Chapter 34

Mason had left early that morning, promising to check in after work. I knew he was doing everything he could to protect me, but I couldn’t help myself. As soon as I was alone, I found myself searching for answers.

Sandra’s brother, Charles, had been a name I barely remembered from years ago. I combed through old articles online, piecing together fragments of the past. 

He’d been in some kind of trouble before his sudden death, but details were scarce. Mason’s name didn’t appear anywhere, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that the message was pointing to something real.

Hours passed, and I barely noticed. The more I read, the more my stomach twisted. It wasn’t until I stumbled upon a report about a police raid gone wrong that everything clicked. Sandra’s brother had been at the scene. And Mason had been the officer in charge. 

He was arrested for the murder before he was acquitted. 

I sat back, my hands trembling. I didn’t want to believe it, but the evidence was right there. Mason was connected to Sandra’s brother’s death.

By the time Mason came home, I was barely holding myself together. I didn’t say anything, but something in my demeanor must have tipped him off.

“You okay?” He asked, his eyes scanning my face.

“Yeah,” I said quickly, avoiding his gaze. “Just tired.”

He didn’t look convinced, but he didn’t push.

“Any texts?” He asked again, looking pointedly at me. 

“No, not one.” I replied him, still avoiding his gaze. 

The days after stretched endlessly as the silence between Mason and me grew deeper, heavier. It wasn’t something either of us had acknowledged aloud, but I could feel the distance widening like a chasm, impossible to ignore. 

I didn’t mean to pull away, I didn’t even realize I was doing it at first. But knowing what I knew, the weight of Sandra’s brother’s death, it was hard to look Mason in the eye.

It wasn’t just the messages anymore. They had even stopped. It was the truth I had uncovered and the fear that, maybe, I didn’t know Mason as well as I thought I did.

I began avoiding him without even realizing it. Staying late at campus, locking myself in my room under the pretense of studying, brushing off his attempts at conversation with a forced smile.

Mason noticed. 

Of course he did.

It wasn’t until one evening, when I came home to find him waiting in the living room, that everything came to a head.

“Happiness,” he said, his voice low but firm.

I froze, clutching my bag tighter. “Yeah?”

“Sit down,” he said, gesturing to the couch. His tone left no room for argument.

Reluctantly, I sat, my heart pounding in my chest.

“What’s going on?” he asked, his gaze piercing. “You’ve been avoiding me for days. Is it the messages? Did something happen?”

I opened my mouth to deny it, to brush him off again, but the words wouldn’t come. Instead, I found myself blurting out, “I know about Sandra’s brother.”

For a moment, Mason didn’t say anything. Then he sighed, running a hand through his hair as he leaned back in his chair.

The room seemed still. Mason’s expression didn’t change, but I saw the way his shoulders stiffened, the way his jaw clenched ever so slightly.

“What do you think you know?” he asked quietly.

I swallowed hard, my voice trembling. “I know you were there when he died. I know it was during a raid you led. And I know... You were acquitted.”

“It wasn’t like that,” he said, his voice heavy. “Charles wasn’t supposed to be there. He wasn’t part of the raid. He was a witness, someone we were protecting. But he made a mistake. He tried to handle something on his own, and it went sideways. By the time we got there, it was too late.”

I felt a pang of guilt at the raw pain in his voice.

I stared at him, my chest tightening. “Did Sandra know?”

“She found out,” he admitted, his voice heavy. “I told her everything. I thought we could get through it, but it broke us. Or at least, I thought it did.”

Mason’s eyes darkened. “She didn’t leave me because of Mark. At least, not entirely. She left because she’d already moved on.”

I blinked, taken aback. “What?”

“She’d been seeing someone else,” Mason said bitterly. “Michael. My best friend at the time. They were studying overseas together, finishing their PhDs. I thought we were solid, that she was just busy with her studies. But they’d been together for months, maybe longer.”

My stomach twisted. “You didn’t know?”

“I found out the day of the wedding,” he said, his voice low. “I saw them leaving together, but I still couldn’t believe it. I stayed, waiting for her, thinking she’d come back. Until Michael sent me a video.”

“A video?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

Mason’s expression hardened, his jaw tightening. “A video of them. Together. He told me to stop waiting for ‘his woman.’ That was the breaking point for me. After that, I couldn’t even think about being with another woman without feeling... sick.”

I felt my heart ache for him, for the pain he’d clearly carried for so long.

“But you... you changed that,” he said softly, his gaze meeting mine.

My breath caught.

“Happiness, I didn’t think I could feel this way again. Not after everything that happened. But you came into my life, and...” He trailed off, his voice trembling slightly.

“And?” I prompted, my heart racing.

“And I’m terrified,” he admitted, his eyes shining with vulnerability. “Terrified of ruining this, of ruining you. You’re so young, so full of potential. I don’t want to hold you back, to make you regret this someday.”

Tears welled in my eyes as I reached out, taking his hand in mine. “Mason, you’re not ruining me. You’ve shown me what it means to be loved, to be cared for. You’ve given me more than you realize.”

He looked at me, his expression conflicted. “You don’t understand, Happy. I’ve made mistakes. I’m not the man you think I am.”

“You’re the man I love,” I said firmly, my voice steady despite the tears streaming down my face. “And I’m not going anywhere.”

For a moment, he just stared at me, as if searching for something. Then, slowly, he nodded, his hand tightening around mine.

“I’ll protect you, Happy,” he said quietly. “No matter what happens. I promise.”

And for the first time in days, I felt like we were on solid ground again. The secrets, and the past. They were still there, but they no longer felt like walls between us. Together, we could face anything.

For the first time in days, I felt the wall between us start to crack. I stepped closer, reaching for his hand.

“Don’t shut me out again,” I said, my voice trembling.

“I won’t,” he promised, his grip tightening around mine. “I’ll make this right. I’ll find out who’s behind this, and I’ll stop them. But I need you to trust me.”