Ch. 366..370: Charmed by the Billionaire CEO Chapter 366-370

Chapter 366: Welcome back

Noah blinked his eyes a few times before he burst into a peal of contagious laughter. "Haha... what did you say" he laughed falling on the bed while holding his stomach.

Noah wasn’t sure why would laugh but the way she sniffed her nose while crying and confessed her love, made her look adorable.

Alice was dumbstruck by his reaction as she parted her lips in disbelief watching him laugh at her. Usually, she expected him to confess back, but the reaction she got in return was epic which left her speechless.

Sitting still, she watched him laugh until his heart’s content. Her eyes softened at the sight of his happy face which eventually bought a smile to her own lips.

After a peal of much laughter, they finally calmed down and were now sitting on the bed with Alice in front of him with Noah spooning her from behind.

Intertwining their hands together they stayed like that for some time, before Noah leaned and kissed her right shoulder. "I love you too"

Alice felt her heart bloom with happiness the moment he confessed to her. It wasn’t the first time they have declared their love for one another but this time it felt different.

The confession was like a new start in their lives where they didn’t have to carry any shadow of their past. Everything was gone.

Leaning her head back, she rested it on his shoulder and watched him kiss the side of her face. "Everything feels so light now," she said.

Noah bobbed his head agreeing with her," Yes it does and from this day on we can finally breathe and enjoy our life as a married couple" he said snuggling closer to her as he buried his face into the crook of her neck.

"Alice"

"Hmm..."

"Can we begin our day with hot morning sex" Noah’s face was still buried into her neck as he started pestering her with light feather-like kisses.

Alice who felt her body ignite with the fire of pleasure heaved out a sensual moan when she found his hand cupped her right breast and pushed herself around and faced him.

Their eyes burned with lust as they both didn’t want to hold back their desire and love for one another and just like that without wasting a second, their lips clasped on each other with both of them falling on the bed.

*****

The wind kept blowing at the top of the cliff with two tall figures standing face-to-face. Their deep eyes glared at each other as if they were busy communicating through them while their lips only curled up for a time-to-time smirk.

"What do you think they are doing?" Jack asked leaning closer towards Max and whispered.

For the past twenty minutes, standing next to their cars both Max and Jack eyed their respective boss from a distance.

Apart from glaring at each other, they haven’t uttered a single word let alone their right-hand men wonder what was actually going on in their minds.

Max shrugged his shoulder in denial and said," No. I don’t know what is going on in their mind but if you look carefully they seem to be communicating with each other through their eyes." pointing his chin ahead he motioned Jack to look at them.

Pursing his lips into a thin line Jack rolled his eyes in annoyance," You think I haven’t seen it. I just want to know why did your boss call us here. Is he planning on throwing my boss down the cliff" he gasped at the possibility.

Gabriel was a cunning man so his most trusted man. Letting down their guards would land them in a problem.

Max turned his head and gave the young boy a lazy look. Though he was picked as Tristan’s most trusted man, it made him wonder how childish the boy was for the position.

"You think we would waste our time standing here rather than executing our plan" Max’s words made Jack open his mouth in a big O and he bobbed his head in understanding. "You are right" he agreed and they both looked ahead.

A few distances away from them, Tristan and Gabriel kept staring at each other when suddenly one of them spoke. "You really want to do this now," Tristan asked as he started to unbutton his suit before pulling it out and tossing aside.

Gabriel too tossed his leather jacket on the dusty ground before he looked back at Tristan. "This is the only way to have a man-to-man talk" He expressed with a slight smirk.

Tristan gave him a strange look before shaking his head in disbelief.

"I forgot you had a weird brain" Folding his sleeves up to his elbow, Tristan shake loosen his arms, and dashed towards Gabriel with a firm punch landing straight on his right cheek.

"Shit, what are they doing?" Max panicked watching Tristan’s suddenly attacking his boss. He was about to rush towards them but stopped when he watched his leader letting out a chuckle as he wipe off the blood from the corner of his lips.

He didn’t know what these two men were thinking but the way they kept provoking each other stopped him from taking a step ahead. Maybe it was their personal way of venting out their frustration, he thought.

Gabriel smiled looking at the blood stain on his thumb as he let out a chuckle and march towards attack Tristan with the same force.

They both kept punching each other venting out their anger, and letting each other know where they went wrong. Tristan and Gabriel both missed their friendship but were too egoistic to let it out.

Punching and kicking each other black and blue, both men fell on the ground when they could fight anymore.

Panting heavily, Tristan looked at the sky above when a smile curled on the corner of his lips. "You surely held enough grudge against me, Riel" Tristan’s words made Gabriel chuckle in disbelief as he lay next to him on the dusty ground.

"I can tell the same about you. Didn’t you detest me enough" Gabriel too had his eyes fixed on the blue clear cloud above

The memories of their friendship crossed his mind and he felt his eyes moisten. "I’m sorry" he mumbled after a long pause. The smile on his lips faltered as he turned around to look at Tristan who held a soft gaze on him.

His lips stretched into a broad smile and he reached his hand to ruff Gabriel’s hair. "Welcome back friend" Just a few words and tears broke down Gabriel’s eyes.

He missed his friend, missed Tristan who always stood by him no matter what. It was he who let misunderstanding pave its way to corrupt his mind forgetting their precious time together.

Chapter 367: Can’t call the cops

[ Jaguar’s second Base]

Inside the spacious office, Tristan and Gabriel settle down on their respective seats with Jack and Max standing by their boss’s side.

After sorting out their differences, Tristan and Gabriel forgave each other and joined hands to find out the person who was trying to mess with them. They knew using two forces would lead them to the culprit but they also made sure to keep this thing to themselves as they had no clue how much information their enemies carried about them.

It had been twenty minutes since they reach the base, with Tristan suggesting they should drive to the Jaguar base as he wanted to discuss some important facts regarding the woman they caught on the hospital’s CCTV footage.

"You said you found something about the culprit. What is it?" Gabriel who was losing his patience asked.

He wanted to know who that woman was and why she was trying to use him as her scapegoat. He wanted to know how she knew him and what was her motive behind targeting Ashley.

"You said after Sandra died, her body was taken by her family members," Tristan asked after much silence.

"Yes, but that’s not the truth" Gabriel agreed but it wasn’t the entire thing.

Tristan eyed his friend with a serious frown and asked," What do you mean?"

Gabriel heaved out a sigh before pinching the bridge of his nose and raised his head to look at his friend.

"The information was fabricated and I happen to learn it after I found Tori" Gabriel stated.

Tristan’s eyes grew a little wider when he mentioned the name, Tori

"Tori, isn’t she the same girl whom you hired to threaten my father-in-law?" he asked cocking his brow in questioning.

Gabriel pursed his lips into a thin line as he bobbed his head confirming his words. He was now regretting involving Ashley’s family in his revenge plan when they had nothing to do with him.

"Yes," he said with a guilty tone.

"And how did she know Sandra?" Tristan further asked. He wanted to know about this girl name Tori whom he somehow found familiar.

Gabriel who sensed Tristan’s cluelessness about who Tori was opened his mouth to speak," Tori is no one but Sandra’s younger sister"

Tristan was left stunned at the revelation about Tori’s identity.’ This was why she looked somewhat familiar he thought.

Tristan remembered Sandra mentioning about her sister once but he was too occupied with his problems he hardly paid attention to her words. But now when he carefully analyzed everything, Tori had somewhat the same features as Sandra.

Falling back on his seat Tristan rubbed his face in disbelief as he failed to recognize the girl. He remembered investigating about her many times but couldn’t find anything as Gabriel had smartly concealed her identity.

"Damn you Gabriel... I swear I will beat you like anything if you don’t clear this misunderstanding with Tori" Tristan warned Gabriel with a serious glare.

He couldn’t believe how Gabriel ended up brainwashing Sandra’s sister for his benefit.

"I am sorry" Gabriel once again apologized.

"You should be" Tristan bluntly answered before he composed his thoughts and returned to the point.

Pulling out an envelope, he passed it to Gabriel." What is it?" he asked. His eyes curiously stared at the brown cover before he looked back at Tristan and heard him say.

"We need to find the man in this photo" Opening the envelope Gabriel looked at the pictures of a man.

"Who is he?" Gabriel asked as he scanned the photos keenly when suddenly he stopped on a particular picture as his eyes narrowed a little.

"He is the first and the last person who came to visit Sandra in the prison" Tristan mentioned catching Gabriel’s eyes back at him.

Gabriel wasn’t able to fathom what Tristan was trying to tell him but the way he gave him a meaningful look, he didn’t question him any further and gave him a nod.

Turning his head towards Max, he passed him the envelope. "Get me every possible detail regarding this person"

Max took the envelope from his hand and gave him a nod. "Sure boss" he answered and took a step back.

"Anything else you want me to do?" Gabriel asked. He didn’t want to lose any means of contributing to this matter because now he understood how wrong he was for not communicating with Tristan and letting misunderstanding lead his mind against him.

"For now, we only need this man. I am sure he has a lot in store for us " Tristan mentioned.

After discussing a few more things, both Tristan and Gabriel left the base with Max and Jack investigating the man their boss mentioned about. Now that they were a team, they had to work wisely.

*****

[Brown Mansion]

Tori was getting impatience as she wasn’t able to contact Gabriel or Max. She wondered where they go suddenly without letting anyone know about it.

She wanted to apologize to Gabriel for hiding things from him but when she reached his place this morning she didn’t find him anywhere.

Pacing inside the kitchen, Tori kept glancing at her phone, checking whether there was any reply from them.

When she couldn’t reach them, Tori ended up sending messages just in case they will somehow reply to her, but even after so much time passed, there wasn’t any response.

"Why aren’t they contacting me back" she almost yelped forgetting about her surroundings and turned to walk out of the kitchen but stopped when she found Ashley in front of her.

Startled by her sudden appearance Tori quickly hide the phone behind her back and greeted Ashley.

’What is she doing here’ she thought as she slowly straightened up.

Ashley who stood by the kitchen door was keenly observing Tori, didn’t fail to notice how smartly she hid the phone.

A light smile crept on her lips and giving her a small nod she walked toward where she stood.

Tori’s heart began to pump with anxiousness wondering why was Ashley watching her that way. ’Did she see the phone in my hand’ she thought as she eyed the woman who stood in front of her.

Her calm and composed face was giving her a bad vibe but she managed to keep herself sane in front of her.

She had somehow come to hate Ashley after learning that she was the one whom Tristan liked. She knew the girl was innocent but with her life being linked with the man she hated the most, Tori eventually started hating her too.

"How are you doing Tori? Dad said weren’t feeling well" Ashley spoke after much examination. She could see the nervousness in her orbs.

Tori snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her words but she soon composed herself knowing Richard kept his daughter updated about his surroundings.

"I am doing good" she answered merely with a whisper. It was as if her throat had run dry because of anxiety. She just wanted to leave from her sight.

"Hmm.. nice to hear that or else.." Ashley mumbled as she bobbed her head in understanding as she crossed her hands over her chest and walked around her.

"How can you communicate with your boss" Snatching the phone from behind, Ashley showed it to her. "Am I right?" she asked with a chilling tone.

Tori’s face turned pale when she saw the phone in front of her eyes and suddenly everything around her started to spin.

She felt her blood run dry when suddenly Ashley walked around her and before she could analyze, she grabbed the phone from her hand bringing it in front of her face.

Staring at Ashley’s cold eyes Tori gulped the lump formed in he throat and shook her head. "I d-don’t know what you are talking about?" she muttered moving her eyes from her to the phone.

Mentally she was planning on snatching the phone from her and running away but as if her entire being was paralyzed she could take a step ahead not could she lift her hand.

Ashley watched the girl break down into sweat, yet she was too stubborn, to tell the truth.

On her way to the brown mansion, Ashley received a call from Tristan who informed her about Tori’s identity, but before he could tell her anything further she ended the call.

Everything started to make sense to her. She was here to take revenge for her sister’s death but didn’t she feel a little bit of hesitation in threatening someone who had no idea about her so-called sister?

Staring the girl with her cold eyes Ashley bobbed her head saying," I know how to make you spill everything"

Her lack of acceptance was irking Ashley and without thinking anything, she pulled out her phone and dialed her number. "I will call the cops now and they will make you spill everything"

Tori’s eyes grew wide in shock but before the call was answered someone snatched the phone from her.

"You can’t call the cops" a familiar voice drew their attention towards the person next to Ashley and both her and Tori’s eyes went wide watching Richard ending the call abruptly.

Chapter 368: Not forgiven

Ashley stared at Richard with utter disbelief. She couldn’t believe her father was stopping her from calling the cops when he very well knew it was the right time to hand her to them.

"You need to think rationally Ashley," Richard noticed the disappointment in her eyes but it wasn’t the time to let her act recklessly.

"Dad.. how can you save this girl" Ashley couldn’t believe how her father was defending her.

"He isn’t defending anyone. I asked him to stop you" Tristan’s voice beamed from behind and they all turned their heads toward him.

Ashley met his meaningful eyes which expressed concern and she clench her jaw trying to suppress her fury.

Looking away Ashley stormed out of the kitchen area leaving everyone speechless.

Richard shared a concerned look with Tristan and watched him follow his daughter giving him a don’t worry nod.

Once they both left, Richard then turned to look at Tori who stood on the same spot absentmindedly. She didn’t speak a word nor did she try to run away. She just stood there without any reaction.

"Don’t worry, she won’t call the cops" Richard assured her and it was then she finally moved her eyes to look at him.

"Why did you both stop her? It was a good chance for getting rid of me" she asked as her eyes keenly looked at the old man and she watched him slowly smile.

Tori frown at his reaction. She felt like he was mocking her somehow and that irked her even more.

"You shouldn’t let your revenge overpower your thoughts Tori where you even forget to differentiate between right and wrong" Taking a step ahead he patted her head lovingly before leaving the area.

Tori stood there unable to process what just happened and slowly looked at a way to the direction from where Richard walked out.

*****

Slamming the door of her room Ashley walked deeper inside until she reached her bed and stopped. Her mind kept recalling how her father and Tristan stopped her from calling the cops and that made her feel miserable.

Sitting by the edge of the bed, Ashley clutched the bedsheet on her side as her eyes turned red in fury. Her mind was still grasping everything when she heard someone knock on the door.

"Ash, open the door" Tristan worried voice came from the other side of the door, and just like that the rage inside her subsided.

Standing outside the door Tristan kept knocking on the door worried Ashley might stress herself when suddenly the door clicked open and his body instantly relaxed.

Ashley stood by the door staring at him with a complicated expression but before he could take a step to her, she turned and walked back inside the room leaving him standing by the door all by himself.

Tristan knew she was upset with him but he knew after he tells her everything she will drop her anger.

Entering the room Tristan closed the door behind him and walked towards Ashley.

Reaching his hand to hold her arm but Ashley jerked it off and walked toward the bed and sat down. She was upset with him and didn’t want to talk but she also knew he wouldn’t stop unless he coax her.

"You won’t talk with me?" he asked following her to the bed and sat next to her.

Ashley didn’t answer and kept looking ahead. They had the right opportunity of surrendering Tori to the cops and her father would be finally out of a threatening zone, but they didn’t let it happen.

"I want to know the reason for stopping me Tristan," she said after much silence giving Tristan right away a chance to defend himself.

Tristan heaved out a deep sigh and revealed," Tori is Sandra’s sister" his words stiffed Ashley as she slowly turned to look at him.

"What..."

"Yes, and the reason why she is here is because of Gabriel’s manipulation for which he is ashamed" A deep frown marred her face as she eyed Tristan confusingly.

"Ashamed..." She couldn’t understand anything as her thoughts began to tangle in her mind.

Noticing the puzzlement on her face Tristan began to speak everything and by the time he finished, Ashley was left speechless.

She was still not able to digest the fact that Gabriel agreed on joining hands with Tristan. "Am I dreaming?" she asked cupping her own face and turned to look at Tristan who smiled back at her playfully.

"No, my dear wifey, you aren’t dreaming. Everything I said is pure truth. This was the reason why I asked Dad to stop you from doing something reckless"

Tristan had already sensed something wrong when she ended the call midway without letting him finish the entire conversation. Just to stop her from doing something wrong, he asked Richard to help him as he explained everything to him.

Without any further questions, Richard agreed with him and before she could answer the cops, he snatched the phone from her and ended the call.

"She was just brainwashed but I am sure Gabriel will make her understand everything" Tristan’s words slowly got her back to reality and her face turned cold.

"Even if he does, will they ever be able to make up for the things they did to us" Ashley could’ve forgiven them if it wasn’t a big deal, but it wasn’t.

Tristan pursed his lips into a thin line as he had no explanation for her words. He knew whatever she said was right and he just couldn’t ask her to forgive them just because Gabriel had finally realized his mistakes.

His silence gave her the answer. It won’t be easy for her to forget everything so easily, only time could lower her anger.

*****

Noah and Alice were enjoying their married life to the fullest making love at every corner of the house. They only took a break when one of them gets hungry.

After a much passionate love-making session, they were now sitting in the living room watching their favorite tv shows when suddenly Noah’s phone rang.

Averting his eyes from the screen Noah answered the call. It was from the head cop who called him to let him know about Dylan whom they weren’t able to find anywhere.

Noah didn’t want to leave anyone who had harmed Alice. The rest were been taken care of but Dylan he wasn’t to be found and that somehow bothered him.

Avera had informed cops about his whereabouts but when they reached the spot he wasn’t there and since then they had been trying to find him.

The happiness on Noah’s face faltered as he ended up talking when Alice’s voice caught his attention.

"They didn’t find him, right," she asked and watched him shake his head in disappointment.

Alice too fell quiet. She thought now that everything was been taken care of they would finally live a happy life but when the cops couldn’t find Dylan her fear started to surge up.

"What if he is up to something" Her words took Noah by surprise and he noticed a faint gleam of fear in her eyes.

Chapter 369: Just a speculation

"Don’t worry we will find him soon" he said pulling her into a hug.

Dylan was the reason for everything that happened with Alice. Because of him, so many people stood against her, targeting her for no reason when in reality she was the one who suffered a lot. But not anymore, Noah promised to find Dylan as soon as possible.

Alice closed her eyes as she rested the side of her face on his chest. His steady heartbeats calmed her anxiety and she slowly closed her eyes listening to his every beat.

"I know," she said.

Noah kept embracing her until they both relaxed and after some time they slowly pulled away.

"So what do you plan to do next," Alice asked as she rested her chin on his firm chest. Her round eyes eagerly looked at him as she waited for his response.

Leaning a little closer Noah pecked her lips before pulling away and rubbed his chin as if he was thinking about something. They had been fooling around in the entire house doing stupid kinds of stuff and now when everything was almost done Noah was lacking for new ideas.

"I don’t know," he said pouting his defeat.

This adorable reaction swelled Alice’s heart and she heaved out a beautiful smile. "Awe my poor little baby doesn’t know what to do?" she asked playing with his chin as she tickled it using the tip of her fingers.

Noah could see the playfulness in her actions didn’t mind her words and let her tease him.

Yes, he didn’t know what else they were supposed to do anymore. Only if she asked him what he wanted to do keeping his needs in mind then he wouldn’t have stepped down from the bed and kept banging her the entire time.

The thought of having her pressed under him darkened his eyes with desire slowly replacing the pout on his lips into a sinister smile.

"In fact, I do have an idea " The smile on Alice’s face dropped the moment she noticed his desire-filled eyes and she gulped a mouth full of saliva.

"What?" she asked slowly pushing herself away from him but was it allowed, no as she was again pulled back with Noah’s strong arms wrapping around her.

"We can keep continuing doing things that we took a break from," he said slowly moving closer to her face until their lips brushed.

His hot breath fanned over her face and she closed her eyes slowly giving in to his request but before they could clasp their mouth Noah’s phone rang once again.

"Argh.. why can’t they let me live in peace" he growled away in frustration with Alice letting out a heartfelt chuckle.

"Answer it first," she said finally pulling away from him and sat on the couch.

Annoyed Noah turned and picked up the call ready to scold the person on the end but stopped.

"I want you here at the Brown mansion, now. Get Alice along" Tristan’s indifferent voice left Noah speechless and before he could utter a word to decline him, Tristan hung up the call.

Noah blinked his eyes, pulling away the phone from his ear, and looked at Alice with a dumbfounded expression.

Alice pursed her lips into a thin line as she tried to suppress her laughter watching his dumbstruck face, climbed down the bed and headed towards their bedroom saying," Don’t stay there let’s get change"

As if she had assumed everything by his reaction, Noah snapped out of his thoughts and silently followed Alice without uttering a word.

*****

[Brown Mansion]

The entire living was filled with dreadful silence. Gabriel sat at the center along with Tori while the rest gawked at them with piercing eyes.

"You must be kidding me, Tristan" Noah let out a doubtful chuckle after he declared that Gabriel was sorry for whatever he did until now.

"How can we trust you," Karl asked as he watched Gabriel keenly observing his body language like a professional spy.

No one was able to digest the fact that Gabriel had a change of mind all of a sudden when all this while he only imagined harming them.

While the boys were staring at Gabriel, the girls had their eyes on Tori who sat on the chair with her head down.

After leaving the kitchen she received a call from Gabriel who asked her to reach the dungeon as soon as possible. Without wasting a second she quickly followed his order and went to meet him trespassing the forbidden area.

She wanted to apologize to him and seek his forgiveness but what she got to know after reaching there left her speechless. Her entire world came to a standstill when Gabriel told her that he decided to forgive Tristan and he also wished her to do the same.

At first, she couldn’t believe it but when he disclosed the news about Sandra being alive, she felt her legs giving up and she stumbled to stand on her ground.

It was just a speculation but for Tori, it was the biggest hope of her life. She always wanted to meet her sister for the last time but her wish never got fulfilled. And now when finally Gabriel thought that woman inside the picture can be Sandra, her bar of hope raised high.

If that was the truth and her sister was somehow alive, there was no point in holding a grudge against Tristan but what if they were wrong?

Tori quickly brushed off the negative thought and pondered on the positive. She just hoped Gabriel’s assumption turned out to be true so she could finally meet her sister.

"I know it’s hard to trust me after whatever I did with you, but I am repenting" Gabriel’s words snapped Tori out of her thoughts and she finally raised her head and looked at everyone.

She could tell that they still didn’t completely trust them and it was quite acceptable from their end. After whatever they went through it was hard for anyone to put faith in them.

"It’s me who is to be blamed. Because of my sister, all these misunderstandings started to take place but I promise if we find her I will leave this country forever" Her words made everyone’s eyes widen in shock but the one who was more than shocked was Max.

He was too present along with them standing next to his boss. He couldn’t believe what just Tori said. ’Will she really leave us, forever’ he thought as he watched her with utter disbelief.

No one knew about him having feelings for her. Though he tried to keep it as a mentor and student, Max didn’t realize it when he started to fall for her.

He thought just having her in front of him would help him love her from a distance but now whatever she said stabbed his heart.

He wasn’t ready to see the day she finally walks out of his life.

While Max was hurt by her words everyone around was shocked by her bold declaration.

******

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Chapter 370: Secretly in love

Stepping out of the house, Gabriel hopped into his car and drove away. He had some work to finish so he asked Max to bring Tori to his place.

Gabriel didn’t want Tori to stay at the Brown mansion now that her work was terminated so he asked her to move back to his place where she had been staying before she entered the Brown mansion for the mission.

Carrying her bags Max walked towards the car and opened the trunk, placing her stuff inside before slamming the door shut.

Tori noticed how Max haven’t spoken to her all this time and it made her wonder why was he so silent.

She was about to speak but he turned and walked around the car and got into the driver’s seat leaving her speechless.

Max had never acted so distant with her but his lack of interaction was now bothering her.

Composing herself she turned and entered the passenger seat and put on the seat belt before the car started and they drove out of the huge gate.

Inside the silent moving car, Tori kept glancing at the man who never once turn to see her nor did he speak a word with her.

She noticed how he kept clenching his jaw while his hand tightly gripping the steering wheel as if he was trying to control his anger.

"The words you said back there, were they true," he asked out of the blue taking Tori by surprise and she balled her fist tightly over her lap understanding what words he was referring to.

"Yes" came her firm reply that startled Max and he quickly pulled the brakes stopping the car to the side of the road.

"So you will leave after you find your sister.. forever" There was pain in his voice as he watched her with sadness.

Tori had never seen Max this way and something about his reaction made her feel guilty but she soon masked that emotion and confirmed firmly," It’s the only way to put an end to all of this"

Max watched Tori move her eyes from him and that break his heart. He thought loving her secretly, behind the shadows will give him happiness, but he didn’t realize what would happen to him if someday she left.

He never thought about this because he always knew Tori won’t leave them no matter what. But what she said inside the mansion broke his heart.

Staring at her for some time, Max gulped the lump in his throat as he fight the tears in his eyes. He did not want her to see him like this, knowing how she never felt the same way he did for her.

It was just him who secretly liked her without letting her know about it.

Tori clutched her palm until her skin turned white. She could feel Max’s eyes on her but he didn’t speak a word. He thought she was aware of how her words earlier had affected him, but she was too proud to acknowledge his feelings.

She was aware of Max secretly loved her but she could reciprocate him back knowing how messed up her life is. She thought she wasn’t someone who anyone could love because of her past life.

Daughter of a drug dealer, and sister of a murderer. Tori never thought of being the kind of person whom anyone wanted to cherish. She wasn’t meant for this, but all her thoughts started to change when she realized how different Max was from her.

The way he listened to her, helped her, trained her, keeping all her queries in mind slowly changed her thoughts about herself. She thought maybe she too can fall in love with someone but then she feared that her feelings could get in between her mission, so she started to decline them.

Though she liked him yet she couldn’t express it. ’Maybe that’s how it was supposed to be,’ she thought.

Max felt like his heart was being crushed badly as her words stabbed him like anything. He wasn’t ready to let her go but he also couldn’t ask her to stay.

She was here with them only for her sister and when she would finally find her, they would have to let her go.

"Fine... if that’s what you want" Max finally spoke after a much pause as he bobbed his head trying to understand the situation. He can’t let her stay with him if she didn’t want to.

She was free to live a normal life, just as she had dreamed of and who was he to stop her from doing so?

Tori released her fist and turn to look at Max in shock. His eyes turned cold as he masked his emotions from her and looked away.

"It’s your life. You can do anything you want" Max’s words came out so indifferent that Tori couldn’t utter a word in her defense. She knew he was hurt, but she wasn’t ready to face this coldness.

She opened her mouth to speak only to close it back. Max didn’t spare a glance at her and started the car before the drove away from there.

*****

[Brown Mansion’s Backyard]

A group of people was busy enjoying their time talking to each other while sitting on the Adirondack chairs.

Tori’s assuring words had somewhat helped them believe her and now all they had to confirm if their assumption about Sandra being alive was true.

"How come you found out about her?" Noah asked taking a sip from his wine glass.

"Jack helped me through this piece of information. Do you remember that day when we took Dad to the hospital? Jack had seen someone familiar as that Sandra" Tristan said turning his head toward Ashley who bobbed her head in agreement.

"At first I thought, he must have misunderstood someone to be her, but then something clicked in his mind and he asked him to get the CCTV footage from the hospital." he further stated as everyone watched him telling the story.

"Though we couldn’t see her face, the woman did somewhat look familiar. We were just in the process of gathering information when that accident happened on the set and we came to learn that it wasn’t Gabriel this time who attack her but someone else."

"But how is the accident connected to Sandra?" Noah asked when he finally ended up racking his brain.

"The man who was assigned to carry the work told us that a woman had hired him for the job and I have a doubt the women in the footage and the woman the man spoke about are the same and why I am so confident is because both of them are related to one person" he paused and looked up to meet everyone’s curious eyes.

"Patrick Thames... Sandra’s father"