Damien gave me a long, resentful glance before slipping on his clothes, fastening the expensive watch she’d bought him. Then he left without another word.
I stayed kneeling, unmoving.
Not because I wanted to—but because the pain in my knees was sharp and raw. Even the smallest shift hurt.
Celeste’s voice turned cold.
“Still nothing to say?”
I shook my head.
She clenched her jaw.
“It’s just the two of us here. No listening devices. You can talk freely.”
“I know,” I replied quietly.
She threw her cigarette to the ground and stormed toward me. One hand gripped my neck, the other held up a photo of a woman.
“You and I both know she’s the killer. Why won’t you testify? What’s your connection to her?”
I stared at the woman in the photo and let out a bitter laugh.
“I don’t know her.”
“Then why protect her?”
I met Celeste’s furious gaze, unwavering.
“I’m not protecting her.”
She shoved me to the floor, pacing the room like a storm waiting to break.
“Was my brother not good to you?”
At the mention of Alden, my throat tightened. My eyes stung.
I shook my head.
“He was the best brother I’ve ever had.”
She crouched beside me and yanked my chin up.
“Then how can you let the one who killed him walk free? Is this how you repay him?”
I was speechless.
With a snarl, Celeste hurled the photo at me. It landed at my feet, the image facing up.
It was Alden—his body mangled, dangling from a tree like discarded trash. Blood crusted over open wounds. His lifeless eyes stared right through me.
I gasped and instinctively covered my eyes. That image...
It was the nightmare that had haunted me every night since.
“You can’t stand it, can you?” she hissed, stepping closer.
She grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at her.
“Then tell me what that bitch did!”
Her voice shook with fury and desperation.
“If you testify—I swear—I’ll send Damien away immediately!”
My vision blurred as tears welled up, but I still managed a bitter smile.
“No need.”
Her hand on my shoulder froze.
“Are you seriously okay with watching me sleep with him, right in front of you?”
I nodded faintly.
“It’s okay.”
Slap!
The force of her hand turned my face to the side. My skin burned.
Her fist trembled in the air.
“Gideon, you’re such a—such a damn coward!” she shouted, voice cracking.
“You’re pathetic... pathetic…”
Each word struck harder than the slap itself.
How could she say that?