Before I could respond, he strode out of the room, his urgency betraying his eagerness.
Quietly, I slipped out of bed, following him on silent feet. From the shadowed corner of the staircase, I watched as Lex caught up to Phoebe, pulling her into a secluded corner of the garden.
“How many times have I told you to stay away from Tara? Why don’t you ever listen?” he hissed, his frustration barely contained.
Phoebe pouted, turning her face away in a show of petulance.
Lex’s tone softened immediately, his voice tinged with a tenderness that turned my stomach. “What is it now? Don’t tell me you cry because I scolded you,” He reached out to touch her cheek, his thumb grazing her skin in a gesture far too intimate for my liking. “Come on, stop crying. You know I can’t stand it when you cry. Am I being too harsh?”
“You need to be good and listen for now. Go back first and I promise to give you whatever you want later, okay?”
Phoebe pouted, her lips curving into a mischievous smirk. “Then I want you to kiss me right here! If you kiss me, I’ll behave and leave.”
Lex hesitated, clearly torn between refusal and compliance. After a moment, his expression softened into one of indulgent helplessness. Cupping Phoebe’s face in his hands, he kissed her—starting with her eyes, trailing down to her nose and finally landing tenderly on her lips, the gesture both intimate and deliberate.
Tears burned down my cheeks as I watched from the shadows. The pain that I thought had dulled long ago stabbed at my heart anew. So this was what he meant when he claimed Phoebe was “just a physical outlet.” Lex had lied to me, lied to himself and buried himself in that delusion.
How could he not see that love and physical connection are inseparable? His body, his heart—everything about him was irredeemably tainted.
Swallowing the lump in my throat, I forced myself to retreat quietly back to the bedroom. My phone buzzed on the nightstand and the sight of a new message sent a chill through my veins.
Phoebe: [Miss Copeland, did you know that during the days you were unconscious, Mr. Blackburn and I were cuddling and kissing right beside your bed every day?
Sometimes, when he couldn’t resist anymore, he’d take me to the storage room next to your bedroom. The walls aren’t soundproof, you know. If you’d been awake, you might’ve heard some... rhythmic noises through the wall.