Chapter 195

Noah

The rest of the day barely happened.

I went through my classes like a ghost, staring at pages I couldn’t read, listening to professors whose voices didn’t even register as words. My hands were shaking too much to take notes. Every time I blinked, I heard Aiden’s voice again—steady for my sake but cracking around the edges.

We had no options.

No lawyers.

No escape.

Except for one, of course… and this was when I finally understood why desperate people did desperate things. I wasn’t a bad person, but even good people had limits, and I was getting real close to mine. You can only push someone so far before dangerous ideas start showing up, whispering shit you never thought you’d even consider. Because honestly—what gave one man the right to destroy so many fucking lives?

I took a deep breath, trying to shake it off. Trying to hold myself together.

By the time guitar class came around, I was done pretending.

I wanted William dead. Gone...

Keon strummed twice, frowned, then stared at me openly.

“Dude… you’re not even here.”

I forced a breath. “I’m sorry, man. I’m just… not okay today. I need to go.”

He set his guitar aside immediately. “I know something’s wrong. You’ve been off for weeks. If you don’t talk to me, I can’t help you. But… you know I’m here, right? Anytime.”

The guilt hit me harder than the concern.

I nodded, mumbled something like “thanks,” and left before he could ask anything else.

The evening didn’t get easier.

That night, I tried getting out of visiting my mom, but I figured she’d probably spent the whole day cooking my favorite dinner, so I went anyway. We talked about Emily’s new school, about Mom going back to her writing, about the million things they could finally do now that they had a little peace in their lives. I tried to match their tone, tried to smile, tried to look like the son and brother they remembered—but every expression on my face felt like it cracked halfway through. My hands wouldn’t stop trembling.

The wonderful food my mom had prepared tasted like ash in my mouth. Their voices, their laughter, their casual joy blurred together with the conversation I kept replaying in my head, over and over, until my stomach twisted so tight it physically hurt. I couldn’t focus. I couldn’t breathe right. I felt like I was folding inward in slow motion, trying to hold myself together at a table with people who finally felt safe… all while knowing I wasn’t.

By the time dinner ended, I was seconds from falling apart.

I stood to leave when Emily caught my sleeve.

“Hey,” she said softly, “can I show you a couple things?”

Her tone wasn’t normal.

I followed her anyway.

She led me to her room, closed the door quietly, and turned to me with that look—the one she only used when she already knew the truth.

“What’s happening?” she whispered. “You got news. I can see it. Please tell me.”

And I did once more, as my last bit of strength cracked.

I sat on the edge of her bed and shared what Aiden had told me that day. Enough to make her sit beside me and take my hand, her face tightening with fear of her own.

“There’s nothing I can do,” I choked out. “No lawyer will help us. No one will go against him. William has me by the balls, Em. There’s nowhere to go.”

She tried—God, she tried—to sound hopeful.

“We just need time. Once the divorce is over, everything will be better. You just have to wait. It won’t take that long.”

I shook my head. Hard.

“It’s not going to happen. Even if it does… what then? What am I going to do once I’m married to her? Once I’m stuck?” My voice cracked so badly it hurt. “I’m waiting for nothing. I’m fighting for nothing. And I’m losing everything that matters.”

Emily wrapped her arms around me, and I let myself fall apart.

Completely.

Silently.

Hopelessly.

When I finally pulled away, eyes burning and throat raw, I didn’t say anything else.

I just left her room feeling hollow, like something inside me had been scraped clean.

And for the first time since this whole nightmare began…

I couldn’t see a way out.

By the time the weekend rolled around, I was hanging on by a thread. Less than three damn weeks to the wedding, and everything was already “finalized.” Apparently all William needed from me was a pulse and a signature. Flowers? chosen. Cake? tasted. Dress? already fitted for Lexie and for my mom and Emily. Venues? booked before I even knew what city we were getting married in. Half the shit had been decided before I ever even met the girl.

And every time something needed “my opinion,” it was the fakest shit ever.

Like anyone cared what I thought.

They’d hand me two options and all I had to do was nod or point left or right.

Smiling like some idiot prop groom while they “included me.”

Riiiight…

They were happy though—my mom and Emily.

And I didn’t have the heart to ruin that for them.

So I sent them to do the fun stuff: cake tasting, dress fittings, floral arrangements. They actually enjoyed it. And I stayed out of the way as much as I could.

But fuck… it drained me.

Two days of nonstop wedding bullshit I didn’t give half a shit about and I was ready to scream. And I get it—they meant well. Lexie especially. She wasn’t trying to pushy or anything. She was just genuinely excited, but by Sunday evening I was done.

Tapped out.

Ready to sprint back to my dorm and hide under a pile of textbooks.

I was packing up my stuff when Lexie suddenly stepped in front of me.

“Noah, what about tonight?” she asked, almost shy. “Can’t you put down the studies for one night? You and I could… go out. On a date. We haven’t had one in forever.”

She wasn’t demanding, but it sure as hell sounded to me like a whine—like pressure.

More pressure.

More expectations.

And I snapped.

“I’ve been spending time with my family,” I said, louder than I meant to. “I keep my GPA up. I do everything your dad asks. I do everything you want. What else does anyone possibly want from me? I’ve had enough.”

The silence after that was brutal.

Lexie stared at me like I’d slapped her.

“What do you mean everything I want? Noah… this is something you want too. What are you talking about? I just wanted a date.”

I rubbed my face, already regretting it, but the fuse was still burning inside me.

Before anything else could blow up, Emily jumped in.

“Lexie, I don’t think he meant it like that—”

“Emily,” I snapped, “please stay out of this.”

She narrowed her eyes. “No. I won’t. I’ve been staying out of everything for weeks. And maybe I’d keep my mouth shut… if you would step into something for once.”

Lexie blinked. “What are you talking about?”

Emily looked between us — at Lexie’s confusion, at my panic — and said, very calmly:

“I think you and Lexie have a conversation you should’ve had a long time ago.”

My heart dropped.

“Emily—”

“No. I’m serious.” She pointed at Lexie. “Ask him. He owes you the truth.”

“Em—!” I tried again, but she walked out, deliberately closing the door behind her.

Leaving me alone with the fiancée I was supposed to marry in twenty days.

And a secret that was seconds away from exploding.