Regrets Come Too Late (Sierra and Johnny) novel Chapter 313

Chapter 313

“Wait,” Tommy called out to John from the other side of the line.

John didn’t hang up. Now that Tommy was fine, he sounded much more at ease. “Whatever it is, we can talk about it tomorrow when we’re back. Your mom and I are on an early flight.”

He hung up without waiting for a response, not caring what kind of reaction Tommy would have from the other side.

He didn’t go knock on Sierra’s door right away. Instead, he stared at his phone for a full minute. When no new message came from Tommy, he knew the boy believed him. He put his phone away and went to Sierra’s room.

Knock, knock!

Sierra didn’t open the door. She was standing by the wide window, looking down at the buildings and the steady flow of traffic underneath. An unnamed pressure was heavy on her chest, along with a deep confusion about where her life was supposed to go

next.

There was a click, and John walked in. His low voice came from behind her. “Why didn’t you open the door?”

“What’s the point? You can still come in, whether I open the door or not,” Sierra said calmly. Her gaze stayed on the night outside.

John stepped up behind her, held his arms around her waist, and then pulled her back against his chest. “Anger is bad for your health. Don’t punish yourself for someone else’s mistake.”

A hint of mockery flickered in Sierra’s eyes. What else was she supposed to say when he covered all his bases?

“When we’re back in Jade City, you can punish me however you want.” John’s hand closed around hers. “For now, just wash up and get some sleep, alright?”

Sierra didn’t believe a single word.

He could talk about accepting any punishment, but if she told him not to share a room with her or to stay far away from her, he would definitely say that anything that hurt their marriage was off limits.

He was all talk, but when it came time to act, he always had more excuses than one could count.

“If you won’t answer me, I’ll take that as a yes,” John turned to face him.

“I already washed up before I came up.” Sierra instinctively tried to avoid his touch, but he always seemed to use just enough force to keep her near him. “If you need to wash up, go do it yourself.”

“Fine.” John didn’t push her.

He turned and went into the bathroom. He wasn’t worried that Sierra would run.

The sound of running water filled the bathroom. Sierra still stood by the window, staring out while her mind replayed every detail of the night.

Once she knew Tommy was safe, her heart had slowly calmed. The calmer she became, the more she felt that everything John had done tonight did not fit his usual modus operandi.

A man like him would never need to risk Tommy if he really didn’t want her to leave. She was someone sentimental, and there were plenty of other things in her life he could have used to threaten her.

But the pictures from the video call couldn’t have been faked. As she thought it over, a theory formed in her mind.

With the water still rushing in the bathroom, she walked to the bed, picked up John’s phone, and entered the password.

It was still her birthday, just like before.

+25 Bonus

She scrolled through his Facebook chats and call history. Nothing looked out of place, though. But knowing how meticulous he was, he might have deleted anything suspicious.

Sierra opened Dr. Smith’s contact and typed a message on his phone. “If Sierra asks you about what happened tonight, just tell her the truth. Don’t hide anything.”

After checking the wording, she hit send.

She knew it was silly to trust him again, given everything that had happened. But deep down, a quiet voice kept telling her that John wasn’t that kind of man. No matter how badly he wanted his way, he wouldn’t gamble with his son’s life.

VERIFYCAPTCHA_LABELVerify