Chapter 24 peace Fading
I didn’t sleep much that night, I just laid in bed with my eyes open, staring at the ceiling, thinking about everything. My heart felt heavy and noisy with different thoughts running through it.
Carson didn’t come to bed, although I didn’t tell him not to… but he knew I needed space.
By morning, I stepped out of the room. Carson was on the couch, sitting with his hands together, elbows on his knees. He looked tired, like he hadn’t slept either.
He stood when he saw me.
“Good morning,” he said, softly.
“Morning,” I replied.
We stood there in silence for a moment.
Then I sat on the couch and he sat too, but not too close.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
I nodded. “I know,”I replied.
He sighed. “I should’ve told you everything from the start. About Bridget. About the fake engagement. About everything,”he said.
I looked at him. “Why didn’t you?”I asked.
“I was scared,” he replied. “Scared you’d walk away. Scared it would ruin everything.”he said again.
I looked down at my hands.
“But hiding it made it worse,” I said.
“Yes,” he whispered.
I turned to him slowly. “Was it really fake? Everything with her?”I asked.
“Yes,” he said.
“I swear. It was a business deal. Greg and his people wanted us to look like the perfect couple so investors would trust me more. It was part of the image they built for me,”He added.
“So you never loved her?” I asked.
“No,” he said quickly. “I never did. Not even a little,”he added.
I leaned back, and watched me for a long time.
“Do you still trust me?” he asked.
I was quiet for a while.
“I want to,” I said.
He reached for my hand slowly, and I let him hold it.
“We can get through this,” he said gently. “If you still want us.”
“I do,” I whispered.
And just like that, something soft returned between us although not perfect, not easy, but still strong and still real.
\---
We didn’t talk about Bridget for the rest of the day. We didn’t talk about anything too deep. We just stayed close, walked around the house together, ate toast and watched the news.
The news was everywhere, the files Carson released had exploded. Greg and Victoria were being called out online, their faces shown on every TV station. News reporters were talking about secret deals, money laundering, lies, and court hearings.
There were even people protesting outside Greg’s company building.
“They’re done,” Carson said.
But I wasn’t smiling.
Because Bridget’s words still echoed in my head.
“You’ll regret this,”she said.
That evening, there was a knock at the door again.
Carson stood up quickly, looking through the peephole.
“It’s Fred,” he said.
He opened the door fast.
Fred looked tired and rough, like he hadn’t showered in days. His eyes were red, and he had a small cut on his lip.
“Hey,” he said.
“Come in,” Carson said.
Fred walked in and looked around like he wasn’t sure he was safe yet.
“Where have you been?” I asked.
“Hiding,” he said. “After we leaked the files, they came for me too. But I’m good now.”
“You’re lucky,” Carson said.
“I know,” Fred replied. “I just came to say thank you.”he said.
“For what?” I asked.
“For finishing what we started,” Fred said. “You did it. You really exposed them,” he said.
“But you denied us at the court”I said angrily.
“I'm sorry, I have to,” Fred said.
Carson nodded. “But well we’re not done yet.”he said.
Fred raised his brows. “What do you mean?”
“There’s still more hidden stuff, money Greg sent to off-shore accounts. Bridget may even be involved too.”Carson said.
I frowned. “Bridget?”
Fred nodded. “Yeah. I saw her name pop up in some of the transactions. I didn’t think much of it until now,”he said.
“She’s not just some ex-fiancée,” Carson said. “She might be deeper in this than I thought,” he said.
I stood slowly. “So… her coming here wasn’t just personal?”I asked.
“Maybe not,” Carson replied. “Maybe it was a warning,”he said.
“I don’t like this,” I said.
“Neither do I,” Fred added. “But if we want to finish this, we have to look into her too.”he said again.
Carson nodded.
“Alright,” he said. “Let’s find the truth.”
We started digging again that night. The peace we had earlier faded fast. It was back to files and names and tracing steps.
Fred stayed with us and helped. He found emails, strange payments, and pictures that made our skin crawl.
And then we found Bridget’s name on bank records and even on a fake company.
“She was part of it all along,” Carson said in shock.
“I think she was spying for them,” Fred added. “Maybe she was even promised something big.”he said again.
“She told me she waited,” Carson said, his voice low. “But maybe she was just watching. Waiting for the perfect time.”he added.
I sat on the floor, holding one of the files.
“She’s dangerous,” I whispered. “I saw it in her eyes,”I added.
Carson came and sat beside me.
“I’m sorry she ever got close to me,” he said. “But I swear, she never had my heart.”he said again.
“I know,” I said softly. “But now, she has our attention.”i added.
””
The next morning, Carson received a message on his phone.
He stared at it for a long time.
“What is it?” I asked.
“It’s from Bridget,” he said.
I froze. “What does she want?”I asked.
He read it aloud.
“Meet me alone, with no police, no games. I have something you need to see.”
Fred shook his head. “It’s a trap,”he shouted.
“It could be,” Carson said.
“I don’t like it,” I said quickly. “Please don’t go.”
Carson looked at me.
“I have to,” he said. “If she has more secrets… I need to know.”he said.
“I’ll come with you,” I said.
“No,” he said gently. “I can’t risk you getting hurt.”he added.
“But—”i said but he cut me off
He took my hands.
“Trust me,” he said. “I’ll be careful. I’ll come back.”
My heart hurt, but I nodded.
“Come back to me,” I whispered.
“I will,” he promised.
Then he left.
And I watched the door, hoping it wouldn’t be the last time I saw him walk through it.