“One of you employees. She was Liza’s close friend.” Then I explained everything to him, from seeing Sierra with Arthur in the hotel garden, to him threatening me. Well, except the fact that I took Warner’s help. I didn’t want to ruin his mood more than it already was.

He stiffened. Those gray eyes flashed as his nostrils flared. “He threatened you?” His voice came out low, danger laced with each word. Grabbing my shoulders, he asked, “Did he hurt you? Did he try to do anything?”

I shook my head. “He didn’t hurt me. He just tried to scare me by using your past. And thinking he might have something against you for real, I kept quiet. That’s why I wanted to know everything so desperately to find out if he really had anything against you. But when you finally disclosed your past to me, I knew that even though he knew something related to that night, he didn’t have any evidence. And when I decided to tell you everything in the morning, you weren’t there. You already left for the meeting.”

His jaw clenched. “You should’ve told me earlier, Rosebud.”

I placed my head on his chest. “I was scared to ruin what we had by telling you something against your uncle, who was so close to you without any strong proof. I didn’t want to create more rifts between us. I thought you wouldn’t believe me.”

He kissed my head. “There’s no one in the world I trust more than you. You’re my world, Rosebud. Why would you think I wouldn’t believe you?”

“I thought you trusted him blindly. And when I finally decided to tell you after Liza’s confirmation, his threat stopped me. I just wanted to be sure if he really had something against you before telling you everything. Because I feared that if I would tell you about him, you being you wouldn’t be able to control your rage and confront him about it. And that would lead him to use your past against you. I know it’s stupid. But I didn’t want to take any chance.”

“I’d have killed him for threatening you like that,” he hissed, his tone was deep.

“That’s why I didn’t tell you. I wanted to sort everything out before taking any steps. If you had told me everything, then all this wouldn’t happen in the first place.” I glanced up at him. “Why did you stop the cops from arresting them, anyway?”

“Because I wanted to punish them by myself. I wanted to make them believe they were winning and then watch their own fall with their own eyes, especially when they were on the verge of winning.” Venom dripped from his voice. “Nothing hurts more when you lose after having all the confidence that you were going to win.”