Chapter 83

[Hey Loves, hope you're all well. It's my birthday today and I thought I'd make this chapter free. Thank you all for the love and the many kind words. It means a lot to me that I have your support and understanding. Please take care and stay safe. Lots of love.]

Sierra.

I kill the engine and just sit there, gripping the wheel. My breaths come slow and shaky,in the silence of the car. For a few minutes, I do nothing but stare at the black SUV, my mind racing with all kind of possibilities.

Finally, I decide I can’t just sit here. Either I face this or I leave my car in the street all day. Neither option appeals to me. With my jaw clenched, I shove the door open and step out, and approach the vehicle. The dark windows reveal nothing, which only makes my pulse pound harder.

I rap on the glass once. Nothing.

Twice. Silence.

Frustration surges hot under my skin, pushing past the fear. My fists curl, and I rap harder. Still I get nothing.

Fine. If whoever this is thinks they can sit outside my house without explanation, they’ve picked the wrong driveway. I pull out my phone, thumb hovering over the keypad.

“Who are you calling?”

The deep voice cuts through the air, low and familiar. My breath stutters.

I freeze, every muscle locking tight, before whipping my head up, and there he is. Grey eyes boring into mine. Noah.

“The police,” I snap, my frown deepening. “Who else?”

After the morning I’ve had, and then finally finding a little peace with Adrian at the café, the last person I want to see or deal with is Noah.

“Why are you calling the police?” he asks, tone flat, his expression unreadable.

I blink at him, stunned. Was he seriously asking me that? What kind of dumb question is that?

My mouth drops open, then I let out a bitter laugh. “I don’t know, Noah. Maybe because there’s a strange car parked in front of my garage?”

“You didn’t know it was me?”

I throw my hands up. “How the fuck would I know it was you? The windows are tinted!”

His jaw ticks, like he’s about to argue, but I cut him off before he can even get the words out.

“Oh, I get it now.” My voice sharpens, dripping with scorn. “You think just because I was once obsessed with you, I should know everything about you. Even the damn cars you drive. Am I right?”

Noah just arches a brow, his voice low and calm. Too calm.

“Isn’t that the case?”

The words slice through me, brutally. For a moment, I can’t even breathe. He doesn’t raise his voice, doesn’t flinch, doesn’t take them back. He just stares at me, cool and controlled. And somehow, that makes me angrier than if he’d screamed in my face.

His smug tone crawls under my skin, stoking the fire in my chest. I take deep breathe, trying to control my anger before I do something irrational.

I narrow my eyes, but I still can’t help but think; Is that really how he sees me? Some weirdo who butts into his life and memorizes every single detail?

God, thinking about it now, I can almost understand why he always found me so pathetic. If this is what he thought of me, no wonder he used to call me pathetic.

Neither of us says anything, but it’s not surprising. Noah and I never really talked much. He ignored me, and I learned to keep my mouth shut in his presence.

He sighs, low and rough, then reaches for the handle. Before he can open it, I slam my palm against the metal and push it shut with a hard bang.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” I demand, my palm still pressed hard against the door.

A frown creases between his brows. “What does it look like I’m doing? I’m getting out of the car. I need to talk to you.”

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” I snap, my voice pitching higher than I’d like. “We were trending just a few days ago and now this? What if there are paparazzi lurking around?”

The thought alone makes my stomach twist.

The articles about us, disappeared the same day they were published. Every single one. There hasn’t been anything about that incident since that day. Lilly told me the company had taken a hit, but not a fatal one. Their spotless, long-standing reputation smothered the flames before they could spread too far.

“Why do you think I’m in this car instead of my usual ones?” he cuts in, his tone cool, almost smug.

His words drag me out of my thoughts, but they only irritate me more. My jaw clenches. “Am I supposed to answer that?” I shoot back. “Either way, you need to leave, Noah. Now.”

“I’m not going anywhere until we talk.”

I glare at him, but the stubborn tick of his jaw tells me everything. He isn’t bluffing. He’s stubborn to his core. One of those traits I both loved and hated about him.

“Fine,” I mutter, almost stomping my foot like a child. “But you’re not getting out of the car.”

I spin on my heel, storm back to my own car, and yank the garage remote from the console. The door rumbles open, and I wave him forward. Noah slides his SUV inside like he owns the place, and the sight alone grates at my nerves.

I pull in after him, parking next to him. My pulse is hammering, adrenaline buzzing in my veins, but I force myself to calm down.

The garage door shuts behind us with a heavy clang, locking us in together. I flip the lights on, illuminating the whole place.

“Come,” I bite out as I push my door open and climb out. “Let’s get this over with.”

Noah trails behind me, his footsteps steady and unhurried. Before I can even think about that talk, I veer toward the corner where Blackie is curled up, making sure she’s fine, and well sorted.

“What did you want to talk about?” I ask, turning to find him slowly surveying my living room like he’s taking inventory.

This is the first time he’s made it inside my house, and for some reason now it feels like it’s too small. Like he’s occupying the whole space. Maybe it’s just his aura or presence, but it has me shifting from foot to foot.

“How are you?” he asks at last.

I blink, sure I misheard. The words sound alien coming out of his mouth. Noah never asks how I’m doing. What the hell is happening?

I study him, suspiciously.

“What’s this, Noah?” I counter, my tone flat.

His jaw works, muscle ticking, like he’s grinding his teeth too hard. This isn’t like him. The Noah I know is more of clipped tones and cold glares. When I saw his car outside, I honestly expected another fight. Not this.

“I want to know if you’re fine,” he says at last, voice rough, brows pinched together like the words hurt. “I heard what happened in your lab.”

“How?”

He shrugs. “We were in a meeting when the Director of your company called. He’s friends with Dad, and apparently Dad told him to look after you, and to report to him if you ever faced any… challenges.”

I didn’t know that. Warmth spreads through me at his words. I’ll never understand why they look after me so fiercely, but I’ll always be grateful that I am loved beyond my own family.

“You heard them talking, and your first thought was to come here? Did Aunt Ava put you up to this?” I ask skeptically, because it just doesn’t make sense.

Noah doesn’t give a flying shit about me, so why is he here pretending like he cares?

He looks away, jaw tight, and shakes his head.

Sighing, I sink into the armchair, folding my arms. “What’s with the pretense, Noah?”

His fists clench and his eyes flash. “I just came to make sure you’re okay”

This time, I can’t help the laughter that bursts out of me. Is this some kind of joke?

“Do you honestly expect me to believe that? Maybe I would have if you actually cared about the baby. But you don’t. In fact, you wanted me to get an abortion, remember?”

His mouth parts like he’s about to speak, but I cut him off.

“You don’t get to play concerned now,” I add, sharper this time. “Not after everything. We both know you would’ve been celebrating if me and this baby had died in that crash. So cut the crap, Noah. I don’t buy it.”

The fire in his eyes ignites, and suddenly the room feels too small, the air too heavy. His anger rolls off him in waves, filling the space around us. He drags his hands through his hair, jaw locked, before shoving them deep into his pockets like he’s holding himself back.

Then, without a word, he turns and stalks out toward the garage.

Following, I stomping after him, fury and adrenaline pounding through me. He wrenches his car door open, slides inside, and slams it shut.

I snatch the remote and press the button for the garage. The second there’s space; he peels out like the hounds of hell are after him.

Once he’s gone, I slip back into the house and for a moment, I just sit there with my phone in hand, trying not to replay Noah’s strange behavior in my mind.

When I finally unlock it, the screen lights up with what feels like hundreds of missed calls and messages from my mother, Lilly, and my aunts and uncles. I go through each one, replying quickly, assuring them all that I’m okay.

I’m about to set the phone aside, when it chimes again.

A new message. From Adrian.

[I hope you got home safely. Have a wonderful day.]

The corners of my mouth curve before I can stop them. Just like that, the heaviness in my chest loosens once again.

***

Noah.

The low hum of the engine vibrates beneath me. One hand grips the wheel, my eyes fixed on the road ahead, though my mind is miles away.

The conversation with Sierra keeps replying. No matter how hard I try to shut it down, her words keep cutting through. She’s not wrong. I don’t mean I’d ever celebrate if she died, but I wouldn’t usually care. So why the hell did I go to her place today?

Why did I need to see with my own eyes that she was okay?

It makes no sense. I told her to get rid of the baby. I don’t want her and neither do I want the child she’s carrying. That’s the truth, yet the second I overheard Dad‘s conversation, something in my chest constricted so hard it felt like I couldn’t breathe.

I shouldn’t care. I don’t care. But my actions betray me, and I fucking hate that.

My grip tightens when her face flashes in my mind. The way she looked at me… She used to worship the ground I walked on. But now? She stared at me like I was filth. Like I was the vilest thing she’d ever seen. It shouldn’t sting. But it does.

Maybe it burns because I’m not used to being the one on the receiving end of contempt. I’m always the one in control, and yet, today… it all felt different.

I can’t explain it. I don’t understand why I was at her house. Why I wanted to make sure she’s okay. Nothing makes any fucking sense, and that pisses me off.

Shaking those thoughts, I focus on driving, unwilling to believe that something has changed. There is no fucking way, I care. I checked on her because I knew Dad would’ve pushed me to. That’s all it was.

Either that… or I really am starting to lose my fucking mind.

[PS; I'll be taking a break till next Monday, this is just so I can enjoy my birthday week and also revisit old ideas and come up with new ones. I know I failed in keeping my promise and I want to apologize for that. I've been struggling with uploading two chapters a day because it takes it's stoll writing two or more chapters a day while I have other things going on in my life... anyway, please enjoy, and remember to flood this book with those shiny genstones. It'll really help with ranking it and getting it to the top... Bye and take care.]