Chapter 106 The Last Time

Chapter 106 The Last Time
CHAPTER 106: The Last Time

Cherry

I stood frozen in the doorway, the breath hitching in my throat as I stared at the figure on the bed. She looked nothing like the radiant woman I had seen at the Founders Ball a few days ago. Instead it was a woman who looked more like a broken porcelain doll than the Vera I knew. The violent map of bruises across her face, and the cuts on her lip made my stomach churn.

“Cher?” her voice was a fragile rasp, her eyes widening in genuine surprise as she struggled to prop herself up against the pillows. “How... How are you here? How did you get in? What are you doing here?” She rasped out, her eyes darting behind me.

I didn't answer immediately. I crossed the room and moved toward the bed, dragging a heavy velvet chair across the plush carpet to sit right beside her, my feet heavy like lead.

“Chauncey called me,” I whispered, trying my best not to break down in front of her.

A look passed across her face. “Chauncey?”

I nodded. “Mmm. He called and told me everything that happened. Even your husband, Silas... he actually asked me to come. He said you needed company, and he didn't want you to be left alone with just the nurse.”

Vera blinked, a flicker of surprise crossing her battered features, but she didn't react further. She just sank back into the mattress, her hand placed over her womb, looking smaller than I had ever seen her.

“How could you keep something like this from me?” I whispered, looking at the bruises that the demon had given her.

Her face fell, guilt seeping into her worn features.

“Cher, it's not like that.”

“Then what is it exactly, Vee?” I snapped, the hurt and anger finally bubbling over, sharp and bitter. “Why didn't you tell me that that animal, Damien, had finally found you? After everything we've been through, how could you keep that from me?”

“I was trying to protect you, Cherry,” she breathed, her gaze dropping to the sheets.

“Protect me?” I scoffed, leaning forward.

“I didn't want you dragged back into his orbit. If he also made you a target because of me, I don't know what I'd do. I thought I could handle it.”

“We’re best friends,” I snapped, my frustration peaking. I wished I could shake her to get some sense into her. “We’ve survived so much together, Vera. You're like my sister,” I whispered, choked by emotion.

She nodded, a tear sliding sliding into her hairline. “I know.”

“You don't get to decide when I'm 'safe' enough to know the truth.”

She went quiet, a heavy stillness settling between us before she finally began to speak.

“I'm sorry,” she whispered. “Please don't be mad at me. Don't hate me,” she pleaded in a small voice.

Swiping tears away from my eyes, I reached for her hand on the bed. “I'm a bit disappointed and upset, of course. But I could never hate you, Vee. I love you. You're my best friend.”

She smiled, relieved, gripping my hand firmly. “Thank you so much, Cherry.”

After a minute of silence, she took a deep breath and began to talk.

“There's something you have to know.”

“What is it?”

Then, she told me about the ball, about the man who had battled Silas to bid for that night. I remembered being surprised and curious about his identity. I was shocked when she told me how he claimed to be the father of her child in front of Silas. She told me how her husband had stepped in, and shielded her from him without a second of hesitation.

“He knows about that night?” I asked, surprised that she told him about it.

She nodded.

“You trust him that much?” I asked, my brow furrowing in confusion. I expected some hesitation or doubt, but I was wrong.

“Yes.”

“Okay. But how can you be so sure he was right? I mean you don't even remember a thing. And how does Silas know for certain that the man was just a phony?”

“Damien admitted it,” Vera said, her voice dropping into a hollow, haunted register.

I sat straighter.

“Admitted what?”

“He told me himself. He had sent that man specifically to ruin me.”

I felt the blood drain from my face. “Why? Why would he go to such lengths? Okay, I can understand him being mad about the money and you running away, but come on, It’s psychotic, Vera.”

She pursed her lips, a look flashing across her eyes.

“He doesn't want the money back, Cher. He wants to destroy me,” she whispered.

My stomach clenched tightly. “What do you mean?”

“He's blackmailing me. He threatened to go to Silas and tell him the entire truth about my past… when I was with him.”

My blood turned to ice.

“Silas doesn't know?”

“No, he doesn't. I don't think he does,” she replied. “He hates public humiliation and embarrassment. I doubt that he knows that I used to be an exotic dancer in Damien’s club.”

Anxiety flared in my chest like a match struck in the dark, but I forced my expression to remain unruffled. I couldn't afford to show her my own fears. It was the last thing she needed now.

I smoothed the fabric of my skirt with trembling fingers.

“Vera, listen to me. Don't worry about that bastard. He’s a wanted man now; the police are hunting him for what he did to you. He’s a criminal.”

“Do you think it's enough to stop him?”

“Even if he goes to Silas, it’ll be his word against yours. Silas won't believe a criminal over his own wife.”

She shook her head slowly, her eyes reflecting a terror that went deeper than just words. My assurances didn't seem to have worked.

“You don't understand, Cherry. It won't just be his word. He wouldn't come empty-handed.”

“What do you mean?" I asked, my heart hammering against my ribs.

“He might have pictures,” she whispered, her voice trembling. “Or tape recordings. Just like the last time. What if he gives it to him or sells it to the press this time?”

I stopped short, the air leaving my lungs in a painful rush.

I stared at her, my mind spinn
ing into a dark, confused void.

“The last time?” I repeated. “Vera... what do you mean by the last time?”