“We should make that official,” he said.
“What? The baby?” My blood froze.
“I meant, the truth about no baby.” He laughed.
“What about your mom?”
He stiffened for a moment before replying. “I will tell her the truth.”
Cooking with Tristan was annoying and fun at the same time. He was bossy most of the time, and I almost gave up on learning his Nana’s recipe. The food was great, and to be honest, I forgot how it had been made after an hour.
I wanted to ask about his treatment, but a part of me knew he wouldn’t tell me. Today had to be the best day I had had since the incident.
The bodyguards were fired. Tristan believed it was over. I wasn’t sure if the person was satisfied.
Whoever it was, I hoped he or she was happy now.
Later that night,we both stayed awake in bed. I snuggled closer to him in the dark. I knew he was still awake. His beard grazed my cheek.
“Are you still having nightmares?” I asked quietly.
“Yeah, but not every day,” he whispered.
“Were you badly hurt?” he asked after a while.
I could feel his eyes on me in the darkness.
“No.”
“I’m sorry for hurting you. I will say that every day if I have to,” he mumbled.
“I’m not holding anything against you,” I told him.
“Thank you for staying. I thought I’d lost you.” He increased his grip around me.
“I’m here. I won’t let go or walk away. You’re stuck with me. No refunds,” I whispered, and I felt his smile against my cheek.
“Where have you been all my life?” he asked and kissed me before I could think of an answer. I didn’t even have one.
I wokeup when I heard a noise outside. I untangled myself from Tristan’s arms and checked the time. It was past two in the morning. I glanced at Tristan and quietly got down from the bed to avoid waking him up.
I left the room to check if it was Morris. I saw a silhouette from where I stood at the stairs.
“Morris?” I asked, going down with steady steps. I found the switch at the staircase and turned the lights on.
It wasn’t Morris. I was sure of that. The tall form and long legs convinced me it was someone else. The person took off before I could take a good look.
“Hey!” I ran down the stairs and followed the figure.
The intruder had a black hoodie on and looked too lean to be Morris. It had to be the monster tormenting Tristan with those memories from his past. I ran faster. Thank God for those laps my PE coach had forced me to finish back in high school.
I was gaining on the form. We ran past the pool to the other side of the yard.
“Stop!”
I increased my speed and knocked the body down with my whole weight. I pulled the hood down, and my eyes couldn’t believe who I was staring at.
“No way,” I mumbled.