Chapter 206.
Evening settles in quietly and We’re all in the living room.
Lucas is on his laptop, something work-related, his focus sharp but not fully there. Noah’s stretched out on one of the couches, scrolling through his phone. Ivy’s beside him, half watching something on TV, half talking to him about it.
And me....I’m curled slightly into the armchair, a book open in my lap wjen the front door ooens. The sound cutting through everything as One of Lucas’s security men rushes in right after, breath a little uneven.
"I’m sorry, sir...." he starts, looking straight at Lucas. "I couldn’t stop him...."
But I already know I don’t need him to finish that sentence because I’ve already seen him.
Zane.....he is Standing right there in the doorway like he owns the air in the room.
My heart stutters...actually stutters, lik it forgets how to beat for a second before slamming back harder. I don’t even realize I’ve stood up until I’m already on my feet.
He looks... different now.
His shirt fits a little looser across his torso, and I can see the stiffness in the way he holds himself. His movements aren’t as fluid as they used to be. He is still injured and recovering.
And yet....He’s here.
His eyes find me almost instantly, like they’ve been searching for me the moment he stepped in and everything else in the room disappears for him.
For me too, if I’m being honest...and frr a second, no body says anything.
Then he takes a step forward.
"Why didn’t you come home to me?"
His voice isn’t loud but it hits but it hits me straight to the chest.
I blink, caught off guar but he keeps going before I can even respond.
"I got shot," he says, his tone tightening, something raw slipping through. "And you didn’t even come see me at the hospital."
My throat dries up.
"I..."
"You didn’t care to check in on me," he cuts in, his eyes locked on mine, sharper now. "Not even once."
That’s not true but I don’t say it because the way he’s looking at me right nw....He believes it.
"While I was there," he continues, voice rougher now, "laid up, dealing with that...."
He gestures vaguely to his side, like the wound isn’t even the point.
"I got shot in the process of trying to rescue you."
Something that almost sounds like... hurt creeps im his voice.
"And you couldn’t even show up."
The room is dead silent behind me but I can feel my brothers watching.
"You don’t get to stand there and act like I didn’t care," I say finally, my voice quieter but steady.
His jaw tightens.
"Then what did you do, Elaine?" he asks.
And now....Now I feel it...th anger rising back up and d hurt underneath it.
"I checked," I say, my voice sharpening slightly. "Every single day."
He pauses for a second, not expecting that.
"I called Margaret," I continue. "I asked about you. I made sure you were alive. That you were eating. That you weren’t...."
I stop myself my voice almost cracking on that last part.
"I just didn’t come," I finish.
His eyes don’t leave mine.
"Why?" he asks.
One word.
I let out a breath bcuse now we’re here, right where I didn’t want us to be.
"Because I didn’t know what I’d do if I saw you," I admit, quieter now. "Whether I’d be relieved... or furious."
The truth hangs there between us.... uncomfortable
"And I’m still not sure," I add.
His expression shifts slightl but it doesn’t last bcus the tension is still there with every thing that hasn’t been said yet.....Still sitting right under the surface.
"Don’t act all high and mighty."
The words leave my mouth before I can stop them.
Zane’s expression tightens instantly, something dangerous flickering behind his eyes....but I don’t back down nor this time.
"Zane," I continue, my voice steadier now, even though my heart is starting to pound, "I’ll ask you the same question I asked that day."
I take a step closer, not too close just enough.
"The one you couldn’t answer."
His jaw sets.
"Have you been the one poisoning me?"
Silence and for a split second, it’s like the whole room freezes.
Zane blinks like the question didn’t even register at first.
"What?" he says, low, confused. "No."
He shakes his head slightly, brows pulling together.
"Why would I do that?" he asks, almost like he’s trying to make sense of it himself. "That doesn’t even make sense."
I don’t move.
"So you deny knowing my housekeeper, Mia?"
Now his confusion deepens.
"Who the fuck is Mia?" he snaps, irritation starting to creep in. "And what’s up with all these questions?"
His voice rises slightly.
"Why would I poison you?" he adds, frustration bleeding through now. "Who fed you that lie?"
My chest tightens but I hold my ground.
"Zane," I say, slower this time, more deliberate, "I want the truth. And nothing else but the truth."
Something in him snaps.
"I am telling you the truth!" he shouts, the sound echoing through the room as I flinch.
"Why do I always have to be the bad guy in your story?" he continues, his voice rough now, strained in a way I’ve never heard before. "Why?"
There’s something raw in his voice.
"Why can’t you give me the benefit of the doubt?" he pushes, stepping closer now. "It’s always something with you. Always another accusation."
His eyes burn into mine.
"You don’t even have a flicker of trust for me."
The words land hard bt they don’t break me, they just make something bitter in me rise up.
"Trust? How dare you stand there and talk to me about fucking trust."I repeat, a short, disbelieving laugh escaping me. "How can I trust you?"
I shake my head, my voice gaining heat now.
"When you’ve only ever manipulated me? Lied to me? Controlled things around me like I didn’t even deserve to know what was real and what wasn’t?"
"And now I’m supposed to just believe you?" I add, my voice shaking slightly despite my effort to keep it steady.
Zane goes still and for a second, I think he’s going to lash out again but he doesn’t.
Instead.....
"And I apologized," he says, quieter now and not defensive or angry.
"That was before."
His gaze doesn’t leave mine.
"That was before everything," he continues. "Before I actually got to know you."
I frown slightly, thrown off.
"What does that even mean?"
I ask. "What’s changed now? What does knowing me have to do with anything?"
There’s a pause....like he’s choosing his next words
"Because I think I love you Elaine.
That "I love you" lands and just... sits there.
I blink at him, my mind scrambling to catch up, but my chest tightens instead of softening.
Because love?
Love doesn’t erase everything else.
I let out a shaky breath, shaking my head slowly.
"No."
My voice is quiet at first.
Then stronger.
"No, you don’t get to do that."
Zane’s brows pull together. "Do what?"
"You don’t get to stand there and say you love me like that fixes anything," I snap, my voice rising now. "Like that suddenly makes everything okay."
His jaw tightens. "I didn’t say it fixes anything...."
"But you expect it to mean something," I cut in. "You expect me to hear that and just... what? Melt? Forget everything you’ve done?"
There’s a flicker of frustration in his eyes again.
"That’s not what I’m saying..,,"
"Then what are you saying, Zane?" I press, stepping closer. "Because from where I’m standing, it sounds like you’re trying to use that to cover up a whole lot of shit."
The room feels tighte and hotter.
"I said it because it’s the truth," he says, more controlled now, but there’s tension under it. "Not because I’m trying to manipulate you."
I laug, but there’s no humor in it.
"That’s funny," I mutter. "Because manipulation is kind of your thing."
That hits him i zee it in the slight flinch and the way his shoulders stiffen.
But I don’t stop.
"You made my best friend spy on me," I continue. "You controlled parts of my life without me knowing. You lied....over and over again. And now I’m supposed to believe you drew the line at poisoning me?"
His eyes flash.
"I didn’t poison you," he says, firm, each word deliberate. "I wouldn’t do that to you."
"How do I know that?" I fire back immediately. "How do I know where your line is when you never let me see it?"
The kind that’s full of things unsaid.
"I know about Mia," I add, quieter this time, but sharper. "She admitted it. Said she did it for money."
That gets his full attention.
"What?" he says again, but this time it’s not disbelief....it’s something darker.
"I asked her to drink the smoothie," I continue. "She couldn’t. She broke down. Said someone paid her."
Zane’s expression shifts. Nkt guilty or defensive
But... thinking.
"And you think that someone was me?" he asks, his voice lower now.
"I don’t know what to think anymore," I admit, and that’s the truth. "But your name came up."
His eyes snap back to mine.
"From who?"
I hesitate for a second.
"From who, Elaine?" he presses, stepping closer again.
"The woman who kidnapped me," I say finally. "My rapist’s sister.