Chapter 119 The Denial
Chapter 119 The Denial
“The blood on his hands.”
What… Did he mean?
Was he out of his mind?
I pulled my hands back from his grip instantly, the voice in my throat tightening around my throat that I could barely breathe.
“Wh–What are you talking about, Ar–Arden?”
I couldn’t help but to stammer, taking a step away from him.
“Wh–What blood?”
Arden’s expression didn't soften; his eyes remained cold, fixed on mine with an unwavering certainty that made it worse.
“Wh–Whose blood? What d–do you mean…?”
My voice broke, stepping away until I backed against the desk with endless unwanted thoughts entering my mind at once.
Arden observed me thoroughly before taking a step forward and stopping right in front of me.
“Ken,”
My eyes widened.
My functions shut down.
For the next whole minute, this world had turned into a blur.
I was trying too hard to contemplate the depth of the accusation. My head was spinning along with a nauseating feeling that twisted my stomach.
“Ken…?”
He tilted his head in order to study my face closely.
“Yes…” He whispered compassionately this time.
“Why would he…?” My vision began to blur with tears.
“He hired Ken. He had given Ken everything in order to destroy me… He won’t… Why?”
“And that is why he needed him out of the way before he told you everything.” He pressed on his words.
I put my hands up, shaking my head in denial.
“No… no, no, no, you must be mistaken….”
“You think he committed suicide, don't you?”
Arden closed the distance between us, right before my face, his voice becoming a low, lethal whisper.
“You think your abusive ex-husband just decided to jump off that building?”
“He did,” I replied too quickly as if I was desperately trying to convince my own heart.
My hands trembled as I pressed them against my temples.
“It was in the police report. It was everywhere—”
“He was pushed, Alyssa.”
“No—”
I tried to walk away, to get some air and let my mind be empty.
“He was thrown off that roof.”
But, Arden interrupted mercilessly, placing his hand on the table in order to trap me between his shadow while shoving the reality down my throat.
“Vince had him cornered.”
“Vince can be anything but not a murderer.”
“And when Ken refused to disappear from your life, Vince made sure he never took another breath.”
“Tell me you are lying.”
“Vince is the master manipulator.”
“Don’t destroy my world, Arden. Don’t do this.”
“The cops buried the file because Vince bought every single officer in that case."
“Stop it!” I screamed, my head began to throb badly as an unwanted sob escaped my lips.
“Stop lying to me!”
“I am not lying to you, Alyssa!”
“I agree Vince can be... manipulative…” I whimpered, tears spilling down my face as I tried to piece together my crumbling reality.
“I know he lied to me… I know he used me…But he cannot... He cannot murder someone, Arden…"
Arden let out a lifeless laugh, looking at me with a mixture of pity and frustration.
“Alyssa, listen to yourself,” Arden said softly, reaching out to gently grab my trembling wrists.
“When a man can construct your entire life according to his will…”
He gave my wrists a squeeze.
A squeeze of zero assurance.
“When he can fabricate a marriage, turn your family against you, and manipulate your every emotion... he can do anything.”
I stared at him, my mouth opening and closing as the air completely vanished from my lungs.
A suffocating distress seized my chest.
“No…” I whispered, the horrifying doubt took root in my mind.
“No... my Vince couldn't…”
“He did,” Arden whispered back, bringing my wrists to his chest, looking dead into my eyes.
“And if you stay with him, Alyssa, you are living with a killer.”
I became so frightened to lose my already shattered home that I decided to become pathetic and ended up begging.
“Please don’t say another word.”
“Alyssa….”
“I beg of you, Arden. Please do not speak anymore….” I breathed out shakily.
Pulling away roughly from him, I wiped my tears and began to pace around the cabin.
My foolish heart was still living in denial.
“You… you are saying this to fool me. You… you hate me.. No.. Vince.. He won’t… we love each other… he could never.. I…”
I was becoming crazy at this point.
Mumbling random made-up words in order to convince my own heart.
Arden watched for a few seconds with nothing but immense pity.
He had no idea how to deal with my mindless state.
“Alyssa, please…” Arden called quietly, stepping closer and cupping my cheek with a surprisingly tender palm.
He forced me to look at him.
To stop being crazy.
“The man you married isn't a saint, Alyssa.”
“Shut up.”
“He is a predator who wears a suit and speaks in soft tones while creating nightmares.”
I pulled back from his touch, I was panting heavily as I stared at the floorboards, my mind spinning into a dark vortex.
“You need to leave him, Alyssa. Walk away before he destroys whatever is left of you.”
“Where would I even go?”
I tilted my head, a darkness chains my heart with no intention of releasing me.
“My father is dead. My mother is broken. I have nothing. Nothing to live for….”
“You have me,” Arden whispered softly.
“Get out.”
“I will save you.”
“I said, Get out.”
He didn't force the point.
He simply stepped back, giving me space.
“I won't force you.”
His face softened into a quiet, sorrowful restraint.
“But please... open your eyes, Alyssa. Look at the monster standing beside you.”
Without another word, Arden turned, and walked out into the hallway, leaving behind a silence that felt heavier than death.
I stood alone in the dim office, my body was shaking violently, trying to process his words.
Ken didn't jump.
Vince killed him.
No, I couldn’t swallow these words. The nausea grew to the point I ended up throwing up on the floor right there.
The words looped endlessly in my head, tearing through every single memory I had built over the past months.
Every soft touch, every quiet promise, every midnight comfort...
Were they all just actions by a man who could take a life without blinking?
“Vince….”
I pressed my palms against my face, cold tears seeping through my fingers.
Maybe the man I loved never existed.
Or maybe... I had been loving a total stranger all this time.