Chapter 300: The Truth Will Hurt You

Holly’s POV

Everything.

The word screamed in my head, over and over, until it drowned out the sound of everything else around us.

Everything was wrong.

First it was the situation with Justin. And now…Rachel? The Jamesons are back in the picture?

Rachel was back, stirring chaos in LA, targeting my family… and David had just slipped out at dawn after locking me in.

Who did he meet up with? Was he working for them again? Was that the “urgent business” he had to take care of?

Her visit yesterday…what was it about? Were they planning on how to kill me? Or use me as a leverage against Ava?

Is Mason Brown working as a spy again for the Jamesons? Or was I spiraling? Overthinking every shadow into a monster?

David set the bags down, his eyes narrowing on me. “Holly? What’s wrong?”

I opened my mouth and closed it immediately. Everything sat on my tongue like poison and I couldn’t bring myself to spit them out.

“Holly,” he said again, softer, stepping closer.

I jerked, blinking hard, yanked back to the present. “Yes,” I lied. “I’m fine.”

He didn’t look convinced, but his expression softened anyway. “Thank you,” he said quietly. “For last night. For staying. For… taking care of me like you did. I don’t deserve it after everything.”

My chest ached. He looked so sincere. So exhausted.

But my brain wouldn’t stop. What kind of relationship did he have with Rachel now? Hadn’t he learned his lesson the first time…the nightmare that landed him in prison, wasn’t that enough?

Was she blackmailing him? Threatening to expose Justin unless he helped her finish what her family started?

What if I was the new target? What if Rachel came to town because of me…because I was Ava’s sister, an easier mark?

What if David was the real danger? What if Justin’s hints weren’t covers, but real warnings? What if David was playing me to get to my family?

What if…

No, David can’t do that to me.

Even as I said that, everything inside me screamed. Stop, Holly. Stop! You’re smart. Think clearly. Why else will Rachel Jameson come all the way from LA to see David?

“Holly,” David said again, voice laced with worry. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Where were you?” I blurted, the question bursting out before I could stop it.

He blinked. “Me? Uh… had some urgent business. Got a quick call from… someone, and—”

“Does that someone happen to be Rachel?” I cut in, voice sharp. “Rachel Jameson? As in, the Jamesons?”

He froze. The air between us turned thick immediately as he stared at me like I just caught him red handed.

I prayed…actually prayed…he’d deny it. Tell me I was crazy. Laugh it off. Because the infuriating truth was, even if he was using me, even if he’d approached me after playing hard to get…just to get close to Ava through me… I’d let him. I’d forgive him. That’s how deep he had me.

He blinked once and sighed. Then, he ran a hand through his hair, tugging hard. “Holly…”

“I’ll advise you to think carefully before you answer,” I said, voice trembling but steady. “Why is Rachel Jameson meeting Mason Brown? That can’t be a coincidence, can it?”

His eyes widened again…just a flash…but enough. He knew. He knew exactly what I was talking about.

He exhaled again, long and heavy, but said nothing.

Silence stretched between us, taut as a wire.

Fine.

If he wouldn’t talk, I wouldn’t stay.

“You know what?” I snatched my handbag from the counter, slinging it over my shoulder. “Keep whatever it is to yourself. I’m leaving.”

I stormed toward the door still in my pajamas, heart pounding so hard it hurt.

“You disgust me, David,” I threw over my shoulder, reaching for the handle.

His hand clamped around my arm in an instant…firm but not bruising…spinning me back.

“Hey, hey, hey…Holly, baby…” His voice cracked, raw with desperation. He pulled me close, eyes searching mine, wild and pleading. “Don’t leave. Please.”

I stared up at him, breath caught in my throat.

His grip on my arm wasn’t hard, but it stopped me cold…like the touch alone could root me to the floor. His eyes were wide, glassy, pleading in a way I’d never seen from him. Not the controlled, guarded David I knew. This was raw. Broken open.

“Give me one good reason why I should sit down here and let you play me like a fool, David!” I snapped at him.

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’ll tell you everything you want to know,” he said, voice cracking. “Just…don’t leave me, Holly. Please, Holly. I can’t—”

“Can’t what?” I yanked my arm, but he didn’t let go. My voice rose, shaking with everything I’d been holding in. “Can’t tell me the truth? I know that right now, your brain is probably coming up with excuses instead of the truth. Can you look me in the eye and explain why you’re sneaking around with Rachel Jameson? Why Mason Brown…her family’s ex spy…is suddenly in the picture again? My family, David! Ava, Orion…they’re being targeted! Shot at! And you… you’re tied to the people doing it? Again?”

His face crumpled. Actually crumpled…like I’d punched him in the soul. “Holly, no. God, no. It’s not what you think. I don’t know anything about Ava and Orion being targeted.”

“Then what is it?” Tears burned my eyes now, hot and furious. I shoved at his chest with my free hand. “Tell me! Because right now it looks like you’re still working for them. Like everything between us was a lie to get close to me…to get to Ava through me!”

He flinched like I’d slapped him. His hand dropped from my arm, but he didn’t step back. Instead, he crowded closer, hands hovering like he wanted to touch me but was terrified I’d shatter.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Holly. The truth…it will hurt you,” he whispered, his eyes moist like he was about to cry.

“You think hiding it protects me?” I whispered, voice trembling. “It doesn’t. It just makes me doubt you.

Makes me think…maybe Justin was right. Maybe you’re the monster.”

He recoiled like I’d stabbed him. His hands fell away. “You think that?” His voice was barely audible, destroyed. “After everything? After last night?”

I sobbed once…ugly, heartbroken. “I don’t know what to think anymore because you won’t tell me what is going on!”

Silence crashed between us, heavy and suffocating.

Then he stepped forward, cupping my face with shaking hands, thumbs wiping my tears. “Look at me,” he begged. “I’m not perfect. I’ve done things I’ll never forgive myself for. But hurting you? I couldn’t do it. I was supposed to, Holly. But I couldn’t do it anymore.”

I stared up at him, chest aching, torn between pulling away and falling apart in his arms.

“I love you,” he whispered, the words ripping out of him like they hurt. “God help me, I love you. And it’s killing me that I’ve made you doubt that.”

The room spun.

I love you.

The confession hung there, raw and real and terrifying.

My hands fisted in his shirt. I wanted to scream. To kiss him. To run. To punch somebody.

Instead, I broke.

Sobs tore out of me as I collapsed against his chest. His arms wrapped around me instantly, crushing me close, like he was afraid I’d vanish.

“I’m sorry,” he murmured into my hair, over and over. “I’m so sorry. I’ll tell you everything. Stop crying.”

I clung to him, crying harder, the confrontation shattering us both. I should be angry at him and at whatever he has to say…but I couldn’t bring myself to hate him.

And even as I held on, one question burned through the tears…

Would he have opened up to me if I didn’t find out the truth?

How long has he been playing me?