Chapter 121 – Red–Handed–2
-LIA’S POV–
Quite literally.
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There was a knock on the door, a mere formality, before it flew
open.
My entire body went rigid.
Zane froze too, his hand still on my waist.
The light switched on, and I squeezed my eyes shut, embarrassment and shame creeping through me.
When I dared to open my eyes, I found my mother at the door, her arms crossed, expression unreadable.
Behind her stood Dad, deep disappointment on his face.
There was a short silence.
“Good evening, Zane. Is the bed comfortable enough?”
Zane slowly sat up, forcing a nervous smile. “Uh. Hi. Mr. Snow. Mrs. Snow.”
Mom blinked. “Is this a new arrangement? Nice body, but you could use a shirt.”
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Chapter 121 Red–Handed–2
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Zane climbed out of my bed with his lips pursed, grabbed his t–shirt from the floor and quickly threw it on.
“I, uh,” I sat up, my hair a mess, checks flaming. “This is not what it looks like!”
“Really?” Mom asked, crossing her arms. “Because it looks exactly like what it looks like.”
Zane cleared his throat. “I swear, it’s nothing inappropriate. We were just sleeping. Like sleeping sleeping. Fully clothed.” He glanced down. “Well, I promise I’m usually mostly clothed. Tonight was just hot. I mean the temperature!”
“Oh my God,” I muttered, face–palming so hard I saw stars.
Dad pinched the bridge of his nose. “Do we even want to ask how long this has been going on?”
“No,” I said instantly.
“Yes,” Mom said at the same time.
“Couple weeks,” Zane said.
“Month,” I corrected through gritted teeth. “Month and a half, actually.”
Zane turned to me, incredulous. “Damage control, Lia. Damage
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Chapter 121 Red–Handed–2
control.”
My dad sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed, making Zane instantly back away to the corner.
“Look,” Dad said. “We like you, Zane. We do. You’ve been respectful and kind. You saved and protected Lia twice. But this—this is pushing it.”
“I know,” Zane said softly. “And I’m really sorry.”
“I didn’t think you were dumb enough to get caught,” Mom added dryly.
Zane blinked. “Wait. So… you knew?”
She gave him a flat look. “You think I didn’t hear the giggles. in the middle of the night? Or the way Lia suddenly started sleeping like a log?”
“I’m a light sleeper!” I protested.
“You were,” she said.
I shrunk into the mattress.
Dad stood up and pointed to the door. “Out. Tonight, Zane.”
“Yes, sir. Of course.”
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He turned to me and gave a tiny wave, like we weren’t being separated by my very angry parents.
“See you tomorrow?” he whispered.
I nodded, still mortified.
Then my mom added, “And take your shoes, your charger, your hoodie, and whatever else you’ve secretly moved in here.”
Zane blinked. “You knew about all of that?”
Mom smiled. “I’m a mom. I know everything.”
He shuffled out with his stuff in his arms like a homeless boyfriend, offering my parents a final “Goodnight!” as he vanished down the hall.
The moment he was gone, I collapsed back onto my bed, groaning into my pillow.
“You good?” Dad asked on his way out.
“No.”
“Next time, just ask if he can stay over.”
I peeked up, hopeful. “You’d say yes?”
“No,” he said. “But at least you won’t have to panic like that.”
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He shut the door, and I was left alone with my shame and the faint scent of Zane’s cologne still lingering on my blanket. I pulled it closer, huffing.
The night had started out so perfect.
And turned into a disaster I would never be able to flush from
my memory.
Amongst the kissing, the romance, and getting to sleep curled. up against my boyfriend and mate every night, we’d almost forgotten the reason we started doing it in the first place.
I’d disappeared in the middle of the night once, and woke up in a forest.
Tonight, soon after Zane left, the same thing seemed to have happened to me.
I woke up naked again, blades of grass poking my side, the morning sun filtering through the high canopies and disturbing. my slumber.
My eyebrows pulled together, the ache in my head pulling met out of my sleep.
I groaned softly, before sitting up, looking around.
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Chapter 121 – Red–Handed–2
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Not again. No, no, no, no, no. The trauma from the previous. time hadn’t even healed yet.
The forest didn’t smell like plants and mud. The stench of blood. was sharp in the air, instantly sending my heart into a panicked. frenzy.
I stood up slowly, legs shaking beneath me, my body covering with goosebumps.
Zane had barely saved me from the boar last time.
What was it this time?
I wiped the sweat from my upperlip, my breath catching in my throat when my gaze fell upon my hand.
My palm was red.
That wasn’t sweat on my face.
It was blood.
Gasping, I turned around to run, only to trip over a log.
But my face landed right beside someone else’s, their open, hollow eyes staring back at me.
A scream tore from my lungs, and I shuffled back, my head
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spinning.
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There was a dead body. A dead body right in front of me on the forest floor, torn to pieces by a wild animal.
Or… maybe not a wild animal.
Maybe… it had been me.
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