It took a small eternity for my heart to stop pounding. We were in the air, sitting opposite each other, laughing, drinking champagne, and talking about the most trivial things. I thought that I would never calm down after Aiden's confession, but I did. I didn't know when or how, but he started talking about the weather. He told me that he always loved staring at the rain and that he used to count raindrops falling on the window. He said that it calmed him down. It was sunny, just a few innocent clouds as we crossed the sky, but his story made my eyes shift to the window and smile. I imagined Aiden as a child, standing by the window and counting raindrops. Somehow, that vision took away all the tension within me."I love snow," I blurted out suddenly. "Not in the summer, of course." I laughed, and so did he. "When I was a kid, we had our snowball fighting competition with my father and brother. It was the only game that I could defeat my brother, and it probably was the main reason wh

He wanted my heart. It felt surreal. Could this be true? He made it sound so honest, and I... I didn't think I could stop myself from falling. I was already deep—too deep—and it was scaring the hell out of me.We both took a shower, washed the salt off our bodies, and changed into fresh clothes. I put on another white dress with thin shoulder straps, but this one was straight and long with two slits on the sides to ease walking. It clung to my curves, highlighting all the right areas, almost like a nightgown pretending to be an appropriate daytime dress, but I didn't mind. The only person who was going to see me wearing it was Aiden. I heard a low growl rumbling in his chest as he saw me. That might have meant that he appreciated my choice of clothing…He wore a pair of cream-white linen pants and a half-unbuttoned, loose shirt. He took my hand and led me to the pool. "Wait here," he said before rushing inside the house and reappearing with a bottle of wine and two glasses in his hand

*TRIGGER WARNING* The third scene in this chapter contains a description of sexual and physical abuse."You need to be fucking kidding me!" Emily growled, striding back and forth through the length of my room.I sat on the bed with my legs curled up and my arms folded around my knees. I couldn't stop my body from trembling. I had taken an emergency sedative pill, one I had sworn not to use unless necessary. It was necessary now. Something that had been my personal trauma had a chance to become a publicly known fact. But worst of all, my rapist was now a victim… and I was a possible murder suspect."This is insanity!" Emily threw her hands in the air and walked another round of steps across the room. "Fortunately, your boyfriend can confirm your alibi and stop this madness."I shook my head. "I can't involve Aiden in all this."Emily stopped walking. Her head snapped in my direction. "Are you crazy?! Why the hell not?! He already knows everything, so what's the problem?!"I glared at h

I blinked a few times, processing Aiden's words. "Are you serious?"He chuckled. "Of course, I am. I thought that I made it clear before. I want us to be together. You don't want to?""I do, but—""Then is there anything wrong with what I said?" His brows rose, causing his blue eyes to become even bigger and more dangerously alluring. "People in a relationship are supposed to look after each other. I want to protect you. Besides, if the police decide to question you, I think I'm your alibi, am I not?" He smirked.I sighed. "You are right. People in a relationship should look after each other—""Glad that you agree.""—and that is why I don't think you should be near me... for now," I said and watched him frown. I pushed my hands against his chest, freeing myself from his embrace. "It's not that I don't want you close; believe me, I do. But for now, I am nobody, and you are Aiden Hart. The press in Philadelphia will be interested in this story because the one who died was the son of a

I wasn't sure I was breathing. I flipped the picture, locking my eyes on the details. Julienne's eyes were so bright and vivid, her smile so genuine. Aiden's smile… God… Were they lovers? Were they in a relationship? Had Julienne… loved him? My head started to spin, and I didn't even know how I found myself on the sofa next to Christopher. I knew that he was observing me, but I couldn't take my eyes off Aiden and Julienne. Drawing another breath, I flipped the photo to the back side and read the note again. I wasn't sure why I did it. Perhaps I wanted to make sure that I had read it correctly the first time, or I was secretly hoping it disappeared. Of course, the note was still there… "Yours, whenever you want me," I murmured, and I heard Christopher chuckle. My eyes finally shifted to him. He was rubbing his leg and looking at me. As our eyes met, he gave me a wry smile. "My brother…" He sucked in a breath. "You must have known that Aiden had a lot of women. She probably was one of