~Sofia-
Chase’s lies left a bitter taste in my mouth. I tried to focus on anything apart from this pain, jealousy, and annoyance digging their claws into my chest but failing miserably.
The facts were clear. He lied to me again, and inserting Carlota into the mix just made it more painful.
I lay awake, wondering where Chase went. He’d been gone for hours.
What if… what if he went to see Carlota? Did I push him too much by not letting him explain?
Chase wouldn’t do that to me, would he?
Unwanted thoughts of Chase being intimate with Carlota flooded my head. It makes me sick to even think about what they are doing right now.
“My Chase wouldn’t do that. He loves me. But he lied to me. Is she also the reason he missed cake tasting?”
I pinched my eyes shut.
I hate feeling like this. There must be a reason why he met Carlota, but why would he lie?
I don’t know what time it was. My tears had run dry, but when Chase crept onto our bed and wrapped his arms around me from behind, my tear ducts overflowed once again.
He planted a featherlight kiss on the exposed skin of my shoulder, pulling me flush against his body.
“Sofia,” Chase whispered. “Can we talk?” I didn’t reply. My throat was tight and rough from all the crying I’d done. “Please, baby.”
1faced him. The dimmed light of our room allowed him to see my tears.
He doesn’t look better than I do. His hair was messy; he’d been raking his fingers through them like he always did when he got a lot on his mind. The frown lines on his forehead were deep, and he smelled of beer and cigarettes.
“I’m sorry,” he cupped my face, his thumb swiping over my swollen cheeks. “Fuck, I’m so sorry.” He kissed my cheeks ever so softly, my nose, and my lips.
No matter how much ache was pulsing in my chest, I couldn’t ignore the comfort of his touch. He’d always be my home, my solace, and I had to hear him out. Some sentences are incomplete if you are not reading this novel on Jobnib.com. Visit Jobnib.com to read the complete chapters for free. I knew Chase would never hurt me, not intentionally.
“You hurt me,” I croaked, stifling my sobs from erupting.
“I know, baby… I know I fucked up… but will you at least give me a chance to explain?” I met his eyes. He reciprocates my pain, if not more. This was hurting him, too.
“I don’t wanna be mad at you, Chase, but Carlota?” I shook my head. “You know how I feel about her.”
Chase pinched his eyes shut and released me, laying flat on his back, his eyes fixed on the ceiling. I shivered. at the loss of his warmth, but the serious look on his face made me keep the accusation I was ready to fire at him at bay.
‘Hear him out, Sofia. That’s the only way to fix your issues.’ I reminded myself.
“This isn’t the first time I met Carlota,” he murmured. I winced. Although I had a theory about their current engagement, it still hurt to hear the truth.
“The cake tasting,” I whispered. Chase flinched, and I got my answer. He inhaled deeply, lips curling into a frown.
“I’m not apologizing for keeping things from you because I intended to keep you safe, Sofia. I just hate the way you learned about it. Eros… I knew I said I wouldn’t ask for his help, but there’s more to this shit than what it actually is.” He reached for my hand as I lay on my back and laced our fingers together. “It’s more than I can handle on my own.”
I listened carefully as he narrated the events at the farmer’s market, Stanly, and how Carlota’s fiance was murdered by a Viper prospect.
“I didn’t want you to worry, Sofia, but that doesn’t justify me lying to you.”
I chewed my lip, processing all the information he shared with me. “I understand, Chase.”
The tension in his shoulder loosened. He peered down at me, frowning “But ”
“But no more lies, please I can deal with you meeting with Carlota if that’s safer for you, but please, no more lies.” I shook my head, tears blurring my sight again. “We promised to trust each other.”
“I know, Sofia, I’m really sorry.”
I nodded, wiping my tears. “I also have something to confess. Derek had been working with his friend to find the sedan driver. But their investigation was a dead end.”
He huffed. “No wonder Derek was a bit prickly earlier.“
“This friend of Derek’s, he’s really good. But I made a promise to him that I won’t tell you anything.”
Chase smiled at me. “So now we have a secret of our own, huh?”
I nudged his shoulder, scowling. “I’m serious. Derek would be furious if he learned I went back on my word.”
“He’s always the sour one. I bet he wanted to solve this on his own so he could rub it in my face.”
“Why would you say that?”
“He’s still bitter about Letty. He might not show it, but he’s still mad about how I handled things”
“And you’re doing it again,” I said. Chase’s eyes slid at me, his brows tilted up, questioning. “You can’t treat me like I can’t handle something like this, Chase. I’m not a fragile little doll. We are supposed to be working together, not working against each other. Derek assumed you were hiding something from him. That’s why he wanted me to keep him from you.”
The deep crease on his forehead told me he was working hard to understand my point of view.
“You’re right. Derek had always been prideful, and we can’t actually blame him for resenting what happened in the past. He was hurt, Chase. You, Letty, both of you lied to him, and he held a grudge for a decade. Do you want history to repeat itself? Do you want me to resent you because you couldn’t trust I could handle the
truth?”
He jerked up from the bed, slung his feet on the edge, and buried his fingers through his hair, raking roughly.
“Fuck.”
I pushed off the bed as well, feeling torn between soothing whatever demons were clouding his head and letting him deal with it on his own. He has to trust us, our bond. It’s the only way to figure things out and keep our family intact. I can’t give him my trust again if he can’t go past that. I’ll always be his fiancee, someone who needs constant protection. Chase needed to treat me as his equal, for better or worse. That was supposed to be the course of our relationship. And from what had been happening, he wanted me to stay on the sideline and wait for him to solve this problem.
“I…” he breathed out, skimming his hand over his face. “I didn’t even see it that way.” He faced me, folding one leg on the bed and taking my hand. “I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping this from you.”
My heart softened, guilt coating his face. “It’s in your nature to protect the people important to you. But It’s not only Eros who can help you, Chase. You have me, Derek, Leo, and Miles. We’re family. I’m assuming Rafa is in it with you?”
His shoulders went rigid. “I didn’t want you to keep looking over your shoulder, Sofia.”
I reached out, cupping his face while squeezing his hand with the other. “It can’t be helped, Chase. Like you said, there’s a bigger plan in play. And now that we both know what Eros and Derek’s team know, the two of us can plan our next step.”
His brows furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“Call it a hunch, but I think whoever is behind this knows you’ll ask for Eros’ assistance.”
His lips pressed on a hard line, his frown deepening.
“Think about it.” I brushed my thumb on the dark bags reaming his eyes. My love. He’d been carrying this on his shoulder for weeks. No wonder he’d been distant as of late. “First, Rocco. I think Carlota being here was part of this plan. Then you, Eros. Why would the Vipers make it so easy for you guys to track them? And try to run me over in broad daylight?”
“Are you saying that someone could be orchestrating all of this?”
I shrugged. Maybe I had watched too many episodes of Jack Ryan. “There’s a big possibility. If they meant to harm you…” I cringe. Just thinking of something terrible happening to Chase made me sick, but it could be a possibility. “… they wouldn’t let Stanly wear their vest while following you.”
That’s why they’re targeting you instead.” he whispered, mulling over my theory.
“For now, I think it’s best if we keep this between us. Fil relay whatever Derek finds to you, and I trust you’ll do the same.”
He nodded, his eyes traipsing over my face. Apart from the evident relief that flooded his features, a small smile played on his lips.
“What?”
Shaking his head, his smile morphed into a smirk. “I’m just surprised by how well you’re taking all of this, Sofia I thought you’d throw me out of the mansion.”
Although a smile was tugging the tips of my lips, I narrowed my eyes at him. “Don’t be so smug. I can still do that
I pulled my hand from his hold, but he didn’t let me. Instead, he tightened his grip and tugged me roughly. I shrieked, landing on his lap. His hands came around me, keeping me from falling on the floor.
“I fucking love you, you know that?” He murmured, guiding me to straddle him. He pushed my hair out of my face; his eyes held a newfound fondness that I hadn’t seen him pin me with before. “There’s no one out there with a heart as big as yours, Sofia. Sometimes, I don’t understand why you’d choose me.”
His vulnerability struck my heart. “You have a brave heart, Chase. I wish you could see yourself the way I see you.”
He sacrificed his happiness for Letty, his friendship with Derek, and accepted my brother’s hatred so he could protect him. And now, I disagree with how he’s handling things, but I knew he had my best interest in his mind.
He shook his head. “You always see the good in people,” he pressed our foreheads together. “I’m so fucking lucky to call you mine.”
I shoved my fingers through his hair, feeling lightheaded at the way he was looking at me. His breath fanned my lips, and shivers coated my skin as I gripped his hair. “I’ll always be yours, Chase. We can get through this together.”
He closed his eyes, inhaling a chunk of air like he’d been holding his breath for a while. When he opened his eyes, I was struck by how deep those blue pools had darkened. “My apology is not enough for how
understanding you’ve been.” His grip on my waist tightened. He drew me closer. I gasped as my clothed core slid over his evident bulge. “But I know a way to make it up to you, baby.”