Chapter 8

Alyssa clung to Terrence's neck, her cheeks burning, her breaths shallow and uneven. "Terrence, stop. I can't handle this." Terrence buried his face against her chest, his voice gravelly with desire. "That guy touched you today. I'm making sure you don't forget who you belong to. You're not getting any rest tonight until I say we're finished." Alyssa arched back, her words coming out in gasps. "But Ms. Lundy might notice—" Before she could finish, Terrence went still, his gaze turning hard as he interrupted her, "She's deaf. She won't hear a thing. And don't even think about bringing this up to her." Alyssa sulked, her fingers tracing circles on his chest. "I get it. But it kills me knowing she's about to be your wife, while I'm just your secret." Terrence's expression softened as he heard her fragile tone, and he pinched her cheek. "You're such a jealous little thing. I let you into my house. What more do you want? Listen. Marriage won't change a thing. You'll still have me. Anything Thea gets, you'll get, too." Only then did Alyssa's smile return. "Then, promise you'll stay with me until the wedding." Terrence hesitated. The desperation in her gaze wore him down. "Alright," he replied. A spark lit in Alyssa's eyes. She pressed closer, her lips grazing his ear as she murmured, "And right now, I want all of you." Terrence's gaze turned predatory. He seized her waist, dragging her against him until they were knotted together again. A bolt of lightning flashed outside, illuminating Thea's ashen face as she stood outside the door. She clamped a hand over her mouth, smothering her sobs, her vision already swimming with tears. Even after all the mocking videos Alyssa had sent, nothing could have prepared her for the torment of witnessing it firsthand tonight. Each breathy moan and every intimate word stabbed through her, leaving her heart torn and bleeding. The sounds from within grew more intense. Thea couldn't take it anymore. She turned and fled. Back in her bedroom, she collapsed onto the bed, curling into a tight ball with her arms wrapped around herself, but the icy emptiness inside refused to subside. The breathless moans still tormented her, ringing in her ears no matter how hard she pressed her hands against them. Barefoot, she descended the stairs and fled into the pounding rain without looking back. The storm raged around her, but she felt nothing. The villa loomed behind her, a monstrous shape with gaping jaws, fueling her desperate need to escape as far as her legs could carry her. She drifted through the vacant streets, numb and dripping wet, the torrential rain making it difficult to keep her eyes open. Then, as if in a dream, the downpour eased. When she looked up, she could have sworn she saw Terrence as he'd been years ago, holding an umbrella over her, his eyes brimming with aching tenderness. "Thea, leave him. Leave the man I became. He doesn't love you anymore. Don't forgive him." Tears clouded her vision as she looked at the man she had once loved so deeply. Yes, she'd leave and never forgive him. Thea drifted homeward in a haze, the first faint glow of dawn bleeding into the night sky. She'd just shed her rain-soaked clothes and fallen onto the bed when Terrence opened the bedroom door without a sound. Following his nightly ritual, he tucked the blankets around her before drawing her close. Pressing a kiss to her forehead, he whispered, "I love you so much, Thea. Three more days, and you'll be my wife. We'll spend our entire lives together." He kept speaking, oblivious to the tear that escaped from the corner of Thea's eye. She remembered an online post claiming that uncharacteristic affection from men usually stemmed from cheating guilt. The concept had seemed abstract before. Now, she grasped it with painful clarity. All she wanted was for these final days to pass quickly, for her departure to arrive sooner.