บททั้งหมดของ The Devil You Know : บทที่ 51 - บทที่ 60

ELIJAH I stared at the ceiling from the edge of my bed, the bottle of whiskey loosely hanging from my fingers, half-drunk. My head pounded, but not because of the alcohol. It was the silence. The absence. The weight in my chest that I couldn’t shake. It’s been two days. Two fucking days since I last saw Andrade. Since I last heard his voice or felt his hands on me. I wiped the sweat off my forehead and sat up. The bottle clanked on the floor as I dropped it carelessly. My room reeked of alcohol and anxiety. The curtains were still shut, the room dim, and the air heavy. The suit I was supposed to wear for the wedding fitting today hung on the closet, untouched. I couldn’t do it. I was supposed to marry Mila — a woman I didn’t love — because of a child. A child I wasn’t even sure was mine anymore. Not after what Nora told me. Mila had lied to me. About Nora. About being bi. About everything. And here I was, drinking myself into a corner while the man I loved was o

ELIJAH The corridor felt too long. Every step I took toward Mila's room echoed like a countdown — one that ended with a decision I wasn’t proud of but couldn’t escape. The house was quiet, painfully quiet, and my mind screamed the whole way there. I stopped in front of her door, hand raised but frozen in place. For a moment, I thought about turning back. Maybe I could still change my mind. Maybe there was another way, but Marisol’s words played in my head again. The threat. My parents. Their faces. I didn’t have a choice. I knocked once, softly. “Come in,” Mila's voice came, shaky. When I opened the door, she was sitting by the balcony doors, her hair pulled back, her face bare, vulnerable in a way I hadn’t seen in a long time. Her eyes met mine, and they lit up immediately. “Eli,” she breathed, standing quickly. “You came.” I nodded, keeping my tone even. “Yeah. We need to talk.” Her smile wavered. “About what?” I hesitated before walking toward her, every word feeling

ELIJAH I stepped into the office, my heart pounding in my chest. I wasn't sure what I was expecting. The office felt colder than usual, as if the air itself had turned ice, and there, behind his desk, was Andrade. He didn’t even look up when I entered. His eyes stayed glued to the screen, absorbed in whatever task he was pretending to care about. I hesitated, standing at the door for a moment, the weight of the decision pressing on me. It was crazy that I had to come here, insane, really. But this might be the last time I set foot in this office before the wedding. Less than a week, and my life would change forever. Mila's smile would be waiting for me at the altar, and Andrade... well, Andrade would be another ghost from my past. I had to see him, though. I had to make sure that what I was doing…what I was about to do, was the right choice. Elijah, stop. You’ve made up your mind. But did I really? I took a deep breath and stepped further into the room. The fai

ELIJAH I woke up to the warmth of Andrade's body pressed against mine, the soft rhythm of his breathing a strange comfort. For a brief moment, I thought I might still be dreaming, this could still be a fantasy I hadn’t fully let go of. But as I shifted slightly, the reality of it all hit me. This was real. Andrade's room. His arms around me. His scent. I let my eyes flutter open, meeting the soft morning light filtering through the blinds. Everything felt right, like the weight of the world had disappeared, and for the first time in a long time, I felt at peace. At least, for a fleeting second, I did. Mila. My wedding. My family. Fuck. Andrade stirred beside me, his eyes opening as well, but they were clouded with something I couldn't place. He shifted away from me, breaking the brief moment of comfort. "You need to leave," he said, his voice low but firm. My heart sank, and my chest tightened. I know. "What?" I murmured, trying to sit up, but the weight of his words cr

CAMILA I took a long sip of the drink in my hand, the bitter burn of the liquor doing little to quell the knot in my stomach. My mind kept circling around one thing, the only thing that mattered. Elijah. Cristian, still lying next to me, propped himself up on one elbow. His eyes were fixed on me, scanning me as though trying to piece together the puzzle that was my mind. He didn’t understand. Not fully. But he was useful. I had to remind myself of that. “Are you sure about this?” he asked, his voice still low, lust still in his eyes. I set the glass down, the ice clinking as it settled against the bottom. I could feel his eyes on me, waiting for my answer. I took a deep breath, gathering my thoughts before I looked him in the eyes. “I’m very sure,” I nodded. “I know what I’m doing.” The words rang hollow, even to my own ears. Did I? Could I really live with what I was doing? Cristian shifted closer, his expression softening, as though trying to understand the weight of