Angela, who had been silent until now, gave Kirsten’s hand a faint squeeze and turned her face away.
Understanding, Kirsten reluctantly stood and left the room closing the door behind her.
Finally alone, Trey loosened his tie and sat beside Angela. He reached for her arm, but she shoved him away.
“Come on, Honey, let it go, alright? I’m so exhausted lately!” he said.
Angela remained silent, but after a moment, her shoulders began to shake softly.
Trey knew she was crying again. His chest ached, a sharp, piercing guilt.
“I’m sorry. This is all my fault.”
He wrapped his arms around her from behind, holding her tightly no matter how she tried to pull away.
“The company is a disaster. Deals are falling apart, the losses are piling up, and my family is at each other’s throats. I’ve been completely overwhelmed I haven’t had he energy to be there for you.
“As for Khloe… there is nothing between us. She threw a fit and disrupted work. I was just managing the situation.
?
His explanation seemed to slowly calm her. Angela stopped resisting and sat quietly in his embrace as he continued.
“You know, Khloe still has her uses. If she gets suspicious, it ruins everything. Is your faith in me really that weak?
Trey sighed, bitterness threading his low, weary voice.
“I told you… I’m just scared,” she whispered, her voice hoarse from tears. “After all these years, what if you’ve changed? I only worry because… you’ve spent two years working side-by-side with her every day. How could I not?
Gently, Trey turned her to face hi utterly broken.
The scent of alcohol clung to her, her cheeks streaked with tears-she looked
This was the woman who had once carried him on her back for three days and nights through a blizzard. The strong, resilient girl who had saved his life now seemed so fragile in his arms.
When he was six, he’d gotten separated from his group during a winter camp in the mountains. As a deadly snowstorm raged and the cold threatened to claim him, a warm voice whispered in his ear, begging him not to fall asleep.
That voice stayed with him for three long days and nights.
He later learned it was Angela who had found him and carried him to safety.
“My life is yours,” he vowed. “I promised I would repay you forever, that I would never waver. If I break that promise, I-“
Before he could finish, Angela pressed her fingers to his lips, stopping him.
Her face was flushed, her eyes glistening as she leaned into his shoulder. “Don’t say such terrible things. I believe you. It’s just… sometimes my thoughts spiral. After all, you see Khloe every day…”
Trey managed a soft chuckle and pinched her cheek lightly. ‘Silly girl. Some connections are forged in an instant and last a lifetime. And other people are just passing through. No matter how long you know them, fate will never truly tie you together.”
The memory of that mountain-his real first meeting with her always filled him with a profound sense of duty. From childhood until now, no one, not even his parents, had ever made him feel that way.
For that single moment of salvation, he was willing to give her everything.
Angela was his everything.
As for Khloe… she was remarkable in her own way.
At times, he wavered. At times, he wasn’t sure if it was guil or something else stirring in his chest.
But Trey knew one truth: none of it mattered.
He stayed with Angela until she finally calmed. By the time they returned home, it was already two in the morning.
Trey carried Angela back to her room with painstaking care terrified of making a sound that might wake Khloe.
He glanced at Khloe’s door. It remained tightly shut.
He told himself she couldn’t possibly have been gone for more than two nights. She had a temper, sure, but Khloe knew her limits. She had to be in there, asleep.
Besides, the pair of luxury heels he’d bought her-her favorites-were still neatly lined up in the entryway.
Exhaustion weighed on him, but after a moment’s hesitation, he turned and walked toward Khloe’s room.
New Book: Back Home to Marry Off Myself
Loredana’s father left the family for his mistress, leaving them to fend for themselves abroad. When life was at its toughest, her father showed up with “good news” after 8 years of absence: To marry off Loredana to a paralyzed son of the wealthy Mendelsohn family.