Chapter 295
He studies me, waiting for the rest.
“I kept my mouth shut because you were happy,” I continue. “And it wasn’t my place to blow up your marriage just because I thought she was two-faced p>
His jaw tightens and silence settles over the table, but for once, Noah actually listens instead of snapping back
“You’ve always claimed that Chloe loved you unlike Si,” I continue, “But I’m not sure how much of that was love and how much of it was obsession and need for control p>
Noah looks away.
“You never said anything,” he mutters, his eyes on the glass.
I lean forward. “Would you have listened? Hell, your family has been trying to tell you for years yet you never listened. What hope did I have that you’d actually listen to me p>
He looks at me then, but not angrily, just completive
“So, what did you find out exactly?” Gunner asks seconds later.
Noah swallows. “She never said all those nasty things p>
“Who? Si?” Gunner asks.
Noah nods, his eyes distant. Almost like he’s physically here but his mind is trapped in that memory.
“Chloe couldn’t stand that I liked her, so she made everything up p>
A dry laugh leaves Gunner. He goes to speak but Noah’s sharp eyes cut to him.
“Don’t you fucking say ‘I told you so,'” he snaps.
Gunner snorts, “I did fucking tell you but you wouldn’t listen… You chose to believe Chloe and because of that, you hated and hurt Sierra with the same intensity you crushed on her before p>
I can practically see the way he sucks in a breath like he’s been sucker punched in the gut. The way he folds in on himself, like his very soul has been ripped from inside him.
“For so long you’ve hated Si. For so long you’ve blamed her,” Gunner continues, practically digging the knife deeper, “And I’m not asking this to be an asshole, but how does it feel knowing you were wrong all along p>
He swallows, his eyes downcast, looking like he’s carrying the weight of the entire world.
“Like fucking shit p>
Those three words say it all. He looks like a man tearing himself apart from the inside.
“Why did you never ask her?” I ask curiously, “Why did you blindly believe Chloe p>
It’s something I’ve never understood. From what I know, he wasn’t close to Chloe back then, so why did he choose to believe Chloe instead of just confronting her about it?
Noah is quiet for such a long time that I start to think he won’t answer.
“Because I was afraid,” he whispers. “What if I asked and it turned out to be true? It would have fucking crushed me p>
“So instead you decided to hurt the girl that has loved you since you were ten?” I ask, unable to understand his logic.
“Yes,” he replies so softly I barely catch the words, “But it was just easier to believe what Chloe said than to ask and have my heart broken p>
I stare at him, wondering if he actually hears himself.
“That makes you a coward, you know that?” I ask, wishing I had been there to knock some sense into his thick skull, “From what Gunner has told me about Si, she seems like an amazing woman and yet you traded someone like her for what? Lies p>
He doesn’t answer, just continues staring into space with that tortured look.
“Adrian is right,” Gunner adds. “You traded a diamond for a stone and now that you’ve found out the truth, you’re drowning in regret, but guess what? It’s too late because damage has already been done p>
Noah grips the glass so tightly it almost cracks, but he doesn’t argue because he knows that we’re right.