Chapter 73 The Lie Between Us
Mark’s POV
I couldn't even wait to step out of the car before replaying the footage on my phone.
My thumb shook slightly, dragging over the screen, rewinding, pausing, zooming in.
The boutique’s internal camera showed Becca standing by the counter… then someone walked in.
A woman.
Her face wasn’t caught only her hair, her silhouette, the curve of her shoulders.
The camera angle hid everything that mattered. But I watched the moment her hand dipped into the vase.
The blink of a tiny red light. A camera.
She planted a damn camera in my woman’s shop.
My jaw clenched so hard it ached.
But what made the anger twist into something deeper and colder was the memory of Becca’s voice just minutes ago.
“No. No one visited me.”
It wasn’t a hesitation. Not a flinch or even nervousness.
Just a clean, confident lie.
And that… that hit somewhere I wasn’t prepared for. I trusted her with a softness I never gave anyone. She knew that. And still—
I exhaled sharply, forcing myself to push the emotion down before it swallowed me whole.
I forced myself out abd went into the Simmons building.
I made it half way to my office when behind me, my new secretary jogged up the hallway with a folder clutched to his chest.
“Sir, we have a situation.” He sounded out of breath.
“A company just entered the market with a counter-project. Our stocks dipped by twelve percent in the last three hours.”
I didn’t have space in my brain for anything else.
“My company stocks just fell flat by 12% woww!”
“Leave it on my desk,” I muttered.
“But sir…”
“I said leave it. I’ll look at it later.”
He hesitated, then obeyed.
I shoved the footage back into my pocket, i made an even turn to the direction I came from.
Got into my car, and drove straight back to the boutique.
If she lied to me… I needed to see her face when I asked again. I needed to understand why.
The night sky was bruised purple by the time I parked.
Through the glass, I saw her bent over a table, arranging strands of silk like she was trying to repair broken things with her bare hands.
When I pushed the door open, she didn’t even look up.
Her shoulders sagged with exhaustion. Her hair was in a messy bun.
Her eyes were hollow from lack of sleep.
Something twisted painfully inside my chest.
“Becca,” I said softly.
She blinked up, startled. “You came back?”
“I didn’t like how we ended things.”
“We didn’t end anything,” she murmured, returning to her fabrics.
“I’m just trying to fix what’s left.”
Her voice carried something, tiredness, stubbornness, and something I couldn’t name.
“It’s late,” I said. “Come home with me.”
“No.”
Just that.
One syllable that was sharp enough to leave a cut.
“I’m not leaving this place until the dresses are ready,” she added. “I already lost three weeks. I can’t lose more.”
“Becca, I’ll pay every penalty. Every fee. Hell, I’ll buy the entire damn gala if I have to.”
“I don’t want you to fix it!” She snapped so quickly her breath shook with the force of it.
“This is my work, Mark. My name. My dream. I won’t let you wipe away my failure with your money like it’s nothing.”
My chest tightened. She had no idea how much I respected her for that.
But right now… she didn’t sound strong. She sounded like she was drowning and pushing away the only hand trying to pull her out.
I stepped closer.
“Becca, tell me what’s really wrong.”
“Everything!” She laughed; a broken, humorless sound.
“Everything has been wrong since the boutique got destroyed. I’m behind schedule. I’m sleeping in two-hour shifts. The gala is in three days. Three, Mark.”
I reached for her arm. She jerked back.
And that… that hurt in a way I didn’t see coming.
Her voice lowered, trembling at the edges.
“And Mark… don’t visit me for a while.”
For a moment, I forgot how to breathe.
“Excuse me?”
She swallowed hard. Her fingers tightened around a piece of fabric until her knuckles whitened.
“I need space,” she whispered.
“You’re shutting me out.”
She didn’t deny it. She didn't even bother to explain herself.
“Becca what is wrong with you?” I asked but my answer was dead silence .
I took a slow step back. My heartbeat felt uneven, like something had cracked in the quiet space between us.
“Becca,” I tried again, softer this time, “why did you lie to me?”
Her head snapped up.
“What?” she whispered.
My jaw flexed. “Someone visited you today.”
“I..Mark..”
“Don’t,” I said quietly. “Not today.”
Something flickered in her eyes? Fear?
I didn’t know. But she didn’t defend herself. She didn’t ask how I knew. She didn’t explain. She just lowered her gaze and stayed silent.
And silence was an answer of its own.
I stepped toward the door, halted by the knob and looked back at her one last time.
“Whatever you’re hiding… it’s not protecting you.”
Her lips parted, but no sound came out.
And God, it hurt to walk away from her like that
But I did.
The cold night air hit my skin as I exited the building. I barely made it two steps before my phone buzzed violently in my pocket.
Collins.
I picked it up immediately.
“Sir… there’s a problem.”
“Has there ever been a problem season not?” I muttered. “Speak.”
“It’s Carmen.”
My stomach dropped.
“What about her?”
There was this pause before the next statement.
“She broke out of jail.”
I stopped dead on the sidewalk.
“What?” My voice came out sharper than a blade. “How?”
“We don’t know yet. But she’s gone,”
It wasn't surprising, I was dead sure that Daniel had a hand in it.
I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose.
This was spiraling too fast.
“Sir?” Collins pressed. “Should we activate the tracker?”
“No.”
“Sir…”
“Not yet.”
My tone brooked no argument.
“If she’s with Daniel, activating it now will alert him. And I need him thinking he’s invisible.”
“What are your orders?”
“Find the lawyer. Craft her bail quietly. If this gets out to the press, her record is destroye.”
“She destroyed your girlfriend’s boutique,” Collins reminded gently.
“She’s still my sister,” I said, voice low.
When the call ended, I stood there for a long moment, staring at the quiet street, my breath forming ghostly clouds in front of me.
Becca was inside, stitching her world back together with trembling hands.
Carmen was outside somewhere, running straight into danger.
Daniel was in the shadows, waiting for the right time to strick
And I was caught in the middle, watching every line in my life blur at once.
I glanced back at the boutique window.
Becca didn’t look up.
She didn’t know I was still standing there.
And for the first time since I met her…
I felt like I didn’t know how to reach her.