Lesley’s POV
Chapter 14 Familiar Enemy\
I stared at Vincent, “You know him?” My voice cut through as I snapped at him. “You knew James?!”
Vincent blinked, then frowned, like I just asked him to solve a riddle with a gun to his head. Gosh, I needed him to be smart right now.
“I didn’t say I knew him. I said his name sounded…”
“Familiar,” I snapped, cutting him off, storming to the bookshelf and yanking out my old laptop. “You said it sounded familiar like you were trying to remember your old childhood dog’s name. Don’t gaslight me now, Vincent. Don’t you dare.” I was fuming at this point.>>
He took a step back as I slammed the laptop on the table and fired it up with shaking hands.”
My breath came in short, forced breathing. I hadn’t looked at this account in years, but I remembered the password.
Vincent hovered behind me, lips paused. Watching.”
The screen lit up. I pulled up the old photo, the one of James smiling like the sun was his best friend, his hair messier than I remembered. I turned the screen towards Vincent.
“This. This is the James Wilson I’m talking about. Look at him.“”
His face changed instantly. From uncertainty to recognition.”
He exhaled sharply. “Shit. That’s him.“}]
“So you do know him.” My voice cracked. “What the hell, Vincent? Have you been lying to me this entire time? Are you working with him? Is this…” I gestured wildly to our apartment, our life, my safety… “some kind of trap? Are you trying to drag me back into whatever hell I crawled out of?”
“No!” His voice was louder than I had ever heard it, his hands shooting up to block me. Good for him, I was seconds away from smacking him. “Lesley, no. Jesus. I’m not in league with anyone. Okay?!”
I stood. “Then explain it. Right now. How the hell do you know James exactly?”
He hesitated. That’s betrayal in my book.”
Why is this happening to me!?}]
“Vincent.”
“We worked together,” he said finally. “Years ago. At CypherTech. I didn’t even make the connection until I saw his face just now. He was in a different department. Cybersecurity. Quiet guy. Brilliant, but… off. Like he was always running some background code in his head no one else could see.”
I stared at him, my heart pounding in my chest. “And you never thought to mention this?”
“I didn’t know he was your James. I swear. And it’s not like we were close….I only found out his full name because he got into some kind of trouble and people were whispering about it for weeks.“}
“What kind of trouble?” I asked.”
Vincent hesitated again.
Betrayal.[
“Vincent.”
He looked me dead in the eye. “The kind that makes people disappear.“}]
I stared at Vincent, searching for some crack in the story, some sign he was making it all up to keep me from falling apart. But his face was open now and it screamed ‘I’m telling the truth‘
I sighed and started to pace the room.
“What am I going to do?” I whispered to myself.”
Wait! Does Trenton know about James being back?}]
Vincent ran a hand through his hair. “I… I actually reconnected with him a few weeks ago.“N
My heart dropped. “What?”
“I didn’t know who he was, Lesley. Not really. We grabbed a drink, caught up a little. Talked about life. Work. And… love.“}]
The word sliced into me.!!
Oh no! I know where this is already going.”
My voice came out cold. “And my name came up, huh?”
He winced. “It wasn’t like that. We were just talking. About people who left marks. I told him I’ve been in love once. That I still was, maybe. And he asked questions. I didn’t use your name at first, I swear…” he was panicking. Good.
“But you told him eventually.” I said deadpan.
His silence was all the answer I needed.
I took a step back, like his confession had physically pushed me.!!
“You told him,” I whispered. “You told James about me.“}
“I didn’t know he was that James, plus you have to admit, it’s not like you went into details of who he was. You only talked about him in bits and pieces.” Vincent said again, quietly, “I never would’ve said anything if I knew.“]
Wants Me Back
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“But you did,” I snapped. “You told some guy from your past about me, about feelings you knew I would never return… and now that guy
turns out to be my first love, the one I spent years trying to forget. The one who broke me in ways you saw, Vincent.“8
He looked like I had slapped him. I wish I had, honestly.
I kept going. “How could you do that? How could you hand pieces of me to someone you barely knew anymore? How could you talk about me like I was some… some shared memory between you?“>
“I didn’t mean to hurt you,” he said quietly. “Lesley.”
“Well, congratulations,” I said. “You did.”
“I need space,” I said, my voice shaking. “Don’t talk to me for a while. I need to think.”
Vincent opened his mouth like he wanted to argue, to explain, to fix it, but then he closed it again.”
Nodded once. Barely.
I turned to walk to my room, but I changed my mind. “You know what? I don’t feel safe here, I’m going back to my parent’s.“>
The look on his face. God.
Well, serves him right for what he did.
