Chapter 105

Chloe could still see Ruan in her mind, holding Megan while her old house burned to the ground.

She remembered waking up to the sound of sirens. Grace’s ice-cold hands held her body while she delivered the tragic news. Chloe rushed out in her pajamas and drove through the deserted streets of Phoenix just to see the house she once called home engulfed in flames, while her ex-husband comforted the great love of his life.

It still hurt like knives piercing her heart. It still hurt just like the very first day.

She couldn't stand staying there. Chloe needed to get away, and she actually drove all the way to the city limits. She wished she could leave Phoenix and never come back.

Why did she still have to love Ruan so intensely?

Why didn't that love die when he ran right back into Megan’s arms?

Tears streamed down her face without stopping for a single second. Chloe sobbed and groaned inside the car, a throbbing pain pulsing through her entire body, a burning heat scorching her chest.

This wasn't the life she wanted to live. She needed to leave to get over this love. She wanted to find a place where she could actually be happy.

Her phone buzzed on the passenger seat. She saw Ruan’s number flashing on the screen. She squeezed her eyes shut. He would keep chasing her as long as she lived in Phoenix. Escaping him felt completely impossible while they still lived under the same roof.

She let it ring until he finally gave up. She gripped the steering wheel tightly after wiping away her tears and started driving back into that living hell. It took Chloe nearly an hour to park back at the house. It was a holiday, so she didn't have to work, but the front of Grace’s house looked busier than the rest of Phoenix combined.

Two police cruisers sat parked right out front. Chloe’s heart jumped frantically. She leaped out of the car and sprinted toward the house, thinking that maybe the fire at her old place had hurt someone else too.

She froze at the door, her eyes filling with tears as Christopher ran to hug her.

"What is happening?" She held her son tightly; it was a massive relief that Christopher was okay.

The second she went quiet, Ruan’s presence filled the entire room—at least, that was the sensation Chloe always felt whenever he was near. She wanted to hate him and had tried so hard to do so for a very long time, but every single time she looked into his eyes, he stripped away her entire armor.

"Chloe, your dad's house, it..."

"I already know my house burned down," she interrupted Ruan, unable to bear looking at him without picturing him comforting Megan. "If you guys are here because of that, you can leave now."

She started walking away with Chris still glued to her side, when Ruan touched her for the first time that day. His touch felt warm and soft. Chloe looked up and saw something different in him, something she couldn't quite describe.

"Josephine was inside the house," he paused, his throat tight. "Your stepmother is dead."

Chloe raised her eyebrows, complete indifference washing over her face. Chloe had always wanted Josephine to pay for her crimes. Sometimes she still had nightmares about the miscarriage Josephine had caused. She still imagined what the child she couldn't have would look like. It burned like acid in her heart.

But regarding Josephine's death, she felt absolutely nothing.

She pursed her lips, her dull eyes locking onto Ruan. No tears, no words. Chloe grabbed Chris again and walked straight into the bedroom.

She was just about to have a talk with Christopher about everything that was happening when the door swung open and Ruan walked in.

"Chris, please go outside and stay with your Aunt Grace," he said, his eyes fixed on Chloe and the blatant impatience she showed by him being there. "I need to talk to your mother."

Ruan stood frozen in front of her as he listened to the boy’s footsteps head toward the door, waiting until it clicked shut and left the two of them completely alone.

"What do you think you're doing?" she asked, crossing her arms but keeping her gaze far away from his. "Didn't you realize that I want to be alone?"

Ruan took a step forward, and Chloe’s body trembled. She tried to back away until the wall hit her back, trapping her in place. She slowly raised her eyes to meet his, just as Ruan’s hand pulled her in and wrapped her in a tight embrace.

Her eyes widened. His body smelled like smoke; he felt warm and comforting, exactly the way she remembered him. Those good memories made all the love she buried inside her resurface. Chloe stood right on the edge of a cliff, so incredibly close to giving in, until she remembered that Ruan had offered that exact same hug to Megan.

She placed both hands against his chest and shoved him away.

"You should be with Megan right now, exactly where you were a few hours ago," she snapped as Ruan stepped back, looking completely confused. "I saw you with her. I feel like such a fool for believing you, for thinking that things between you and her were actually over."

Her heart raced erratically and her palms sweat as he stepped close again, moving so fast she couldn't even predict it. Ruan grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in urgently, crashing his lips against hers.

He kissed her the exact way he had wanted to for a very long time, but just hadn't found the courage to admit.