Semua Bab Jacob Hale: Enemy’s Secret Toy: Bab 81 - Bab 90

JacobThe curtains held the sun at bay, but I was already dressed, shirt buttons mismatched, shoes lopsided. My trembling hands managed to button my shirt, a futile attempt to compose myself. I stifled the scream trying to claw its way out.He couldn't see my weakness. I would never let him see my weakness. Because if he did, then he would do anything in his power to exploit that… or try to walk all over me. Daniel lay on the bed, bare-chested, his hair a wild tangle. He bore no resemblance to the demon from my past. His eyes searched mine."Don't even…," I warned, voice shakier than intended. "Don't you dare say a fucking word? This is nothing but a screw-up, okay?"He stood up and stepped closer. I retraced my steps.My heart hammered like a drum, desperate to jump out of my chest."It was a mistake," I murmured, gazing at the floorboards. "End of story."His silence was a noose, tightening around my chest. But he knew better than to argue.Because when his fingertips grazed my

JacobI convinced myself it had ended. These slip-ups with Daniel. That I’d broken free. Yet, there I was, hand hovering over Daniel's door handle, heart thundering. I didn't want to leave. “Just one more time”. I told myself. The golden door knob was cold under my fingertips, yet my skin burned flames I couldn’t understand. Three days had passed since I'd last seen Daniel… three days of forcing myself to stay away, to focus on Nathan, on our upcoming wedding, on the life I was supposed to want. But here I was, like a fly drawn to the loo, knowing I’d get burned but unable to resist the pull. I was meant to be with Nathan. In a few weeks, I'd become his husband. He was the epitome of comfort, the reliable rock I yearned for in a partner. But doubt whispered through my veins. Nathan was safe. He was the kind of love that built homes and made families, not the kind that set them ablaze.When I was with him, I could almost convince myself that this was enough. That stability was

Jacob Each lie piled on my chest, an anchor chaining my soul. It was suffocating. I didn’t know if I could keep it up, but I continued, deceiving everyone… especially myself. The weight of it pressed down on me with every breath, every forced smile, every carefully constructed excuse. I had become a stranger in my own skin, a liar wearing the face of the man Nathan thought he knew. And Nathan… God, Nathan. He didn’t deserve this. He had always been my rock, my sanctuary. His arms were the only place I ever truly felt safe, where the world outside couldn’t reach me. His love was steady, unwavering, a lighthouse in the storm of my own making. But the allure of Daniel’s touch was like a raging fire I couldn’t resist. What was love when I craved the heat of another’s touch? The question haunted me, gnawing at the edges of my conscience. I had spent nights tangled in Nathan’s arms, his heartbeat steady against my ear, only to wake with Daniel’s name burning on my lips.

DanielThe more I unraveled, the clearer the picture became. Fuck. Nathan's family wasn’t just rich and distant… they were the ones who had made Jacob’s life a living hell. Every drop of pain, every tear, every nightmare that kept him up at night… it all went back to them. The realization hit me like a bullet being fired into my chest. I sat there, staring at the scattered documents spread across my desk, my fingers tracing the damning evidence. Bank records, police reports, witness statements… all of it painted a picture so vile it made my stomach twist and turn.Jacob had spent years believing his parents’ deaths were an accident. A tragic fire. A cruel twist of fate. And his uncle had hidden it from him, probably to protect him from meeting the same fate as his family. But it wasn’t fate. Not it wasn’t that at allIt was murder. And Nathan’s family had orchestrated it all.Mixed emotions flooded me. Part of me felt like shit for feeling relieved, because I only got to

JacobI’d been in the shower for hours now, and yet my skin had refused to peel off my bones.Nathan was going on about his day, thinking, believing that I was that innocent young boy he’d met at the campus years ago. That I was that boy he’d fallen in love with. The thought of how I’d betrayed him, and how he would react if and when I finally decide to tell him the truth, sent chills down my spine.So this hot shower was a part of the punishment I’d laid out for myself. Maybe if it did its job, if it peeled off my skin, then maybe that would make things easier… better. Maybe that would keep Daniel away… from me.Even while in the shower, all I could think was how his lips always claimed mine, and how he would kiss every part of my body, like he was memorizing the curves and patterns.Just in case I ran and never came back to him. There was always something that seemed to draw me back to him, even after I swore never to go back. Maybe it was the taste of danger, that felt like ho