His shoulders tensed. In place of the rage on his features sat an unreadable mask now. But no matter how much he tried to hide his true feelings, his stormy grays revealed everything. Shock, confusion, frustration, anger and… fear.

I had decided to give him some time to reveal everything before me. I didn’t want to force him to do anything. Understanding how sensitive it was for him, I thought I’d give him his needed space before he was ready to let me in.

But now seeing his irrational fear, insecurities, and jealousy, seeing to what extent he went under the influence of them, I couldn’t sit quietly. Because of that past, he had this assumption that he wasn’t good enough for me. That I could leave him anytime realizing the fact. A secret that was eating him alive and was the reason behind his fear of losing me. I wanted to be aware of that. Because the way he was behaving every time at the mere mention of his past, I didn’t think he’d be ever ready to tell me anything.

Because he thought if I knew about this dark past of his, I’d leave him. And he’d do anything but let me go.

I wanted him to trust me, to let me in. I wanted to heal him. I wanted to be beside him, the thing I couldn’t do years ago. And for that, I needed to know everything.

“How… how do you know that?” Greek accent was deeper than ever. “Who told you about this?” A silent tension was rolling off his stance, ready to explode any moment. His nails dug into his palms.

Even though I knew Warner wouldn’t lie to me, I was still shocked knowing his father was indeed murdered.

“It’s true, isn’t it?” A shaky breath left my lips. “Your father was murdered.”

“Who told you that?” Sharp jaw ticked.

“Who did it, Ace?” I asked, ignoring his question. “And why did you hide it from me?”

He inhaled deeply, eyes darker than earlier. “I didn’t lie about anything. Whoever told you this nonsense doesn’t know shit. So just forget about it.”

“Don’t lie to me again, Ace! I can see it in your eyes!” I glared. “I don’t know why you’re even hiding anything from me. We both know what the truth is. Then why—wait,” I tilted my head. “Are you trying to save someone? Are you trying to hide the person who killed your father?”

The unnerving silence and the storm brewing in his gaze was my answer.

I gasped. “It’s true then. You’re trying to save a murderer.”

“Emerald, stop it.”

Shaking my head, I gaped at him. “So, it’s also true it was you who bribed the cops to save the culprit.”

“Stop—”