Twisted love

The Truth Unveiled

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Andrew’s POV

Chapter nineteen

Flashback

The night was cool, with a gentle wind rustling the leaves outside as I sat alone in my dim room, my thoughts spiraling around Katherine. I had tried to ignore the signs, tried to push down the aching envy that threatened to consume me, but Oliver just wouldn’t stop. He was relentless. With every laugh he drew from her, every smile he stole, he was claiming more of what I felt was meant to be mine.

And then, there it was—that moment that shattered everything. I had been looking through my window, plotting ways I'd "accidentally " bump into  her, but that was when I saw him. Oliver, walking up the path to the door with boxes of roses and her favorite snacks and what appeared to be Boxes of decorations. A man preparing for a grand gesture, all his devotion wrapped up in petals, in a romantic display meant to make her his.

In that instant, my blood turned to fire. The world seemed to tilt, and all I could see was red. Katherine was too precious, too pure to be pulled into the lies Oliver would weave around her. I couldn’t let him have her; he didn’t deserve her. He would ruin her, just like he’d ruined so much else. And as the idea settled, dark and twisted, I couldn’t resist the urge to act. I would protect her, even if it meant tearing them apart.

It wasn’t long after that night when I found myself reaching for the camera I had planted in Oliver’s car—a harmless move, or so I’d told myself. Just a way to keep an eye on him, to make sure he wasn’t doing anything that could hurt her. But deep down, I knew the truth: I was desperate to know her world, to feel closer to her, even if it meant crossing lines I shouldn’t.

I sat down, opened the surveillance footage, and there they were. The video started with laughter, her bright, beautiful smile lighting up the car’s interior as Oliver whispered something to her. The sight of them together burned, like a thousand needles piercing my skin. And then… then they were entangled, oblivious to everything else. Her hands in his hair, his whispers in her ear—the scene playing out before me felt like a nightmare I couldn’t escape. I should have stopped watching. I should have closed the laptop and turned away.

But instead, I leaned closer, my heart pounding as the twisted plan took root. This was my chance. This was my way to break their illusion, to make her see the truth about Oliver. He wasn’t loyal; he wasn’t pure. He was a weakness she would eventually regret. I convinced myself I was doing this for her, that somehow, exposing this would protect her from heartache she didn’t even see coming.

Without hesitation, my fingers flew over the keys. I saved the footage, making it look like it had come from Oliver’s account, adding the details that would cast suspicion on him, leaving him with no way to defend himself. And with one click, I sent it.

As I watched the file upload, a sick thrill washed over me. I told myself that this was for her good, that she’d see through his facade and, in time, she would turn to me. I could almost see it: her brokenhearted, realizing who truly cared for her, and then I’d be there to comfort her, to show her what real love could be.

Present Day

The reality of what I had done echoed in my mind, louder now, twisting my stomach into knots as I recalled every detail of that night.

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The knock at my door brought me back to the present, jolting me from the memories that had plagued me for so long. I opened it, expecting nothing, but when I saw Katherine standing there, drenched and trembling, my heart stopped, And now, as I looked into Katherine’s eyes, I could see the shattered trust that I had inflicted on her—the betrayal I had cloaked in misguided love.The remnants of my twisted decisions hung in the air between us, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe. How many times had I dreamed of her coming to me, needing me, seeking comfort in my arms? But this… this was different. She wasn’t here because she wanted me. She was here because I had taken everything else from her.

“Katherine…” I whispered, unsure if my voice even reached her through the storm outside.

Her eyes met mine, filled with a raw pain that struck me down to my core. In her gaze, I saw the truth—the weight of every wrong I had done, every boundary I had crossed. She didn’t know the full story, but she knew enough. And the trust that had once existed between us, fragile as it was, had been destroyed...or so I thought.

“I saw him, Andrew,” she said, her voice cracking. “I saw him with… with her and their child.” Her words hung heavy, each one piercing through me with a sharpness I couldn’t have prepared for.

The betrayal she felt wasn’t from me. She didn’t know what I had done, not fully. And yet, the guilt gnawed at me, knowing I was responsible for the pain that twisted her expression now. I had taken everything from her. Everything.

“You don’t deserve this,” I finally managed, my voice thick with the weight of my actions. “He… he doesn’t deserve you.”

A spark of something dark flickered in her eyes, and for a moment, I wondered if she was beginning to piece it together. She looked at me with an intensity that made me want to confess, to lay bare the twisted reasoning that had driven me to betray the only person I had ever loved.

“Andrew,” she whispered, her voice a broken plea. “I don’t know where to go from here. I don’t know who to trust anymore.”

I wanted to reach out, to pull her close, to tell her that I would fix everything. But the truth settled like a stone in my chest, heavy and unmoving. There was no undoing what I had done. All I could do was stay by her side, a silent guardian, hoping that maybe one day, she would forgive the part of me that had loved her in such a twisted, selfish way.

“Stay,” I said softly, my voice a whisper against the storm. “Stay here, with me.”

For a moment, she hesitated, her gaze searching mine. And then, with a defeated sigh, she nodded, stepping into my apartment, into the warmth, leaving the cold and the betrayal outside. I closed the door, watching her as she settled on the edge of the couch, her face drawn and weary.

And as I looked at her, sitting there, so close yet so unreachable, I knew that no matter how much I loved her, there would always be a barrier between us—a wall built from my own lies, my own mistakes.