Chapter 43

Jasmine I lay back on the bed, my heart aching. I still couldn’t believe what I had witnessed. It felt like a nightmare that I didn’t want to become a reality. I couldn’t believe that I had allowed myself to be fooled by Noah.

I would have sworn that he genuinely cared for me, like I do for him. How could I have been blinded by this side of him?

Their sounds of m***s and cries filled my ears again as I buried my head in the pillow in frustration, and the feeling of betrayal reeked through me.

I had actually given a lot of thought to moving on to Noah on our way back from school. I had thought of a possible future with him. Especially since Mia and her brothers have decided not to give me a listening ear.

But coming back to meet those hoodlums that attacked us threw me off guard. It made me question everything I thought I knew about Noah.

And to add to my pain, I caught him sleeping with Freya, someone he claims to be helping. All these make me question his intentions towards me. Why would he be doing the most if he doesn’t genuinely love or care for me?

I couldn’t keep going through this with Noah, having him cheat on me and treat me like I was nothing to him. I might have cheated on him once, but I apologized and tried my best to never let it happen again.

I let out a loud sigh, trying to calm the pain and rage building inside of me. I glanced at the wall clock. It had just passed midnight.

Considering there was little or nothing I could do that late, I went back to sleep.

I woke up the next morning feeling weak and tired. I turned to the other side of the bed, hoping to find Noah there, but he was nowhere to be found.

I got up from the bed, rubbing my blurry eyes as the images of what happened the night before flashed through my mind.

Even though I knew it won’t make much of a difference, I needed to hear him say why he has chosen to hurt me in such a way.

I stretched as I headed for the main room. If he wasn’t in the room, he should be there. I got there only to find the clothes he wore the day before on the floor, along with Freya’s underwear.

Seeing those clothes seemed to open up a fresh wound on my inside as my eyes toured around the sitting room.

I wondered where they were. I headed for the bathroom and knocked on the door, but there was no answer.

“Noah!” I called, still knocking on the door. “Noah, are you in there?” I asked, but there was no reply.

I finally pushed the door open, but there was no one in the bathroom.

He had left without saying anything, as if nothing had happened, even though I was sure he must have noticed that I had seen them.

That moment, I realized I have had enough. I couldn’t let him keep treating me like I was nothing. It is better to be alone than with someone who makes you feel less of a person.

I headed back to the room to grab my bag from the shelf; luckily, I had yet to fully unpack. So I tossed in the few things I had brought out.

Even though I wasn’t sure where I was going to go after this, I had to leave his house. I would think about where to stay later. I finished packing the bag and rushed into the bathroom for a quick shower.

Minutes later, I emerged from the room with my big bag in my hands, already dressed and ready to leave the house.

I was about to step out of the room when I remembered what had happened when we got to his house the previous day—how the sturdy and dangerous-looking men had attacked us, warning him to give them their money or they would be back.

Despite all my efforts to ask him the type of business he had with those men, he kept insisting it was nothing serious.

I could tell something wasn’t right, and Noah was trying to hide whatever this thing was from me. Now that neither he nor Freya were around, I could search before they returned.

I needed to find out what that was before leaving. I had to uncover what he was trying to hide.

I rushed back into the room, scouring through Noah’s drawers and files. Minutes passed as I continued searching, and it felt like an endless task. Nothing seemed suspicious in all I had seen.

I stopped, hands on my h**s. Could I have been wrong about him? Was I overthinking? Was there truly nothing to be suspicious about?

These doubts crept in, but my instinct told me otherwise. Noah was hiding something; I just needed to search more diligently.

I resumed my search, this time meticulously inspecting every nook and cranny and reading every scrap of paper I came across. Perhaps there was some hidden clue I had missed.

In the midst of my search, my hand accidentally knocked on a large, framed picture hanging on the wall. It fell and shattered, revealing something that left me in shock.

Behind the fallen frame were files and documents, along with a drive. This had to be what I was looking for. I picked them up and started examining the documents.

My eyes widened with disbelief; Noah was connected to the most dangerous and notorious mafia gang in the country.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I inserted the drive into the table’s computer. Folders filled with information opened up before me. I searched until I found one that related to Mia and my friends. What I saw left me in disbelief. Noah had been behind it all.

The video revealed his entire plan and how he intended to take down the three brothers and their families. Noah was even responsible for the warehouse incident, the same incident that had left me wondering who could have done such a horrendous thing.

My heart raced. I had been so wrong about the person I thought I knew. I had believed Noah was the hero of my story, but he turned out to be the villain.

My mind flashed back to the times when Mia would say she wasn’t comfortable around Noah. Mia had warned me repeatedly; she had never trusted Noah. I had dismissed her concerns as overthinking and being protective of her brothers, but now I have seen that she had been right all along.

How could I not see it?

I have been so blinded by trust and the love I thought we both shared, failing to see Noah’s true nature or pay attention to the warning signs.

I hurriedly packed the files back into place on his table. I grabbed my phone and tried to call my friends, but the calls kept dropping. Mia’s number yielded the same frustrating result. There was a problem with the network, and I knew I had to leave to tell them what I had discovered.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and rushed out of the room. I couldn’t stay in his house or in his pack for another minute; Noah was far more dangerous than I had ever imagined. I had to leave before he discovered that I had learned the truth about him.

As I approached the door to exit, I froze at the sound of his voice.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he questioned harshly.

I froze, my hand still gripping the doorknob as if it had been glued there. His voice sent cold shivers down my spine, and I trembled in fear.

Just his voice was enough to make me feel terrified now.

He was no longer the man I thought he was; he was more dangerous and frightening than I had ever imagined. I should have noticed; I should have seen the other side of him. But my love for him had blinded my judgment.

Slowly, I turned back to face him, forcing a smile onto my face to make it seem like everything was normal and I knew nothing about him or his secrets.

“Noah,” I murmured, pretending to be pleased to see him. “I thought you had left.” I said.

Despite my best efforts, I couldn’t help but stutter. I wasn’t concerned anymore about what had happened with Freya the night before or the questions I had wanted to ask him. I just wanted him to leave me alone and let me go.

“Is that why you’re trying to leave too?” he asked, his eyes ice cold.

I shook my head. “Of course not,” I responded, doing my best to act as naturally as possible. “I was worried about my parents, so I decided to go see them.”

He smiled, moving closer to me. I wanted to step back to get away from him, but my legs felt like they were glued to the floor, making it impossible to move.

He took my bag from me and grabbed my waist, pulling me closer to himself. “You should have made your decision before coming home with me yesterday. Now that you’re here, you can’t just leave until I’m willing to let you go,” he said.

His words felt like a threat, and my heart raced. Did he know something? Had he realized that I now knew his secrets and his plans? Was that why he wouldn’t let me leave? I was confused and scared, and I just wanted to get away from this man.

“But I’m worried about my parents,” I murmured, hoping that he would let me go.

“Let’s do one thing,” he stated, cupping my face. “We’ll leave for your parents’ place tomorrow. I’m sure that’s okay with you.” He continued without giving me a chance to speak. “Come and take your seat, Jasmine. I can’t bear the thought of being away from you even for a moment,” he said.

It was all lies—just lies! I wished I could yell at him and tell him what was going on in my mind, but I couldn’t bring myself to say anything.

I was in a very difficult position where the only escape was leaving his house, and he wouldn’t even allow me to do that now. He knew I was aware of what he did with Freya the previous night, and yet he talked about how he couldn’t stand being away from me. He was nothing but a manipulative liar.

“Take your seat,” he said, making me sit on the couch before heading for the room.

My heart skipped a beat; there was no way he was going into the room without realizing that I had seen those documents he had been desperately trying to hide from me since we were together. My hands shook with fear, and I knew I had to leave, whether I had my bag with me or not. I couldn’t care less.

I jumped to my feet and rushed to the door. I grabbed the knob and tried to pull it open, but it wouldn’t budge. Beads of sweat formed on my forehead as the realization hit me: the door was locked. Noah had locked it because he already knew that I had discovered those documents.

My body shook, and I almost wet my pants as I struggled with the door, desperately trying to open it, but I couldn’t. What I heard next was a series of claps.

Slowly, I turned to find him behind me, clapping and laughing.

“Have you forgotten what I said, darling?” he chuckled, stepping closer to me. “You can’t leave here even if you want to.” He added and rushed toward me, grabbing my hand and twisting it painfully behind my back.

“Let me go!” I screamed, but he only responded with a laugh, dragging me along with him. “Let me go!” I yelled, hitting him hard on his chin with my head.

He winced in pain, but sadly, not enough to let go of my hand.

He pushed me into a room, and I could hear the lock click shut. My legs shook as I banged on the door.

“Somebody help me!” I screamed for help. “Somebody help me! I am stuck here!” I shouted, but no one came to my aid. I was all alone, trapped in this room.

I knew Noah wouldn’t let me go easily. I already knew his secret, and he wouldn’t release me until someone came to help me, but no one would come.

“Help me!” I screamed again before giving up and collapsing to the floor.

I still couldn’t believe that Noah, who had always been sweet to me, saving me from being bullied by my friends and always there for me, could turn out to be the bad one.

I blamed myself for letting the love I had for him cloud my judgment. I should have seen through his lies. I should have sensed the deception in his words.

But I foolishly believed everything he said because I was in love with him. I shook my head, burying my face in my palms. I was at fault for my own predicament.

I was still lost in thought when the door creaked open. I rushed to it, thinking I would be set free, but Freya walked in, stopping me in my tracks.

“This is your food,” she said, tossing a few pieces of pancake on the floor.

Her eyes had some form of bemusement in them as she took a moment to stare at me before making an attempt to leave the room.

I was confused. Wasn’t she scared too? “Freya!” I called, rushing to her. “Can’t you see what he did to me? You should help me so you won’t end up like me,” I pleaded.

She chuckled. “Why do you think I will help you?”

I didn’t have an answer to her question. “You should help me, Freya. You are in danger, just like I am.”

“Well, I think you are wrong because I am in no danger,” she responded, heading for the door.

I rushed to her, standing between her and the door, my eyes fixed on the key in her hand. “Why are you helping Noah?” I asked.

She laughed. “Can’t you tell?” She leaned closer to me. “I am his mate, and unlike you, I respect the bond I share with him,” she said.

Oh goddess, Freya is his mate! Okay, what about the other lady I saw him sleeping with? I thought he said he had rejected her.

Okay. I know I shouldn’t be acting surprised now, considering all that I have recently found out about him. But right now, I need to try to make Freya see the reason why she has to help me.

“But does he respect the bond you share with him?” I retorted. “He sleeps around with other women as if it’s nothing. Every day is a different woman. Is that the type of man you want to protect?” I questioned.

“Rogues are free to do whatever they want, Jasmine. Noah can do whatever he wants, but he still remains my mate,” she replied, pushing me away from the door forcefully.

I hit the ground hard, pain coursing through my body. “Have a nice meal!” she stated before locking the door, leaving me alone in the dark and empty room.

I realized that I was alone in this, and I felt foolish for having trusted Noah.