Chapter 243

That night, Asher and I ate dinner at the small two-person table in our room. Unlike most times before, we sat in terrible, awkward quiet, entirely silent except for the sound of our chewing or the scrape of silverware against the ceramic plates.

Asher speared the final bit of food on his plate, brought it to his mouth, chewed, and swallowed. Then he spoke.

“I have to leave earlier tonight than usual.”

Have to leave, he’d said, like it’s some kind of obligation. I’d taken to over analyzing everything he said lately, hoping to glean some insight into where he’d been, or where he was going every night.

“Chase is already on his way,” Asher said.

“You don’t have to wait for him,” I said quickly. “If you need to go, I will be alright by myself for a few minutes.”

He frowned at me, and for good reason. This supportive attitude of mine was entirely new. Usually, I’d been giving him a bit of the cold shoulder whenever he left.

But truth was, this was the best opportunity I might ever get, to follow him.

Aimee had suggested that we give Chase an ultimatum, either come with us or get left behind, but I had a hard time believing he would go for it.

Though I liked Chase and he liked me, his loyalty was dedicated to his brother. Given the ultimatum, Chase would likely either barricade us in or give Asher a heads up of our following him.

If I could duck out before Chase even got here, that would be my best chance. Even if that meant I had to go alone. There wouldn’t be time to alert Aimee and Nicole.

I was scared of Joseph, but my desire to discover Asher’s secret trumped all other concerns.

“I don’t like the thought of you being here alone,” Asher said.

“I’ll lock the door. I’m not entirely helpless, I’ll be okay. And if something happens, I’ll call you through the bond, and you can come rushing right back.”

He still seemed hesitant, but eventually nodded. “If you’re sure…” He sighed. “I’d like to try to be back by morning this time.” When his eyes met mine, his held a bit of sadness. “I miss you.”

My resolve splintered. “I miss you too.”

He stood up, collected our plates, and took them to the sink. When he returned, he kissed the top of my head.

“Don’t open the door for anyone but Chase,” he said.

“I won’t.”

Then he pulled on his coat and walked out the door.

I waited two minutes, and then I followed out the door behind him. Through our bond, I could feel his distance and direction. Focusing on that lead, I turned away from our dorm and walked up the street.

I only made a block or so, before I realized the bond was shortening in distance. Asher was coming straight back towards me!

Searching for a hiding space, I glanced to my left and right. The only decent spot might be the brush alongside the road. But I didn’t know how to get into it without exerting myself. I wasn’t willing to hurt the baby for anything, not even this.

Before I could think of anything else, I heard Asher’s voice behind me.

“Cynthia? What are you doing out here?”

I supposed one thing I had not considered with my plan of following our bond was that the feeling went both ways. He would eventually notice my encroaching distance. Maybe I had assumed he wouldn’t notice quite this quickly.

“I, uh…” I tried to think of a convincing lie, but came up short. Besides I didn’t want to lie to Asher anyway. That would make me some kind of hypocrite, expecting the truth from him while unable to give my own.

So I faced him and honestly said, “I’m following you.”

His eyebrows went high up on his forehead. “Following me? What? Why?”

I worried my hands together. Embarrassed, I dropped my gaze to watch my fingers hook together.

“You’ve been distant lately. You’re going out every night and then not telling me where you’ve been. I’ve been worried about you, about us. About where you go every night. If you are with another woman.”

He didn’t reply right away, so I glanced back up.

His eyes had widened further. For a moment, he was speechless, but then, he sprang into action. He closed the distance between us. He reached for my hands, untangled them and brought them, palms flat, to his chest. Between our hearts, the bond thrummed with contentment, offering comfort and peace.

“I’m so sorry. I had no idea you would think…” He held my gaze with intense focus. His blue eyes stared straight down into my soul. “I would never do that. You are the only one that want. The only one that I will ever want. Nothing and no one could ever break my devotion to you.”

Devotion? “Does that mean you love me?” The words came out in my confusion, before I could even think to hold them back. I immediately wanted them back.

If he denied it, I wouldn’t survive.

“Isn’t it obvious?” he asked, tilting his head.

“No!” I’d been at wit’s end these past few weeks, trying to interpret his body language and words, only to be confused again when he’d started disappearing.

I’d been so close to confessing my love for him. How much I still wanted too. The words felt like they might burst from me at any moment!

“Cynthia, I love you,” he said, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. Maybe it was. Maybe I was the one who had been overcomplicating it. “I’ve loved you for a long time. Maybe since the very start, though I was a fool then who couldn’t appreciate you.”

“Asher…”

“But I see you now, and I appreciate you. I love you, and only you. And I want you by my side the rest of my life.”

My heart is so full I fear it might burst from happiness. His words sent shimmers of unrelenting joy through my veins, until I was living and breathing nothing but love.

The longer he looked at me, the more his face softened with the sweetest kind of reverence. Now that he had said the words, I could see how they clearly matched his expression and his gentleness. I really had been obtuse not to understand this had been love from the start.

“I love you, too,” I said, unable to hold back the words anymore. “I love you so much, Asher.”

His answering smile was wide and beautiful. I’d never seen his face hold so much emotion before, like he was the happiest man in the universe. Maybe he was. I was arguably the happiest woman, having given my love and now having it returned.

I leaned into him, desperate to kiss him, but he gently held me back.

“I want to, but not here,” he said. “Let me take you home, and I can show you how much I love you.”

The promise of his hands on me made me shiver, and very nearly made me forget my purpose.

The doubtful whispers lingered in the back of my mind, however.

“If you aren’t out here to cheat, then what are you doing?” I asked.

At once, his impassive façade slipped back onto his face. My good feelings started to fizzle. I had a feeling that whatever he was about to say, I would hate.

“Asher?”

He clearly didn’t want to tell me. He looked away from me, off to the side.

I leaned, placing myself back into his line of vision.

Finally, he said, “I’m looking for Joseph.”

And my heart nearly stopped.