the foiled plan (WAR OF SINS BOOK 2)

Chapter 4

Noelle's POV

Is that all you're wearing?" He frowns at me, his hands quickly working the buttons of his coat before he drapes it over my shoulders.

"I'm fine, Raf, really. You don't have to treat me like an invalid," I tell him, though the warmth of the coat is inviting as I snuggle deeper into it, his scent enveloping my body. As I take a deep breath, it's to feel him infiltrating every pore, every part of me. That dark yet sensual smell of his that speaks of whiskey and cigarettes, of forbidden nights and careless abandon...

"You just got out of the hospital. I'm not taking any chances with you."

"Maybe we should just go back to disliking each other," I grumble under my breath, but a blush climbing up my cheeks betrays my true feelings.

"No can do. That was before and this is now," he states as he leans back on the bench, his gaze towards the river.

No matter how many times he says something nice to me, I don't think I'm ever going to get over the shock of it. He's been nicer to me in the past few days than anyone's ever been to me.

But the history we share doesn't let me trust it. The fact that right before that he was promising to make my life a living hell, or kill me, doesn't make me particularly trusting of his motives.

More than anything, I'm afraid to buy into his kindness only to be left bleeding when I realize it's all a ruse.

"I don't understand you, Raf," I murmur softly, turning to him. "Why would you change your behavior towards me overnight? Just because you realized I suffered at Sergio's hands too? What about Lucero, then? You've been blaming me for her death from the beginning, so what changed?"

A grimace appears on his face.

"There has to be another explanation to Lucero's death and why the box of matches was in your hand. You could have very well picked it off the ground," he shrugs. "But as it stands, I don't believe you had anything to do with it."

"Just like that?" I frown.

How can he be so sure when even I am not? My mind is still a battlefield, few memories of my time there trustworthy. I could have killed her. In my heart, I know I did something. I just don't know what.

"I should have listened to you from the beginning," he takes a deep breath. "I... I needed someone to blame and you were there. I didn't consider you might have been a victim too. I didn't think of anything else but my revenge."

"What if I end up remembering and..."

"We'll deal with that when the time comes," he replies.

But that's not an answer.

What if I remember hurting her? What will happen then?

"Raf..."

"I spoke with your therapist," he suddenly changes the topic, and I frown. "I wanted to check up with her before telling you something that might adversely impact you."

"What are you talking about?"

"She assured me that you are strong enough to bear it, and it might actually help you heal."

"Raf, what..."

"Noelle," he turns to me, taking my hands into his. "I've been thinking about this day and night, and I don't think it's fair to keep something like this from you. God knows..." he trails off, pursing his lips. "At least not this. Because it doesn't only affect your past, but also your present and your future," he takes a deep breath. "Do you know why you're suffering from such debilitating abdominal pain?"