Closer (A Dark Romance, Book 1): The Closer Trilogy

by M. C. Vann

  “How are you feeling?” Henry asked as he placed the back of his hand on my head to feel my temperature. The gesture was unexpected, causing me to flinch. “You’re burning!”

  “I’m just a little under the weather,” I explained.

  Henry curled his lips in frustration before he shot up from the couch and walked into the kitchen for a couple minutes. He returned with a glass of water in one hand and two white pills in the other.

  “Take these,” he gently ordered. I obliged and swallowed down the medicine. “It must’ve been from the weekend,” he said as he placed another hand on my cheek, his roaming eyes observant. “You shouldn’t go in tomorrow.”

  “I’ll be okay. I’ll take more ibuprofen in the morning.”

  “Are you free for lunch tomorrow then?”

  “Is that the reason you waited up for me? To ask me if I could eat lunch with you?”

  He shook his head in response, and I furrowed my brows in confusion. “I can’t sleep knowing you’re not back home ... safe,” he confessed. “I know we can’t go back in time and change the past. But if I had to do it over again, I would,” he said, his voice laced with emotion. He gently reached for my hands and placed them on his lap. “Thank you for letting me start over.”

  Looking into Henry’s eyes right at this exact moment was such an overwhelming experience. I could hear in every decibel in his tone, see in every inch of his eyes, feel in every tinge of his touch that he was being the sincerest he had ever been with anyone.

  “This is strange, isn’t it?” he asked, shyly scratching his head. “Even though we’re married, it still feels like I’m courting you.”

  “A little bit.”

  Even though we were married already, our relationship was far behind that. And I didn’t mind it because we were finally able to start over.

  “Ally ... I also waited up because of this,” he spoke in that low, seductive tone again. His hand rose to my cheek, sliding behind to the nape of my neck as he eyed my lips. Tiny giggles slipped from my mouth as he leaned forward, softly pressing his lips onto mine. My heart hammered in my chest as the warmth of his lips seemed to spread all over my skin.

  “Hey,” I said. I laid my hands flat against his chest, pushing him away slightly.

  Henry reclined his head so that he could place a kiss upon my cheek. “What is it?”

  “Um ...” I bit my lip, unsure of whether to tell him. Any mention of Chris and I knew without a doubt that Henry would turn back to his old ways. So instead of telling him that I had planned on seeing my brother tomorrow, I swallowed my thoughts. “I have an early day tomorrow. I better go upstairs.”

  “Okay,” he sighed. “I’ll see you in the morning.”

  “Okay.”

  For a second there, I thought he was going to ask me to join him in his room. We haven’t shared a bed since that night he tried to ... hurt me.

  Goodness, even I couldn’t finish the thought in my head.

  —————

  As I waited for Henry in the lobby of his hotel, a strikingly beautiful woman came strolling through the doors. The way she walked into the building with so much poise and authority demanded everyone’s attention. She wore a yellow dress hugged close to her full hips and her long, luscious extensions were in perfect curls. Her eyes darted to me and she stopped in her tracks before making her way over. Now that she was looking me right in the eye, she did look very familiar.

  “You’re Ally, am I right?” she asked, even though I had the idea she already knew who I was.

  “Yes, hi.”

  “Good day, I don’t think we’ve been formally introduced yet. I’m Vivian, a friend of Henry’s.”

  I smiled, suppressing the harsh words behind it. She was the woman Henry danced with that night at the gala, and she was the one who lied to me about sleeping with Henry. What exactly did she want introducing herself to me?

  “Will you spare me a few minutes of your time?” Vivian asked innocently.

  “I’m actually kind of busy right now.”

  “Please, it won’t take much time. I would just like to talk. I would love to know more about my friend’s wife a little more. What do you say?”

  Even though I saw right through her charming grin — a skill I picked up from being around Henry — I decided to go with her. She was Henry’s friend, and I didn’t want to get on her bad side. Vivian didn’t look like a simple-minded lady. Besides, Henry would be down soon enough.

  “What did you want to talk with me about?” I asked after we were seated.

  “Right to it.”

  “I don’t have much time.”

  “If that’s so, I may have to be blunt. It’s about your husband,” she said, a sneer behind that tone.

  “What about Henry?”

  “You even acknowledge him as that. Oh, poor you.”

  My jaw fell, gaping at her obnoxious asperity. Was she mocking me right now?

  I stood up to leave. The back of my knees slammed against the chair hard, it almost fell back. I knew she was vile from the very beginning, but I didn’t expect her words to impact me this much. Jealousy could be so ugly on people sometimes.

  “Have you ever wondered why your sister moved so abruptly? Oh, what was her name again? I’m sure I’ve heard of it somewhere before. Eve, was it?” she continued to tease.

  How did she know about my sister? How did she even know her name? Who was this woman?

  I turned about to face Vivian. “How do you know my sister?”

  Vivian crudely snickered in her seat as if she knew something I didn’t. “You really don’t know? Oh, dear.” She laughed. “I can’t believe you don’t know.”

  Irritation and adrenaline surged through my veins as my hands balled into fists. She was laughing right in the middle of the restaurant at me. Before I knew it, my eyes were beginning to sting with the familiar burn of tears.

  “Your sister and your brother-in-law didn’t just suddenly fall into debt,” Vivian continued, studying her fake nails. “Did you really think Rick would turn to his old ways so easily? Did you ever wonder why Nancy’s shop conveniently closed down right after you married Henry? And why every place you applied to … never called you back?”

  “What are you trying to say?”

  “These can’t be coincidences, can they? Oh, do I dare tell you?”

  “Stop playing with me.”

  “Tell that to your husband,” she snapped back, her tone sharp with impatience. “Henry…he was the mastermind behind everything that has happened to you and your family.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  “What?”

  “You heard me clearly,” she asserted, fixing a loose hair behind her ear. “Why your sister moved away, why Nancy’s shop was bought out, why you couldn’t get a job — it was all because of Henry’s doing.”

  “You’re lying,” I accused. I refused to believe her. Her sweet, wicked eyes transformed into leering, almost sinister ones right at the moment I said those words.

  “You think you know Henry so well when sadly … you don’t know one thing about him. Did you know that he calls me every night? Did you know that while he’s busy, or away on business, he comes to my place? He tells me these things. Henry trusts me.”

  This wasn’t true. It couldn’t be true.

  She was just saying this out of jealousy.

  Henry wouldn’t do this to me. He was trying. He promised he would never lie. He promised he would never hurt me again. Henry wouldn’t …

  Would he?

  “Oh dear, I’ve said too much,” she said. She glanced at her gold watch. “I think that’s enough for today. One more secret out of me and you might actually cry. I’ll take my leave now.”

  Henry’s friend grabbed her bag and stood on her three-inch heels. Her height now surpassed mine. She confidently slipped on her pair of sunglasses and walked away, but before she got too far out of reach, she whirled around.
“Until next time, Ally.”

  The sound of my text tone displaced me from my petrified state. It was Henry saying he would see me in five minutes.

  But for some reason, I panicked and hurried out of the building. As soon as I was out of the hotel’s sight, I texted him that I couldn’t make it because of an emergency at work.

  I didn’t go back to Henry’s house immediately after work. I didn’t want to confront him about this yet. I didn’t know how to bring it up.

  But in reality, I was afraid to.

  What if everything Vivian revealed was true? What if Henry had done all those things? I didn’t know if I could bare seeing Henry confirmed the truth himself.

  As soon as my shift ended, I found myself driving in the direction of old places in my memories. First, I stopped at Nancy’s old shop. It was no longer a floral shop, but a small antique shop with a new owner. After the shop, I unconsciously drove to my sister’s old house. I parked my car a few houses down, seeing another family had already moved in by the two new cars there. By the size of them, there was definitely a big family inhabiting the house.

  I rested my forehead against the steering wheel as Vivian’s words lingered in my mind, replaying over and over. “Why your sister moved away, why Nancy’s shop was bought out, why you couldn’t get a job — it was all because of Henry’s doing.”

  Henry promised he would never lie to me again. He promised he would never hurt me again either.

  I needed to trust him. I needed to be more skeptical of Vivian’s words. She lied to me before so why should I believe her now when I hadn’t consulted with Henry.

  But just as I gained the confidence to trust Henry, the watch that I found hidden in his closet flashed in my head. That would explain why he still had it. Because Henry planned everything out. It only made sense for him to still have his watch and he kept it a secret from me.

  —————

  For the next two days, Henry was never around the house, but this time around, he would inform me ahead — either due to new projects or late meetings.

  Nevertheless, the conversation with Vivian exasperated me. I couldn’t bring myself to accept her words, but the more I tried to suppress it, the more the truth became visible. Henry had deceived me before. I needed to talk with him. I needed to clear this up because having misunderstandings between us is the last thing I wanted. Hopefully, he would come back tonight. If he didn’t, I’d have no problem in going to see him in his office.

  “Ally ... Ally.”

  I was brought back to reality at the sound of Nick’s voice. He stood in front my desk again, waving his hand right in my face.

  I smiled. “Hey, Nick.”

  “What were you thinking about?”

  “Nothing, just thinking about work.”

  “Did you need some help?” he asked. He threw on his dashing smirk.

  “Um, no. But if I do, you’ll be the first one I come to. What are you doing on this floor?”

  “I just wanted to see if you could grab some lunch with me today since it’s Friday.”

  “Oh, uh, sorry, I can’t,” I spoke apologetically. “I was actually taking a longer lunch to visit my brother today.”

  “You have a brother?”

  “Yeah, I never told you about him?”

  Nick shook his head as he tried to recall our past conversations mentioning anything of a sibling. I guessed I never did mention Chris to him, nor anything else about my family.

  “It’s a long story,” I told him. “I’ll tell you about it at lunch another time. Maybe next week?”

  “Next week, it is.” He smiled widely. “You let me know when you’re free then.”

  I nodded in reply before he turned around to leave. Watching him walk away after turning him down, I felt quite wretched.

  “Nick!” I shouted his name loud enough for him to hear. He spun around on his heel, raising his brows as he anticipated what I had to say. “Thanks for asking and I won’t forget about the drink I owe you.”

  Shortly after I clocked out for my lunch, I drove down to the correctional center. I’d never get used to it, no matter how many times I’d been here. I hadn’t seen Chris since the hearing about three weeks ago, and I hate making excuses for myself. I could say there wasn’t any time. I could say I didn’t want to take a day off since I just started.

  But in truth, I was afraid to face my brother. All this time, I believed he was innocent and a good person, but he was the exact opposite. He was guilty. A criminal. A cold-blooded killer. I didn’t want it to affect my relationship with my brother, but I knew I’d never look at him the same way before.

  After the events that followed his hearing, how could I face my own brother? How could I tell Chris I was married to the brother of the girl he murdered?

  Chris and I talked like old times. I thought Chris would be able to read how uncomfortable I was, but he couldn’t, thankfully. I dodged any questions of my husband, not wanting to bring up Henry.

  In the past, every single time they took him away from me, every single time the officers laid their large hands on my lanky brother, I’d always feel injustice burn in my chest. But this time, there was a noticeable absence of resentment.

  Filled with discouragement, I walked down the hall toward the exit with my eyes glued to my feet. Only until I heard a vaguely familiar voice down the hallway, did I raise my head to see who it was.

  Henry. What was Henry doing here?

  In a split second, I hid behind a vending machine. My thoughts raced as they tried to rationalize the unusual situation. Swiftly and quietly, I peeked down the hallway to see who he was talking to. It wasn’t hard to figure out the person next to him. It was the same parole commissioner who administered Chris’ hearing. I could never forget the man who declared my brother’s inevitable fate. Before they came too close, I rushed into another hallway to avoid them. As they strolled past me, I stole a glance at them before running the other way.

  As always, my mind was on nothing else but Henry. What did he have to discuss with the parole commissioner? I focused on nothing else but the image of him and the commissioner for the rest of the day.

  I walked out of work and felt more drained than ever. I desperately needed a breather to gather my thoughts, so I sat on a bench near the Horizon building. Unconsciously, I checked my phone and noticed there was an untouched voicemail from Henry. Reluctantly, I opened up his message, trying not cry as I heard his voice. I didn’t realize how much I missed hearing his voice.

  “Hi Ally, I called you a few times, but you seem to be preoccupied at the moment. I’m just letting you know that I will be home late again tonight. Don’t wait up for me. Umm ... I miss you. Call me when you get home. Goodbye.”

  I replayed his message one more time. Then another. And another until the tears managed to escape.

  How could Henry do this? How could he want to hurt not only me but those I cared about? How could I possibly love and be with someone who purposely ruined the lives of the ones I love?

  “Ally!”

  My head whirled to the sound of my name, and my eyes locked onto the only person around walking towards me. What was he still doing here? I quickly used the back of my hands to wipe away the tears on my cheeks, hoping he didn’t catch me weeping here.

  “How did your visit go?” Nick cheerfully asked after running over to sit with me. But his cheerfulness disappeared as he caught on to my mood. “Is everything alright, Ally?” he asked worriedly.

  “Fine,” I barely managed to speak.

  “Ally, what’s going on? Why are you out here crying? You can tell me. I’m your friend,” he said.

  I shook my head and placed my hands over my face to cover my embarrassment. Why was I even crying? Because I missed Henry? Because I felt guilty about my brother? Or was it because I knew the truth and was afraid of what would happen to our relationship?

  “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,�
� Nick continued to console me. “When you cry with someone, you’ll feel a lot better.”

  At that moment, I let it all out. I broke down and let my sobs do the talking. Nick wrapped his arms around me, pulling me into his chest as I sobbed in his arms. Those were the exact words I told Henry when I found him crying in the middle of the night. Once I regained control of myself, I pulled away from Nick’s embrace.

  “Thank you, Nick,” I said as I wiped the tears from my eyes. “I’m sorry for you to see me like this.”

  “You’re a strange woman, Ally,” Nick noted, his lighthearted tone back. “How could you thank me one second and then apologize to me the next?”

  I forced a smile. “I don’t know … I guess I’m thanking you for comforting me and I’m sorry for making you uncomfortable.”

  “It doesn’t make me uncomfortable. Crying is a natural thing humans do,” he pointed out and like before, I remained in awe of his words.

  Rare moments like these made me realize Nick was a sweet, sensible guy underneath that confident, slightly arrogant smirk. He seemed like a good friend to keep. What came in between his and Henry’s friendship? I knew better than to ask.

  I gathered my belongings with haste and stood up to leave. “I guess I’ll see you next Monday.”

  “Wait.” Nick reached for my arm, stopping me. “It’s not safe out. Let me drive you home.”

  “No, I’ll be fine.”

  “Ally, I’m not asking for your permission.”

  The time it took from Horizon to Henry’s house was shorter than normal. Maybe because I was building the courage to ask Henry the question.

  “Nick?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Thank you.”

  “Anytime.”

  Nick waited for me until I went inside.

  The house was empty. Nana was probably asleep since it was almost midnight and Henry was still caught up at work.

  My heart thudded against my ribcage when I found myself in front of Henry’s bedroom door instead of mine. I didn’t know why I was doing this, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep without finding it tonight.