No Longer The Ones Who Lose のすべてのチャプター: チャプター 21 - チャプター 30

I tried to settle back into my normal routine. Silas had left for his so-called business trip — I was almost certain it was just a vacation with Nova — but I didn’t have the energy to dig any deeper. That was how done I felt with everything.What I did notice, however, was the absence of Tristan. Two full days without a word from him, and my body had started to ache with a restless, frustrated need. According to our arrangement, either of us could initiate. Since he was the one playing hard to get, I decided to go to him.After work I drove to his office. The receptionist informed me, almost apologetically, that he had been out sick for two days and hadn’t shown up at all. My heart gave an uneven bump. Was he all right? Had he fallen ill because of the rain — because of me? The thought sat uncomfortably in my chest. For a moment I debated going to their house. It felt like crossing a line. Then the guilt tipped the scale. If he was sick because he had carried me through the downpour,

Just as I stepped past their front gate, my phone rang. Tristan’s name lit up the screen. I had been hoping to leave before he noticed anything missing. My body still ached in deep, pleasant places from the night before — legs, hips, everywhere — and all I wanted was to get to work without another complicated exchange. I answered anyway. “Come back,” he said. “You took something that doesn’t belong to you.” I glanced down at myself and sighed. The jacket. Of course. “I’ll come,” I replied, and hung up. By the time I reached the door again he had already opened it. I stepped inside, suddenly aware of how disheveled I must still look. “My jacket had… our, uh—” “You mean the evidence of last night’s pleasure?” he finished calmly. I nodded, heat touching my cheeks. “I didn’t want to walk around with it, so I borrowed yours. I was going to return it.” “Sit.” The low tone made the word feel like more than a suggestion. “I have work. I can’t—” “Please. Just sit.” The way he said

Tristan I tried to break free, but she had tied the belts far too tightly. The leather bit into my wrists every time I pulled. A rough sound left my throat. I had never felt this helpless in my life. My cock throbbed so hard it bordered on pain, and the more she touched herself in front of me, the worse it became.I was starting to hate her idea. All I wanted was my hands free so I could grab her, turn her over, and end the torment myself. Instead I could only watch. Her fingers moved deeper, wet sounds filling the quiet room. It looked like she intended to come right there in front of me, eyes half-lidded, lips parted. Then she pulled her fingers free. Strings of her wetness stretched between them.I had never realized how filthy she could be. She always carried herself like a composed, almost soft woman. The person in front of me now was someone else entirely.She crawled toward me from the edge of the bed with the most sinfully seductive look I had ever seen on a woman’s face. Her

“Bestie, please talk to me.”Nova placed her warm hands over mine. The contrast made my skin feel even colder. “You called me here, but you haven’t said a word since I arrived. Is there something going on that you’re not telling me? Even on the phone you sounded… off.”If I had never discovered what she truly was, I would still have believed she was the best friend anyone could ask for. The thought alone left a bitter taste in my mouth.I looked at her. “How is work? I hope the business trip didn’t wear you out.”She smiled in that careful way of hers. “No, no. It didn’t. I hope you’re settling well at Rashford too.”I nodded. For a moment I simply studied her face, wondering how someone I had trusted so completely could plan this much damage and still sit across from me with soft eyes. I was planning my own quiet retaliation, yes — but I was still human. We would never have reached this point if she hadn’t betrayed me first.“Anyway,” I said, keeping my tone light, “my mother-in-law

By the time I reached home, the missed calls from Tristan were still flooding my phone like water. I didn’t answer a single one. I was done. Truly done. When I had gone to see him earlier I hadn’t even been angry — just finished. But hearing Nova’s voice come through his phone so easily, watching him still respond to her needs without hesitation, had lit something uglier underneath the decision. It wasn’t jealousy exactly. It was the realization that even the man I had used for revenge still had a soft place for the woman who helped destroy my marriage. Everything about the entire situation suddenly felt filthy and exhausting.I dragged the suitcases out of the closet and onto the bed. The zippers sounded too loud in the quiet house. I pulled open drawers and started throwing things in — blouses still on their hangers, the neat stacks of work trousers, the jewelry I had bought with my own money. Fabric hit the bottom of the bags in uneven piles. My hands stayed steady the entire time,