Sofia's POV
The house was quiet. Too quiet. I lay in bed, still wearing my clothes, pretending to read. Every little sound seemed loud, the old wood creaking, leaves moving outside, the clock ticking. Minutes felt like hours.
Josh had gone to bed early. He kissed my forehead gently, which made my heart hurt. He whispered thank you - for staying with us, for trying, for not giving up. I hated how good those words made me feel.
As soon as his bedroom light went out, I got up. I walked down the hallway barefoot, my heart beating fast. I knew which floorboards would make noise, so I avoided them. The study was on the east side of the house, hidden behind heavy doors and thick shadows.
I got there quickly, my hands shaking as I turned the brass door handle. It opened easily. Inside, the air felt colder and still, like the walls were holding secrets tight. I closed the door quietly and walked to the big oak desk.
The room smelled like cedar and leather - Josh's scent. I tried to focus on what I came here to do. The laptop was turned off. I haven't touched it yet. Instead, I got on my knees and felt under the desk. Nothing there.
I tried the filing cabinet drawers. They were locked. I went to the bookshelf and pulled out books, looking for fake ones. When I pressed on the side panel of the bottom shelf, I heard a soft click. The panel opened an inch. A hidden compartment.
My heart pounded hard against my ribs. When I opened the panel all the way, I saw a steel safe built into the wall. It was sleek and black, with a fingerprint scanner and number pad. Very expensive looking. Not something I could break into - not yet.
I stared at it, biting my lip. Even if I knew the code, the fingerprint scanner would stop me. I didn't dare touch it - Josh might have alarms on it. But knowing the safe existed was something. Victor wanted proof. The kind that could destroy Josh completely. What was inside might be exactly that.
I took pictures with my phone - the safe, its model number, where it was, and the bookcase hiding it. Then I stepped back. But I couldn't leave yet. Not without trying something else.
I turned on the laptop. It hummed softly and the screen lit up. Of course, it needed a password. I opened a side drawer and found pens, paperclips, receipts, and a torn piece of paper. Josh's handwriting. A bunch of numbers written quickly, probably forgotten about.
I tried the numbers on the laptop. It worked. The desktop opened and I gasped. There weren't many folders, but one called PRIVATE_CORRESPONDENCE made my chest tight. I clicked on it.
Inside were emails, letters, and messages. Most looked normal, but one thread made my heart break. It was three months old. Josh wrote to someone called R.W. The subject line said: The Cassandra Situation.
My fingers shook as I clicked it.
"We had a deal. Her name was never supposed to come up again. I handled it. You said it would stay buried. So why am I getting photos sent to my wife?"
Cassandra Vale. Josh's dead ex-fiancée. The one who disappeared. Was she really dead?
I read R.W.'s cold, mean replies: "You're getting sloppy. Handle this before it explodes. Your guilt was your weakness, not her."
A chill ran through me. Someone knew about Josh's past. Someone powerful enough to decide which stories came back and which stayed buried.
I downloaded the thread to a hidden folder on my phone called "recipes," then shut down the laptop and carefully wiped my fingerprints. I was about to leave when the doorknob rattled.
I stopped breathing. I froze, hoping whoever it was hadn't heard me. No one came in. No one called my name. The sound disappeared as quickly as it came.
My heart racing, I waited a full minute before sneaking out of the study and hurrying toward my bedroom. But I didn't make it. Josh was standing near the kitchen at the end of the hall. He wasn't wearing a shirt.
"Couldn't sleep?" he asked in a sleepy, low voice.
I tried to smile. "I just needed some water."
His eyes looked at me slowly. "You're still dressed."
"I was reading."
He walked closer. "Out here?"
The look in his eyes wasn't angry, but something else. Curious. Calculating. Dangerous.
"I like the quiet," I said, my pulse racing. "Helps me think."
Josh stopped right in front of me, tilting his head down slightly. "I'm sorry about these past few days. My secrets, the pressure..."
I blinked. "It's fine, Josh. Nothing to worry about."
"Sometimes I look at you," he said quietly, "and I can't tell if you're staying or just waiting for the right reason to leave."
I took a shaky breath. "I'm here."
"For now." He moved closer, the space between us getting smaller. He brushed my hair away from my cheek. "Do you hate me?"
I paused. "I don't know."
"Well, that's something." He leaned closer, his lips touching my temple, staying there longer than needed, warm and confusing, but not quite a kiss.
I didn't pull away. That scared me more than anything. For a moment, I forgot everything. The emails, the safe, Victor's voice, the revenge plan. All I could see was Josh, looking at me like I was the only thing in the world that hadn't tried to destroy him yet.
He saw my confusion, dropped his hand, and stepped back. "Sorry. My feelings are getting the better of me." He turned to leave. "Goodnight, Sofia."
"Goodnight," I whispered.
Out of breath, I slipped into my room as he disappeared into his. I had just closed my eyes when there was a soft knock. I expected Eliza, she sometimes sleeps with me, but it was Josh when I opened the door.
He didn't say anything. He just stood there, looking into my eyes like he'd been fighting with himself all night and finally gave up.
"I couldn't sleep," he said in a rough, almost scratchy voice. "I kept thinking about you."
"Do you... want to come in?" I managed to ask.
He came in, closing the door behind him. "I can leave if you want," he said, but we both knew I wouldn't ask him to.
He took two steps toward me and stopped. "I don't know who you are, Sofia," he said, his fingers touching my jaw. "But every night, I find myself wanting you around."
The air between us felt electric. I felt my willpower breaking as his thumb moved across my bottom lip.
"I want you," he said in a voice barely above a whisper. "Not just in my house. In my bed."
I took a shaky breath. "Josh—"
He kissed me. Hard. Desperate. Like he'd been starving and I was the last bit of food left. His hands went through my hair, pulling me closer as his lips pressed against mine so desperately that my knees felt weak.
I kissed him back just as hard. I didn't care that this wasn't part of the contract anymore. I was scared by how much I needed him.
His fingers moved down to the silk edge of my nightgown. He lifted me easily, and I wrapped my legs around his waist as he carried me to the bed. I could feel how hard he was through his boxers, pressing against me.
"Sofia," he whispered against my neck, his lips moving down my throat. His hands pushed up my nightgown, exposing my breasts to the cool air. I gasped as his mouth found one, his tongue circling before he sucked hard.
I arched into him, clawing at his chest, feeling his muscles tense. I couldn't stop the moan that escaped when his teeth grazed my sensitive skin.
"Damn," he groaned against my breast. "You're so beautiful."
His hands moved between my thighs, and I was already wet and ready. His fingers pushed inside me while his thumb worked my clit in slow, painful circles, making me cry out.
"Tell me you want this," he said in a rough, hungry voice. "Tell me this isn't just the contract."
I saw the same raw need in his eyes that I felt. "I want this," I gasped as his fingers went deeper. "I want you inside me."
He pulled his fingers out and I whimpered at the loss. He quickly took off his boxers, and I could see how badly he wanted me. He positioned himself between my legs, his tip pressing against my entrance.
"You're so wet for me," he said in a controlled voice. He pushed inside slowly and we both moaned at the feeling. He filled me, stretching me almost perfectly.
We stayed still for a moment, getting used to being connected. Then he started to move. Slowly at first, then faster as I met his movements. The bed creaked under us as we found a rhythm, our bodies moving together with desperate need.
He suddenly slowed down, freezing his movements. "Sofia," he said in a strained voice, even though he was buried deep inside me. "Tell me this means something. Promise me you won't disappear tomorrow."
I was breathless under him, my body still pulsing around him. His vulnerable voice broke through the pleasure. I could see the fear in his eyes - fear of being broken again, fear of being left. And maybe something too close to love.
"Josh," I whispered, putting my hands on his face. "Don't stop."
He started moving again, deeper and slower this time. Each movement sent waves of pleasure through me. I tightened my legs around him, pulling him closer, wanting more.
"You feel so good," he moaned with his lips against my neck. "So perfect."
Our breathing got heavier as the pleasure built between us. I could feel my body getting tighter around him as I got closer. He must have felt it too because his movements became more frantic.
"Cum for me," he whispered in my ear. "I want to feel you."
His words pushed me over the edge. I screamed his name as waves of pleasure washed over me, my body shaking around him. The feeling sent him over too, and with one final push, he buried himself deep, moaning my name in relief.
I opened my mouth but no words came out. Because I was starting to forget why I ever wanted to hurt him, and I wasn't sure what scared me more: that I wanted him as much as he wanted me, or that I was beginning to forget why I had ever wanted to hurt him in the first place.
As Josh held me like I was precious and belonged there, everything became blurry - the contract, the revenge plan, Victor's demands. In his arms, I could feel the real, dangerous pull of something that could ruin everything I had planned.
But as dawn got closer and reality started coming back, I knew I was at a turning point. I had the safe's location memorized, and my phone had evidence against Josh. I had what Victor wanted.
And yet, here I was, in Josh's arms, feeling closer to someone than I ever had before. I was falling in love with the man I was supposed to destroy. And that truth scared me more than any secret he might be hiding.