AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“They’re not after you. I already checked extensively, and the Moranos were not the ones who broke into your house,” Chris said. “I’m pretty sure the police set you up with that too.”
Then, he explained his theory of how Angel and the rest of his guys may have broken in and made it seem like it was the Moranos to force me to help them. That was more believable than anything else he’d said so far. This was clearly unchartered territory for me.
But my father, a millionaire? And Chris marrying me for my money?
Laughable.
Chris was staring at me oddly as a chuckle escaped me.
“Why are you laughing?” he asked, looking at me strangely. “And why are you still here?”
I shook my head. “Because I’m not leaving.”
“What do you mean you’re not leaving?”
“I mean that even though you’re a manipulative, scheming bastard, I’m not leaving you.”
He didn’t look happy to hear that. In fact, he swore profusely. “Damn it, Emily. Don’t you realize what’s happening here?” he groaned. “Some bastard is killing people to frame me. You don’t need to be associated with me right now.”
Suddenly, his true motives came to light. That was why he was telling me all these things. It was to paint himself in as negative a light as possible. He was trying to protect me. He was trying to push me away to protect me.
Because he loved me.
“I’m not going anywhere,” I said firmly.
“Why the fuck not?” he snapped, sounding exasperated again.
“Because I think I love you too.”
26
CHRIS
I stopped pacing, spinning around to look at Emily.
I couldn’t believe what she was saying. There was no way I heard that right. Or maybe she’d misspoken.
One of us had to have fucked up for me to hear what I thought I heard.
Emily’s face was straight and devoid of the devastation I was expecting. Actually, she took the news of my betrayal better than I thought she would. She didn’t cry or yell or call me all sorts of names like she should have. I deserved every single bit of her anger and rage and to have her never trust me again after what I did.
But she said she loved me too?
She didn’t repeat it, but I could see it there in her eyes, the soft vulnerability that wasn’t quite sure of itself. She didn’t know how I would respond to her yet.
The guilt and self-loathing inside me expanded to unbelievable heights.
“No, you don’t love me,” I replied, shaking my head.How could she love me after everything I did to her? How could she love a fucking using bastard like me who had possibly gotten her in danger? Who fucking got her pregnant and under the scrutiny of the murderous maniac who was trying to frame me?
Emily smirked a little at my response. “Is this the part where you tell me you don’t deserve me?”
“What you have for me isn’t love,” I told her. “It’s fucking Stockholm syndrome. I’ve held you hostage long enough that you’re starting to mistake your feelings to be love.”
“Okay, I would appreciate it if you don’t make assumptions and try to tell me what I’m feeling.” Her expression immediately showed her displeasure, along with a wry sort of amusement, as she brushed her hair back. I was happy to see that some color had returned to her cheeks. She looked a lot less pale, which was good. I could at least get some relief from that.
But her pregnancy still genuinely bothered me.
I could still see my father growing into a shell of a man after losing the love of his life. He married Chase’s mother sometime when I was a teenager—after they already had Chase—but he only married her so he could officially raise Chase as his son. By most accounts, he never loved my stepmother the way he loved my mother.
