To Love A Monster のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 81 - チャプター 90

Nicholas"Oh my god. They totally fucked in there," a woman whispers to her friend as they watch us walk out, Valentina tucked close to me, my hand around the back of her neck.I give them a wide grin as Valentina's cheeks burn red."Everyone knows," she says."Everyone's jealous."I pick up Valentina's coat and slip it over her shoulders before heading to the exit and pushing the glass door open. We step out into the bracing night, and I guide her to the SUV which I double parked."The Audi," she says, taking the keys out of her pocket."I'll have someone pick it up tomorrow. You'll ride with me." I open the passenger door and when she winces as she sits, I grin.She doesn't miss it and flips me off.I chuckle, close the door, and walk around to the driver's side. Once inside, I start the engine and hear Valentina's phone ping with an alert. She looks at it."It's Mr. Higgins," she says and opens a text."What is it?""It's a link to a news channel." She clicks in to read the headlin

ValentinaI don't know what I feel. Don't know what I'm supposed to feel. I'm numb. I can't process it just yet. They think Nicholas killed him. That building has security cameras running 24/7. They'll have Nicholas on video coming and going. Given their history, I'm not sure how easy it's going to be for Nigella to get him home.My head is swimming. I start to clean up, dumping the uneaten food and scraping burnt bacon from the pan. I'm on autopilot as I try to think about what I can do.The doorbell rings when I set the last dish in the dishwasher. I assume it's Hamish, so I pad down the hall to answer but when I pull it open, I'm surprised to see not Hamish, but Cielo standing there.My first instinct is to slam it shut, but he takes two steps backward so he's standing on the top step and puts up his hands. "Tina," he says and something about his voice, the way it breaks, stops me.He looks like hell. He looks like I've never seen him look. He's wearing jeans and a hoodie that's to

NicholasI'm making coffee when Nigella lets herself in late in the afternoon the following day."You know you might want to knock," I say as she walks into the kitchen and sets her briefcase down."It's my house.""Just saying it for your sake. Don't want to make you uncomfortable seeing something you won't be able to unsee. We are newlyweds." I wink."What makes you think I'd want to unsee it?" She slips off her coat and smiles wide."Well, then by all means. Come and go as you please. Coffee?" I hold up the pot."I'd kill for a cup." She pulls out her laptop and sets it on the counter."What's up?""Got the security footage and thought you'd want to see it," she says as I walk around to set her coffee down and watch over her shoulder."Have you seen it yet?" I ask as she boots up her laptop. "Or let me guess, it broke down right after I left, which I call bullshit on if that's the case.""Nope, working just fine." She turns it so I can watch. "It's pretty grainy but based on time o

Valentina"Why do all the men in my life feel like they can make all the decisions for me?" I ask as Nicholas unlocks the front door of the brownstone and lets me in."I don't want you near that family. I'd think that would make perfect sense to you. Besides, why would you want to go to Sullivan Ricci's funeral? He was a puppet master pulling your strings for years."Hearing it is harder than I'd think and I'm glad he can't see my face. Behind me, I hear him drop the keys on the table by the door."I never said I wanted to go, did I?" I ask. He sets the duffel down and follows me into the kitchen, where I put my purse on the counter and slip off my coat. I drape it over the back of a stool at the bar."You're giving me fucking whiplash, you know that?" he asks."Did you hear me say once that I wanted to go?" I snap, not masking the annoyance I feel as I spin to face him. He's closer than I expect.He raises his eyebrows, clearly surprised. "It was implied," he says and doesn't move or

NicholasPastI walk into the penthouse and drop my backpack by the front door. I stop a few steps in to take in the view. It's amazing. You can see all the way to Boston Harbor from the floor to ceiling windows. It's a clear day. I cross the room to those windows and look down at all the people, then out over the tops of the buildings. Ours is the highest.Well, it's not ours. Mom and I live here as staff, but we're more like servants if you ask me. The windows in our tiny apartment aren't so grand, and our view is of the air conditioning units of the building next door. Then there's the smell of the exhaust from the kitchen just beyond that wall that seems to seep into our kitchen. Mom doesn't mind, but I do. I don't know how she stands it, actually, to serve them dinner every night, to make their breakfast every morning. To wait on Mira and her friends for their liquid lunches and be treated with contempt by all of them. Sly, Mira, even ten-year-old Cielo."Nicholas, I didn't hear