Chasing The Forbidden

Chapter 14

Secrets in the Darkness

Nolan ran a hand through his hair and breathed hard. Perfect. You seek the truth? Marcus wants to bury what I have ever created, including you, not only destroy me.

"Me?" My voice stammered, stuck in uncertainty mixed with resentment.

His voice rough, he said, "You were my greatest strength, Sophie." And I became weak when I lost you. Marcus is aware of it. He is making use of it.

Heart pounding, I fixed my gaze on his. So I am a weapon in this warped game you play?

Not at all. He moved forward, his voice softening. "The only thing I have really given any thought is you. I therefore require your faith, since.

His comments seemed like a tidal wave, threatening to submerge me under a sea of contradictory feelings. Though I wanted to yell at him and shove him away, I couldn't overlook the desperation in his eyes or the truthfulness in his voice.

I detested that part of me still felt, that I could not turn off the emotions I believed I had buried. But compassion carried danger, and risk meant suffering.

My voice a little above a whisper, I said, "I'm not sure whether I can trust you."

Nolan stretched out his fingers across mine. Then let me earn it, he said. "Whatever it takes."

"What from you does Marcus want?" Drawing my hand away, I asked.

"To play his game," Nolan muttered coldly. "He wants me to hand him control, damage my own company, and vanish silently."

And if you fail as well?

Then he goes public with everything, Nolan said. "Everything I have spent years trying to correct the bad deals, the mistakes, the betrayals."

"And me?" My voice faltered.

Nolan's expression clouded. You start to become collateral damage.

"That's not good enough," I shouted, redoubling my fury. "You cannot just stand here and tell me to trust you when you are not even defending yourself."

"You consider me not to be fighting?" Nolan caught himself, his voice cutting. "I am doing everything I can to keep you safe, Sophie. That is everything that counts to me.

Then prove it, I responded, eyes narrowing. "Show me you're ready to struggle for something other than yourself."

The room went still, my challenge weighing between us. Nolan fixed me with an incomprehensible look.

"I'm not perfect," he murmured at last, his voice lower. Still, losing you was the most important one. And I pledge, Sophie, I will do whatever it takes to mend us.

I would have liked to believe him. I wanted to allow the barriers I had constructed around my heart to fall apart. Trust, however, was not something you could recover overnight.

"Nolan," I started, but I was interrupted outside the door by a footfall.

Nolan's body stiffened, and he gestured to me to be still. The footfall got louder, pausing just outside the door.

"Who is it?"? I murmured while my pulse surged.

Shaking his head, he held his palm over the doorknob. "Stay back," he whispered.

My breath seized in my throat as someone attempted the handle and the door ruckled.

From the other side, "Nolan," a familiar voice called, "We ought to chat."

Nolan said, "It's Marcus," narrowing his gaze.

My heart fell. Just steps away stood the man dragging the cords, who had threatened my life.

Marcus responded, his voice shockingly calm, "Open the door, Nolan." Here among us are all adults. Let us have a little conversation.

Nolan turned to face me, his mouth tight. "Stay behind me, whatever happens," he said.

The door opened before I could reply, Marcus walking coldly and with authoritative authority inside. His gaze slid to mine, a grin twisting at the margins of his lips.

"Well," he murmured, staring for a moment. "This just started to get interesting."

And at that instant I understood the game was considerably more hazardous than I had thought.

"You need not do this, Sophie." Though Nolan's voice was hardly audible above a whisper, his tone's raw intensity hit me like lightning.

My hands shaking, I moved away from him and grabbed the counter's edge. "And Nolan, what decision do I have? You pulled me into this. Like you, I am in crosshairs right now.

Stepping forward, he continued, "I was trying to protect you." I looked at his image in the glass; his face seemed to combine despair with guilt. "I'd do anything to keep you safe."

My chest thumping with irritation, I whirled to meet him. You do not understand it, then? You protect me; I need you to trust me. Tell me the truth instead of shutting myself out. Complete all of it.

He paced the room like a caged beast, raking his hair. The reality cannot simplify any of this. It will probably increase your risk.

"You find me not already in danger?" I took a quick snap. Marcus is out there endangering your life as well as mine. If you won't even show me the whole image, how am I meant to defend myself?

Nolan stopped, staring right at me. "Because I cannot fathom you despising me more than you already do."

His words cut through me like a trail of pain and uncertainty. Though the vulnerability in his voice stopped me short, I wanted to shout and demand answers.

Deafening stillness between us filled with all the words we were too terrified to utter. Between the confidence he was seeking and the treachery still hovering over our history, my heart battled with my head.

I wanted no feeling for him. The suffering in his voice or the way his shoulders slanted beneath the weight of his shame did not appeal to me. I did, though.

My voice softening, I moved closer against better judgment. "I am not hateful of you, Nolan. Though I dislike your decisions, I do not detest you.

He stared at me then, something I couldn't quite identify in his eyes: hope, maybe, or sorrow. He added gently, "You don't know how much it means to hear you say that."

"Don't make me regret it," I said, my voice solid despite the slippage in my will.

"What are you not telling me?" I crossed my arms and asked. "What do you, Marcus have?"

Nolan stopped, his teeth closing. It goes beyond me as well. It relates to my firm, my reputation—all I have worked for. He has proof capable to destroying everything.

"What type of evidence?”

Admitting, "Enough to make me look like a criminal," he said "And if it gets out, it will damage everyone linked to me, not just me. Considering you.

"That's not fair, Nolan," I shouted, getting more angry. "You are not here to make choices for me. Should I already be in danger, I should be entitled to know why.