Every Night She Sleepwalked to Him—Until He Pretended No More Chapter 14

Every Night She Sleepwalked to Him—Until He Pretended No More Chapter 14

Two in the morning. I was draped across Bennett, completely boneless.

He reached under the pillow, pulled out a ribbon, and wound it around both our wrists. He tied it tight

“You’re not going anywhere tonight.”

Safe. That was the only word for what I felt. “What if I get hungry in my sleep and the episodes start up

again?”

pulled me tighter, so close I could feel his heartbeat in my ribs. 7 won’t let you go hungry And if you slip, I’ll wake up before you do.”

od night.” I smiled and let myself fall asleep in his arms.

At four in the morning, an episode hit. Bennett woke up first, just like he promised

He tightened his arms around me. “Hungry?”

I nodded, still half under. “Mm-hmm.”

Bennett smiled.

Somewhere in the heat of it, my mind snapped back…

The next morning

suit to the firm.

g in my office. One look at me and she smiled, like she already knew

rother and Bennett are close. He’s told me things.”

“Apparently he had an online girlfriend years ago. She left him. And he never moved on, just waited for her

“That was you, wasn’t it, Maren?”

I nodded. “Yeah. It was me.” I paused. “You mentioned you were seeing someone online too Who is he?

Camille’s face softened. “His name is Elliot Vaughn. Once this whole thing with Brent is behind me. I’m going to meet him.”

smiled. “Good.” We turned back to her case.

th Brent’s phone seized, the video never got out. It was permanently deleted, the cloud backup too. Brent got what was coming to him.

Camille and I stayed friends.

After Bennett and I got together, the episodes started fading.

I’d seen specialists before. Medication never worked. Bennett did.

A psychologist explained it to me once. As a child, I went looking for food because I was hungry. As an adult,

I went looking for love because I was starving for affection.

The more loved I felt, the quieter the episodes became.

Three years ago, I’d been too afraid to meet him. Too convinced I wasn’t enough.

That girl was gone. I didn’t feel small anymore. I wasn’t afraid of losing what I had.

Bennett made me feel safe in a way I’d never known. Ironic, because he was the one terrified of losing me.

He was clingy, domestic, and wildly possessive.

The man put properties in my name before we were even engaged. He moved a nine-figure sum into my account and wouldn’t take no for an answer.

“No prenup,” he told me. “When we get married, I’m not signing one.”

I sat him down and explained family law professionally, the way I would for any client. A divorce without a prenup would cost him a fortune.

A dark, fierce intensity flashed in his eyes. “Don’t say that word. There’s no divorce. If you ever try to leave me, I’ll lose my mind.”

Right. Obsessive. I kept forgetting.

I pulled him close. “Okay, okay. No what-ifs. We’re never getting divorced.”

Comments filled the screen. [An obsessive hopeless romantic married to a lawyer who actually knows the law? That man would lose everything in a divorce.]

(Good thing Maren’s never getting rid of him.]

[He’s a one-woman man. It’s always been Maren.]

And honestly? With the way Bennett loved me, I never wanted to.

The maple tree in the yard had turned gold. Fallen leaves blanketed the ground.

On a quiet weekend afternoon, Nimbus dozed among the leaves in a patch of sunlight.

I was making coffee at the kitchen island.

Bennett came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. “Baby, I love you.”

I smiled. “Stop it. That’s nine times today.”

“I know, Bennett. I feel it.”

“Every day with you makes me happy.”

Bennett rested his forehead against mine. “It’s not enough. I could tell you a thousand times and it still

wouldn’t be enough.”

We stayed like that, holding on, heartbeat against heartbeat.

Outside, the last of the maple leaves drifted down. Winter was on its way.

But standing here, wrapped in him, it felt like spring.

The End