Chapter 36 Letting Him In
The next morning light slipped through the curtains before I was fully awake. I stretched under the covers, toes brushing the cool edge of the sheets, and blinked myself into the soft blur of the room.
Knox was already awake beside me.
He was propped on one elbow, watching me with that quiet intensity he carried when his mind was working too hard.
I shifted slightly, then slid closer to him, my hand brushing over his chest as I tucked myself against his side. He lowered onto his back without a word, his arm coming around me automatically.
I rested my head against his chest, listening to the steady rhythm of his heartbeat.
“Good morning,” I murmured, my voice still rough with sleep.
“Good morning,” he replied, his hand settling against my back.
For a moment, neither of us moved. His fingers traced slow, absent circles through my hair, grounding, familiar.
Then I felt the shift in him.
“Ashley,” he said quietly. “We should talk about Apple.”
That pulled me fully awake.
My stomach tightened, even as I kept my face still against his chest.
I drew in a slow breath, then lifted my head, turning slightly so I could look at him.
“Okay.”
He exhaled. “There was never anything real between us. Not then, not ever. There were a couple of hookups over the years. That’s it.”
“I see,” I said quietly, like I was processing something new.
He watched me closely, like he was trying to read what was happening under the surface. Knox missed very little.
I gave him nothing.
“There was never anything serious?” I asked after a moment.
“No,” he said immediately. No hesitation. No doubt. “Never.”
I nodded once.
Silence stretched between us before I spoke again. “Apple is my half-sister. Same father. Different mothers.”
“That explains some things,” he said calmly.
I studied his face. “You’re not surprised.”
“A few months ago she showed up at my office,” he said. “Unannounced. She saw you there and immediately started trashing you. Said you were her sister. That you stole every boyfriend she ever had. That you were manipulative, dangerous, that I should fire you.”
I remembered that day. Apple walking out of Knox’s office, smoothing her hair, fixing her lipstick, looking smug.
My gaze returned to him. “Did something happen? Between you two. That day?”
His brows shot up. “What? No. Absolutely not. Nothing happened.”
I searched his face. For guilt. For hesitation. For anything.
But there was nothing. Just genuine surprise, almost offense that I’d even asked.
“Did you believe what she said? About me?” I asked quietly.
“I didn’t know what to believe,” he said. “I’d only known you a few months. And at work you were always professional. Reliable. You never gave me a reason to question you.”
He paused, eyes locked on mine.
“It wasn’t my place to judge your personal life.”
I broke eye contact, not ready to let him read more than I intended.
“We’re not close,” I said. “Apple and I. We never were.”
I had mentioned my family before, but only in pieces. This was the part I avoided.
He waited, letting me decide how much to give.
“She’s my father’s affair child,” I added. My voice stayed flat, detached. “He cheated on my mother. Apple was the result.”
Knox’s brows drew together slightly, but he stayed silent.
I continued before I could rethink it.
“My mother was killed when I was a baby,” I continued. “And I grew up thinking Marissa was my real mother. My father married her after my mother died.”
His expression softened, understanding dawning.
“I never understood why she preferred Apple in everything,” I said. “Why nothing I did was ever enough. Not until I learned the truth.”
I swallowed, the memory sharp.
“I left the house at eighteen,” I said. “And recently… Marissa was arrested. Suspicion of killing my real mother all those years ago.”
Knox’s breath caught. “Ashley…”
I shook my head lightly. “I don’t know why I’m telling you all this.”
“It’s good you did,” he said quietly. “You don’t have to hold all of that alone.”
His hand found mine beneath the covers, his fingers closing around it as he lifted our joined hands and pressed a kiss to my knuckles.
“I’m here now,” he added. “You don’t have to face anything alone again.”
Later, after breakfast, we headed out, Nathan driving while Knox and I sat in the backseat, Titan curled up behind us. The morning felt almost too calm compared to everything still turning over in my head.
My phone buzzed in my hand.
Amy.
I opened the message.
“So… are you ready to be a stepmommy?”
I made a face and locked the screen without replying. Of course she would joke about it.
A few minutes later it buzzed again.
“OMG. Someone leaked Apple’s mugshot and the arrest affidavit.”
A link followed.
This time I didn’t hesitate. I tapped it, watching as a social media post loaded, Apple’s mugshot filling the screen. Beneath it were scanned pages of the affidavit—her name, the charges, identity theft, fraud.
My name listed as the victim.
Another message came in immediately.
“And someone posted the café security footage. And it wasn’t me who leaked any of it.”
I opened the video.
Grainy security footage filled the screen, the angle from above but clear enough.
The coffee shop. Apple sitting across from me.
Then the moment she snapped. Her voice rising, the table flipping, me recoiling as everything scattered.
Police stepping in seconds later, pulling her away while she still fought them.
Beside me, Knox shifted slightly.
“What is it?” he asked.
I didn’t answer, just turned the phone toward him.
He leaned closer, his shoulder brushing mine as he watched from the beginning, silent and still.
But I felt the change in him.
The anger. Cold. Controlled. Simmering just beneath the surface.
When the video ended, the car settled into a heavy silence.
Knox turned his head toward me. “How often has she done that to you?”
For a moment, I just stared at him.
Of all the questions he could have asked, when was this, is it real, why didn’t you tell me, he went straight to the one that cut through everything.
“It wasn’t always like that,” I said. “Not always so obvious. Most of it was disguised. Subtle. Manipulation. Twisting things. Making me doubt myself.”
I drew in a slow breath. “But lately she’s been spiraling. Worse than ever.”
Knox’s jaw tightened, the muscle ticking once. “And you never told anyone?”
“What would have been the point?” I replied. “When I was growing up, everything revolved around Apple because of the kidnapping. Apple was depressed. Apple was fragile. Apple needed support.”
I shook my head. “There was never room for what she did to me.”
Knox’s eyes flashed with something when I mentioned the past, but it disappeared before I could read it.
He exhaled slowly. “That won’t happen again.”
I looked down at my hands, suddenly aware of how tightly I was gripping the phone.
“I don’t need you to fix anything,” I said, though it came out softer than I meant.
“I know,” he replied. “But I’m not letting her near you again.”
The way he said it, calm and measured and absolute, sent warmth through my chest.