Act Like You Love Me (Jessica) novel Chapter 98

Chapter 98

Jessica’s POV

Today, it felt like the ticking of a clock.

Every mile we crossed over the Atlantic was a mile closer to the reality we had left behind in Madrid-a reality where we weren’t just two people lost in each other, but two people with a mountain of unsaid things between us.

I stared out the window at the endless carpet of white clouds.

My reflection in the glass looked tired, haunted by the secret sitting heavy in my chest.

Deep down, I knew the power to end this sham rested in a simple confrontation.

Why did you kiss Fiona that morning? After we’d shared everything: our bodies, my secrets, my vulnerabilities?

ง

The image replayed in my head like a looped film: the balcony, their faces close, lips meeting in what looked like rekindled passion.

But the fear of the answer was paralyzing-the terror of facing the harsh truth that he had betrayed me, or worse, the reality that I might have gotten it all wrong.

If it was a misunderstanding, a trick of the light or angle, then I’d spent six years running from nothing.

Six years denying Adrian his father, denying Aaron his son, all because of a phantom betrayal.

The guilt would crush me. In a sick, twisted way, part of me wished he’d actually kissed her. It would justify my flight, reduce the stupidity I felt, and make the pain I’d caused feel less like my fault.

“Penny for your thoughts?”

I jumped, my heart leaping into my throat. I looked up to find Aaron standing over my seat, his silhouette blocking out the sun from the window.

He looked devastatingly handsome, his shirt unbuttoned at the collar, but his eyes were sharp, searching mine for the thoughts I was trying so hard to bury.

“Aaron,” I managed, my voice a shaky whisper.

I forced a small, fragile smile. “Just… thinking.”

He didn’t look convinced. He didn’t move away, either. He reached down, his large hand open and waiting for mine.

“Come on,” he said, his tone leaving no room for argument.

I hesitantly took it, my skin tingling where we touched. He led me back toward the private bedroom at the rear of the jet.

The space was lush, filled with the scent of expensive leather and his specific, woodsy cologne. Once the door slid shut, the quiet was absolute.

He leaned against the edge of the bed, pulling me into the space between his knees.

“Tell me. What’s really on your mind, Jess?”

I’m thinking about how you’d react when you find out you have a five-year-old son who has your eyes and your temper, I thought.

12.10

Thu, Jan ee

Chapter 98

J

The words stayed locked behind my teeth.

I exhaled a long, shaky breath and looked at his Adam Apple.

ક

“I’m just worried that things will be different when we land. These last few days… they felt like a dream. I loved them, Ron. I’m scared of the cold coming back.”

It was a half-truth, but it was the only part of my internal chaos I could let him see.

His lips curled into a small, bittersweet smile. He reached out and pulled me into his chest, his arms wrapping around me like a fortress.

I buried my face in his shoulder, breathing him in, letting the warmth of his body ground me. For a moment, I let myself believe that everything could be okay.

When he pulled back just enough to look at me, he cupped my cheek, his thumb grazing my lower lip.

“Everything will fall into place soon, Jess. I believe that. I won’t let us go back to how it was.”

His confidence was warm, reassuring, but at the same time, it chilled me-because “falling into place” could mean so many things, and not all of them ended with us together.

“And Lauren?” I asked, the name feeling like a piece of glass in my mouth.

I felt his entire frame harden. The softness in his eyes flickered out, replaced by a grim, stony resolve.

O

He didn’t let go of me, but the air in the room grew several degrees colder.

“I don’t want to talk about her,” he said, his voice clipped. He sighed, seeing the look on my face, and softened his grip.

“But if you’re curious… my grandfather arranged it. He orchestrated the whole thing. I felt like I had no choice, Jess. He threatened me with you. At one point, I actually believed he had you held hostage somewhere, or that he’d hurt you if I didn’t comply.”

My eyes widened. I stopped breathing for a second.

“I thought I had already lost you,” he continued, his voice sounding hollow.

“The person I had envisioned spending my life with had vanished into thin air. After that, marriage didn’t mean anything to me. It was just a contract. A way to keep him off my back while I searched for you.”

I looked at him with wide eyes, processing his words.

He hadn’t said the words-not explicitly-but every syllable pointed to a truth I hadn’t dared to hope for.

J

He loved me. He had always loved me.

Or was I just being delusional? Maybe he just missed the girl who used to follow him to every game, the one who’d ends of the earth for him, someone who’d loved him enough to endure his bullshit, his moods, his world?

“Aaron,” I choked out, my throat tight with a mix of relief and fresh agony.

go

to the

He didn’t give me a chance to spiral. He leaned in, his mouth crashing against mine in a kiss that was desperate, hungry, and full of a possessive kind of longing.

It was the kind of kiss that said you’re mine, and I’m never letting you vanish again.

Later, the cabin lights were dimmed. We were tangled together under the silk sheets of the jet’s bed, the only sound the muffled whistle of the wind outside.

12:10 Thu, Jan 22 G

Chapter 98

I was lying with my head on his chest, my fingers idly playing with the thin gold chain around his neck.

72

I could hear his heartbeat-slow, steady, and strong. It should have been comforting, but the question burning in my mind made it feel like a drumbeat to my own execution.

“Aaron?” I whispered.

“Mmm?” He hummed, the vibration rumbled against my cheek, his arm tightening around my waist.

“What’s the one thing… aside from cheating… that you could never forgive?”

I held my breath, my pulse pounding so hard in my cars I thought he might hear it. I needed to know the boundaries of the cage I was in.

The silence stretched. He didn’t answer right away. He seemed to be weighing the question, his fingers tracing patterns on

bare arm.

my

“Lying,” he finally said, his voice turning dark and serious. “Deceit. I can handle a lot of things, Jess. I can handle mistakes, I can handle anger. But I can’t stand being played for a fool.”

He shifted, propping himself up on one elbow so he could look down at me. His gaze was intense, stripping away my defenses.

“Especially,” he added, his jaw tightening, “when it’s something fundamental. Something that belongs to me. If someone kept something from me that affected my life, my legacy, or my blood… someone I trusted? That’s a betrayal you don’t come back from. That’s not just a secret, Jess. That’s a theft of time.”

The air in the room vanished. Suddenly, it was too hot, too cramped, and too small. It was difficult to swallow.

A theft of time. That’s exactly what I had done. I had stolen six years of his life. I had stolen a father from a son.

“Why do you ask?” he murmured, his eyes narrowing slightly as he searched my face.

“Just… wondering,” I lied.

He seemed to accept that, pulling me back down against his chest, but the damage was done.

I lay there in the dark, listening to the man I loved, knowing that I was the very thing he hated most.

I wasn’t just his “precious piece” anymore. I was a ticking time bomb, and when I finally exploded, I wasn’t sure there would be anything left of us to save.

AD

Comment

Send gift

No Ads