starting to heal.”

“Maybe so. Anyway, I should probably get in the kitchen and get back to prepping things for lunch.”

I nodded. “I don’t want to keep you.”

Molly gave me another smile. “You’re not. Feel free to stop in the kitchen whenever to chat more. It can get awfully quiet in here.”

Didn’t I know it. “Will do. Let me know if I can help or anything.”

“You’re too kind.”

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