Every Night She Sleepwalked to Him—Until He Pretended No More Chapter 10

Every Night She Sleepwalked to Him—Until He Pretended No More Chapter 10

I left the building and called my realtor. I needed a new place, fast.

He had a listing. He’d take me after work.

The place he showed me was overpriced and nothing special. I told him to keep looking.

Back home, I showered, fed Nimbus, and curled up on the couch with him to watch TV.

Suitable place or not, I was leaving within the week. A hotel would do if it came to that.

I’d miss Nimbus. I’d miss the little garden I’d planted in the yard. The view from the window. So many things…

But this was never mine to keep. I had to stop pretending it was.

I didn’t send Bennett a photo of Nimbus that night.

I was scrolling through my feed when I saw it. Bennett had posted a photo: the hickey, right there beneath his open collar. The caption: [Her reward.]

Was he going public?

I checked Camille’s profile. Nothing. She hadn’t posted, hadn’t liked his photo.

It didn’t seem like Bennett was coming home that night.

I set my phone down. Something still didn’t sit right.

The comments weren’t always right. If Bennett really was with Camille, he shouldn’t be acting like this with

After a while, I picked up my phone again. I logged out of my main account and tried an old one, one I hadn’t touched in three years.

I’d long forgotten the password. But something made me try a guess that night. It worked.

One contact. Just one. My ex, the online boyfriend I’d never met.

We’d dated online for two years. Three years ago, we finally made plans to meet. I panicked and couldn’t go through with it.

He was the only relationship I’d ever had.

I’d loved him, really loved him. But I could tell from the way he talked that he came from money. I convinced myself I wasn’t enough. That it would never work. So I ended things. No explanation. No goodbye.

I deleted the app and tried to forget.

Thousands of messages were waiting for me. All of them from him. Pleas to come back. Confessions that

made the hair on my arms stand up.

[Baby, when I find you, I’m never letting you go again.]

[Baby, I finally found you. But you have a boyfriend.]

[You handed him water and smiled at him. I’m losing my mind.]

[I want to tear you two apart. I want to pin you down and make you tell me why you left.]

[Baby, we’re in the same city now.]

[Would you even recognize me if I walked right past you?]

[Baby, you’re so cold to me. I think I’m going crazy.]

[Baby, your kisses are so sweet. I’m scared this is just a dream, so I don’t dare wake you.]

My ex wasn’t just possessive. He was delusional.

The last message was a voice note, seven seconds long, sent three days ago at one thirty in the morning.

My thumb hovered over it. I didn’t press play.

Some doors were better left shut.

At some point, I curled up on the couch and drifted off.

Bennett came home at eleven.

He found me on the couch, slipped off his jacket, and draped it over me.

Another episode pulled me under. My eyes opened, foggy and unfocused. “Bennett, I’m hungry.”