Page 54 of The Moral Dilemma

Noelle ran.

thirteen

“You’re crazy to go back,”Lucero shook her head at her. “He’s out of control, Noelle. What if he actuallykillsyou?”

“I won’t go inside,” she said, wetting her lips. “I’ll speak with him as before, through the wall and I will try to make him understand…”

“What if he doesn’t?” Lucero pointed out.

Noelle averted her gaze, her eyes red, tears clinging to her lashes.

“It’s my fault, isn’t it? It’s all my fault,” she whispered, feeling more inconsolable than she’d been her entire life. Even when she’d been at Sergio’s mercy and he’d beaten her within an inch of her life, she’d never beenashopeless as she was in this moment.

If Raf shunned her… If he rejected her… She truly didn’t know what she would do.

“You knew you’d have to tell him the truth at some point.”

“I’ll manage it somehow,” Noelle sighed.

Before Lucero could point out that she’d been wrong to deceive him from the beginning, Noelle went out the door, heading to the drug facility.

First, she dropped by her office, checking on Raf via the video feed. According to the records, he should be off the drug by now. She sighed in relief, thinking he might be more willing to listen to her without the stimulant messing with his temper.

Noelle pretended to work for a while until the road was clear for her to go to him. This time, however, instead of going straight to his room, she went to the adjacent one. Just like the cells, the walls weren’t thick enough to mask noise—most likely because Sergio was a stingy bastard who used the cheapest materials.

It was no wonder the temple itself had collapsed. If he wasn’t bothered to invest in the things that mattered to him, she would never expect him to pour money into something as insignificant as quarters for the test subjects.

She closed the door to the room behind her, locking it from the inside and leaving the key in the hole—just in case. Slowly, she moved to the wall that separated Raf from her.

Her limbs were trembling, her confidence in shreds as she expected him to yell at her and tell her how much he hated her. She’d thought she was ready to receive his disdain, but as she opened her mouth to call out his name, she realized she was nowhere near. She wouldneverbe ready. Hell, it was her biggest nightmare.

If he didn’t forgive her, how was she to continue on living?

That question was forever at the forefront of her thoughts.

Since she had fallen for him, he’d become her beacon of light—her entire reason for being. Without him…

Don’t think about that, she whispered to herself. She wished she could give herself a pep talk, anything to bolster her dying confidence. But her only remaining strength was being used to keep her tears at bay.

She removed a small tablet from her purse, clicking on the video feed from his room.

He was huddled in his bed, his frame too big for the mattress. Was he shaking?

Noelle frowned. He’d been fine a moment ago.

He was holding onto his pillow tightly, his eyes squeezed shut.

Immediately worry suffused her being, erasing all previous anxiety. Her fear for him was overriding her fear for herself. Before she even realized what she’d done, his name was out of her mouth, at first barely a whisper.

“Raf?” She cleared her throat, her voice louder.

“Lucero?” There was confusion in his voice.

She heard shuffling as he moved closer, and watching the video, she saw him look around for the source of her voice.

“I’m in the room next to you,” she repeated.

His ears perked up and he hurried to the wall, his palms spreading over its surface as he searched for her.

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