CHAPTER NINETEEN
Lorelei
I find myself constantly debating whether I did the right thing by deleting that video.
The fact that I had caught a glimpse of Desmond at the end of the video really bothers me.
Paul might be a vile human being, but he doesn’t deserve to die.
By deleting that video, I have made the decision to protect a murderer.
“It is going to be a beautiful evening. Just you and I,” Desmond tells me, a bright smile on his face.
I study him for a moment, not sure if I should be sitting next to him or turning him in to the police for Paul’s murder.
Desmond has not done anything to harm me, but there’s a lot I don’t know about him.
If he had ended Paul’s life just because he thought of him as a nuisance, what would he do to me when I make decisions he doesn’t like?
“You shouldn’t let her bother you, Lorelei,” Desmond says as he pulls me into a hug. “Sandra has always been delusional, and it is one of the many reasons I ended the relationship.”
I desperately want to believe him. Desmond isn’t a monster, but I can’t forget the panic I saw on Paul’s face as he was shot in that video. He will probably deny it if I ask him, and who knows what he might do if he finds out that I know.
He isn’t that kind of person.
“Of course. I trust you to hold your end of the bargain,” I mutter, forcing a smile.
Desmond breaks the hug, his eyes carefully searching mine. He doesn’t say anything, but I can tell that he suspects something.
“I want to drop by Grandma’s place before going on our date tonight,” I tell him.
He doesn’t object, telling me that he would have loved to come with me, but he needs to finish a meeting. I am glad that he isn’t coming with me, as it would give me time to gather my thoughts.
My grandma could tell that something’s on my mind, and even though I try to evade it, she finally gets me to open up.
I tell her about the whole fiasco with Paul and how he had tried to blackmail me, but Desmond had stepped in and gotten physical with him.
I left out the part about the video and Sandra’s visit, realizing she doesn’t need to know anything about that.
“That slimy bastard. Is he desperate to destroy your happiness?”
Seeing her angry makes me laugh, and I tell her that Desmond had beaten him up quite well. “He tried to keep it secret, but I found out. Paul called to tell me he’ll stay away.”
“Then what is the problem, bear?” My grandma questions.
At that point, I broke down into tears, unsure of how to tell her everything.
I don’t want to admit to her that I am not sure where I stand with Desmond.
Paul’s abduction and death, what Sandra had said, they should make me want to stay away from Desmond, but the idea of never seeing him again hurts.
I have been crying on my way here as I look at the picture of my mom in the locket I often wear.
She and my father had the kind of marriage I always pictured, and I am not sure Desmond and I can have something like that.
“I think I love him, Grandma. I don’t know, but I think I’m in love with Desmond.”
That is the only reason why I would be willing to keep that video a secret.
“And is that bad?”
I nod, telling her that Desmond doesn’t feel the same way. Yes, he had taken care of Paul, and while it might look like he did it for my sake, the truth is he only did it to protect our marriage and his image. Just like today, I’ll be constantly reminded of how different our lives are.
“Why don’t you give him a chance? I have seen the way he looks at you, bear. That man is in love with you,” my grandma assures me. “Your parents used to look at each other that way. Give him a chance, and I’m sure you’d see how much he loves and cares about you.”
Her words give me strength, and I know I need to face Desmond.
Suspecting him of being involved with Paul’s death doesn’t mean he is.
Maybe the video is doctored after all. Why would anyone send it to me?
Turning the video over to the cops would have had Desmond investigated, and I’m sure that the media would have had a field day with that, so why send it to me?
Who would even send this to me?
Paul would never do anything to risk his skin, and Desmond seems to have many people who would love to see him ruined. The only way we can get behind this is to discuss it with Desmond.
I walk towards the car he had sent to pick me up, and I get in.
“Do you want me to take you home, Ms. Bennet?” The driver asks.
“Yes, please,” I answer absentmindedly as I go through the video again mentally, wishing that I hadn’t deleted it.
Everything looks real. The gun, the panic on Paul’s face, the blood splatter.
The only thing that is difficult to tell is whether the shooter is really Desmond.
I have tried to think about Desmond’s movement over the past three days.
We’ve been together, and for him to have pulled this off, he would have been gone for a considerable amount of time.
Is someone trying to frame Desmond?
But why? And why would they use Paul? Okay, I can answer the second question, but not the first. It would be easy for Desmond to prove his innocence. I sigh heavily as I look out the window. It dawns on me that this isn’t the route to the penthouse.
“Where are we going?” I turn to the driver. “Are you taking me somewhere else?”
I look closer, and I realize that this isn’t my usual driver.
“Who are—” I stop as I realize that my driver is none other than Logan. “What are you doing, Logan?”
We haven’t gotten the chance to talk since I returned to the company, as he was on a long haul that should last four weeks. I haven’t made any attempts to reach out to him with everything going on in my life.
“Saving you, Lorelei. You might not know this, but you need saving.”
I need saving? What the hell is he talking about?
“What are you saving me from? Logan, you’re scaring me!”
“Why did you get married to him? Did he force you? Did he tell you he’d destroy you if you don’t get married to him?”
Something is wrong with Logan. I try to open the door, but it’s locked. “Let me out, Logan!”
This isn’t the sweet man I know, and I wonder if something is driving him crazy.
“Don’t worry. I’m taking you somewhere safe. Far away from him.”
I don’t need anyone to save me from Desmond.
I try to reason with Logan, who speeds down the road as if someone is on our tail.
Somehow, Logan is convinced that Desmond had forced me into this marriage.
Where he got that notion from is beyond me, but at the moment, all that matters is getting away from him.
“ He didn’t force me to get married to him. I am in love with him, and that’s why I am married to him.”
The weight of that statement hits me. I love Desmond even before he had asked me to marry him.
My fears had simply made me chalk my feelings for him as simple attraction, but this is no simple attraction.
So what if he had dated beautiful women like Sandra in the past?
So what if he had murdered Paul? He had done it to protect me, something Paul would never have done.
“That is a lie. You should be mine, Lorelei. Remember the way you looked at me, the smiles, the concern. I wanted to get more stability, but he came and snatched you away.”
Okay, Logan is crazy.
Seeing that he is beyond reason, I decide to take things into my own hands.
Knocking him out might be the best move, and I try to punch him in the face, my punch lacking any strength to do any real damage.
A struggle ensues between us, Logan somehow managing to keep his hands on the steering wheel as we both fight for control of it.
“We’re going to crash,” Logan tries to warn me.
We are now in the factory section of the city, and I know I need to get away from Logan even if it means getting into a crash.
Using every bit of my strength, I reach for the steering wheel and steer to the right as Logan curses out.
The car veers off, hitting a pole. I hit my head against the dashboard, my head ringing.
Desmond. I need to get to Desmond.
I try to get moving, but my body betrays me. My consciousness slowly starts to escape, and before I know it, the darkness claims me.
*****
The smell of pine, cinnamon, and vinegar wakes me up. I open my eyes, my head ringing as I try to sit up. My hands are chained to the bedpost, and I tug at it, realizing that whoever had placed me in this bed doesn’t want me to escape.
Logan!
I try to look around to make sense of where I am. I hear a door open, and someone shouts that I am awake.
“Paul?” I ask, not sure if I am seeing right.
Paul should be dead, and unless I am in the afterlife, there’s no reason for him to be standing in front of me. His awful stench hits my nose, and I know this isn’t the afterlife. No, Paul is still here in the flesh with me, which he shouldn’t be after I had seen him get shot.
“Glad to see you awake,” he smiles smugly as he gets closer.
“You died. I watched the video,” I stammer, not sure of what’s going on.
“Yeah, I should have died if left to your psychopath husband,” Paul spits as he grabs my face. His eyes are ablaze with anger, and I know that he intends to hurt me.
“Get your hands off her, you vermin,” Logan’s voice booms from behind him.
“But she has to pay for—” Paul freezes as the sound of a shotgun being cocked fills the room. “Easy, man.”
He puts his hands in the air and walks away from me. “She’s all yours.”
I watch as Paul tries to head towards the door, drawing closer to Logan, who suddenly attacks him.
Paul tries to fight, but not only is Logan taller and heavier than him, but Logan has also gotten Paul into a chokehold.
I watch as the fight goes out of Paul’s body, and I realize that Logan might want to kill him.
“Is he dead?” I ask hoarsely as Paul’s body slams into the floor.
“Nah. He’s fine. I should have handled him a long time ago,” Logan spits with disgust.
I have so many questions, and only Logan can provide an explanation to them. I am not exactly sure where we are, but I guess we’re in some sort of cabin somewhere.
“What is going on, Logan? Why did you bring me here?”
Logan dumps Paul against the wall before he turns towards me. I notice a bruise on his left cheek, and it seems he suffered some injuries in the crash.
“There is a lot we need to talk about, Lorelei. I am angry at you, but then listening to Paul made me realize my anger was misplaced.”
My eyes flicker to Paul, wondering what he had said to Logan. I watch Logan as he pulls a chair and sits on it, the shotgun resting on his lap.
“For so long, I have had a crush on you, and when you started flirting with me, it was like a dream come true.”
Wait what? Flirt with him? I have never done anything like that!
“I always wanted to take you on a date, but I know how busy you were with your grandma, and my finances won’t let me be able to cater for you. So I waited for a few more months, then that Playboy appeared. From the very first moment I saw him, I hated him with his smug smile and cheesy appearance.”
Nothing about Desmond is cheesy.
Logan goes on about how he had seen me warn up to Desmond. How I took him to meet my grandma and how he worked his way into my life.
“I hated the way you looked at him as if he were made of gold! I should be the only man you look at that way, I, Logan, should be the only man you have your eyes on.”
I want to tell him that I have never looked at Desmond anyway, but the words freeze in my throat. Did I always look at him like someone in love? Was it that obvious?
“Logan, I can’t —” I begin before he snaps at me.
“Don’t you dare, Logan, me. I know he made you fall in love with him, but don’t worry, my dear Lorelei, I’ll make you hate him.”
My skin crawls at the way he mentioned my name. I realize how stupid I have been to not realize how crazy Logan is. I should never have treated him warmly. Now, I am here with a crazy man and my insane ex, who is still alive.
They tried to frame Desmond!
I look at both of them, unsure of how I’ll get out of here and back to Desmond, who is probably worried sick about me.
I should have opened up to him. I shouldn’t have doubted him, and like my grandma would sometimes say, I’ve been such a big fool that I missed what was obviously in front of me.
Now, I’m trapped with a crazy man who thinks he is in love with me and I should be his bride.
Oh Desmond! My love, I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.