His Secret [Completed]

Chapter Forty-Four

Walking out of the hotel was one of the hardest things he'd ever had to do, and as he sat in the car watching the clock tick by, he wondered if he'd see her racing down the stairs to find him and repeat the three words he'd said to her. The rain beat down on the roof and he focused on the sound in an attempt to drown out his conflicting thoughts. One part of him was saying he needed to forget and drive away, but another was screaming at him to march back to her room, tell her he'd never leave her and run away with her.

He'd planned to tell her the truth after realising it was the only way Sophia would leave, but he didn't plan on telling her how he felt, telling her he loved her. He'd known it for a while, since he was a young boy. They were friends, after all, and he'd always had a crush. But it was the moment he watched her eyes struggle to open as she woke to the bright light on the morning after the charity gala that he realised his feelings were deeper than ever before. Noah knew that she would be his downfall and with her in his life, he stood no chance of protecting her. At first, he agreed to help Brooke steal the money from Sophia's grandmother's safety deposit box to feed her stupid pride and convince her that she held a special place in his heart. He had believed that would be the end of it. But that was a mistake, as Brooke began wanting more and more.

Two years before that day, his life was peaceful - he was in a loving relationship with Brooke and his business was booming - but then she came to him with news of money that was rightfully hers. And because Noah was so in love, he offered to give her the sum of money from his own pocket - they'd only  been dating for six months at that time. Brooke exploded and told him she didn't want any money, she wanted the woman who'd stolen it to suffer and of course, Noah agreed and they formed a plan.

Brooke had been smart in not telling him the woman's name and he cursed himself as he thought back. To him, the nameless woman was evil and should be punished. But when after a month of planning, she revealed the name to him, he was confused. He knew the name from somewhere, but couldn't place a face to the familiar name. He then did some digging, off the books without Brooke knowing, and found out everything he needed to know. Sophia Jenkins was his long lost friend from when he was a young boy, she hadn't any family, a stable job or any money, and he didn't know how she would be punished for something she didn't seem to have.

Now two years later, after the job had been done, he was sitting alone in his car wanting nothing more than to go back to the day he'd met Brooke and ignore her seductive looks and feisty personality. He wished he'd never met her.

Noah threw the car into gear and sped down the familiar road, towards the place that had been his escape back in college. As he pulled into the staff car park around the back of the small cafe, he was hesitant in parking in the space that was his. His initial was still engraved into the sign at the end of the space but after a second he pulled straight in and turned off the engine. His walk around to the front of the coffee shop was a nervous one. He hadn't been there in around five years and was unsure whether the same family he'd grown close to still owned the small business.

As he walked in, the bell above the door chimed and he noticed a tall, thin woman dressed in a police officer uniform was busy making a coffee. "I'll be with you in a sec." Her English accent warmed his heart and for the first time that day, his thoughts drifted away from Sophia.

"No problem," he spoke in a low voice. "Take your time." The woman's actions froze as the coffee mug slipped from her hands and crashed to the floor. She turned around slowly, the action causing a smile to creep onto Noah's face and their eyes locked.

"Oh my God."

"Hi." Noah smiled apologetically, as this was the first time he'd gone to the coffee shop since his college years. The heads of the customers turned to watch as she strode around the counter and slapped him hard across the cheek.