CHAPTER 65
LILY’S POV
~ I looked back at him with my brows furrowing deeply in suspicion but worse, with tears stinging at the back of my eyes. “Noah… How did you manage to find me and know I was in danger?” ~
Noah scratched the back of his head and his diamond-shaped face quivered with a nervous smile as if he was finding it difficult to give me an answer. This only added to my fear and suspicion, a confusing mix of anger and heartbreak but mostly heartbreak making my heart quake in my chest.
If Noah turns out to be behind these attacks, I don’t think I could bear the pain of the betrayal. Moving to this part of the country, he’s the one person I’ve come to trust and rely on in almost every situation. Without him, I don’t know where I’d be right now. Because of him, the scars I sustained from my past relationship were healing. Because of him, I was gradually learning to love again. His presence in my life has helped change a lot of things for good. Even my kids see him as a father figure. If he’s responsible, it would be the ultimate betrayal; the most disgusting and cruelest act he could ever think of doing. He’d be no better than those filthy bastards who tried to force themselves on me. Not only would I cut him out completely from my life, but I’d also make sure he pays for putting me through this hell and trying to tear me away from my children.
“Noah…!” I called out louder this time, my voice carrying a hurtful weight as the tears I struggled to hold back streamed down my cheeks. “Tell me you didn’t do this…tell me you’re not the one behind all these attacks…”
“What?!”…” Shock siphoned blood from his face as he looked at me with wide eyes, seeming clueless and extremely bewildered. “What are you talking about Lily… I’ll never do anything to hurt you… Why would you think that way?…”
“I don’t know, you tell me,” I said accusingly with a heavy note of indifference. “How do you keep showing up in the nick of time to save me as if aware I’m in danger? Maybe this is one of your ploys to play the hero and get me to owe my life to you. I can’t believe I looked up to you and always invited you over to my house to have dinner with my kids. You’re a disgusting man and boss. I never in a thousand years thought you’d stoop so low.”
He stared at me wordlessly in disbelief with his mouth hanging open. The level of shock and incredulity on his face was indescribable like he couldn’t believe those words were coming out from my mouth. Like he couldn’t recognize me as the Lily he knew anymore.
“For goodness sake quit acting dumb,” I hurled at him as I furiously wiped my tears with the side of my hand, realizing he wasn’t worth shedding a tear for. He looked away and shook his head in despair like one facing a heart-wrenching rejection from a loved one. “Look me in the eyes and tell me why you had to resort to this madness. Even after what we’ve been through. Even after the night we shared. Even after the love my kids have for you, you still went ahead to orchestrate something that nearly cost them the life of their mother?! How could you?!” I screamed at him, my raised voice mirroring the anger and hurt I was feeling inside.
My temper crossed uncontrollably, billowing like a thunderstorm in the car. I was so mad I would have shot him in the head if I had a gun now. He was the last person on earth I expected to do something like this to me. I can’t believe I sought refuge and solace in him. In his house. In his bed. In his fucking arms. I feel like the biggest fool on the planet.
“You’ve got to believe me, Lily,” he said with a pleading expression. “I’m not responsible for these attacks. You’re the one thing I value most in my life right now. I won’t even let a fly hurt you…”
“To hell with your sweet talks!” I spat, cutting him off.
I ripped off his suit jacket from my body and hurled it at him with all the rage I could muster, wishing it could wound him the way his actions had wounded me. With my bra the only piece of clothing covering the top of my body, I clawed at the car door, desperate to escape. I needed to get as far away as possible from him. Once I’m out, I’m heading straight to the police to report him. I’ll expose him to everyone at the company, letting them know the kind of monster they had as their boss. But the locked door refused to budge, trapping me in his suffocating presence.
“Open the damn door and let me out!” I snarled at him in frustration. “You’re so disgusting I can’t stand the thought of being in the same space with you. Let me out or else I’m going to break through this glass and scream at the top of my voice…”
“Please, Lily, stop this,” he pleaded, his voice raw with desperation as he tried to reason with me and calm me down. “Can’t you see what’s happening? This is exactly what whoever is behind all this is trying to achieve; to tear you apart, to make you doubt everyone around you and push us against each other. I didn’t do this, Lily. You have to believe me. Right now, we should be standing together, figuring out who’s behind this and making them pay, for your safety and your children’s.”
“Don’t you ever talk about my children again,” I snapped at him with a murderous scowl. “You’ve lost the right to do that.”
Turning deaf to his desperate pleas and explanations, I slammed my bare elbow against the glass window, over and over again, oblivious to the harm it could cause. The sharp sting in my arm and the tough resistance of the glass didn’t stop me as I continued slamming hard against it. I didn’t care that I was in my bra. All that mattered was breaking through. If I manage to break through and scream for help that will make people around believe he was trying to harass and assault me. I couldn’t believe it had come to this. But he brought this upon himself so I had no reason to feel bad or guilty about what I’m about to do.
As a sharp crack splintered across the glass, Noah lunged forward to stop me. In the course of our struggle, I grabbed the fancy metallic eagle figurine with sharp pointy ends on top of the dashboard and stabbed him on the side of the neck with it.