“What about the recording?” Tono asked.
“While it’s not solid evidence due to the vagueness of her threats, it does show intent which the police can use to justify increasing their presence.”
Brie walked over to Tono and leaned against him, looking emotionally beaten. “Even though I still have to face my mom, I feel hopeful we can defeat Lilly for the first time.” She looked up at him and smiled weakly. “That is worth the price.”
He was relieved she felt that way and nodded to Mr. Thompson before escorting Brie out of the building.
“So overall it sounds like your lawyer is optimistic.”
“He is. He also gave me some information that I needed to hear.”
“I suppose I’m not allowed to ask?”
“I’m going to tell you anyway,” Brie said stubbornly, pulling out a journal from her purse to show him. “I had Mr. Thompson locate an expert to analyze the handwriting in Sir’s journal.”
“Why would you do that?”
She looked down at the leather-bound journal. “There was something in here that was extremely hurtful pertaining to Sir’s time in China. I needed to know if they were Sir’s words or not.” Brie sighed deeply. “It turns out the expert found it difficult to verify initially because the penmanship is so close in structure, but after careful analysis between the two samples, he is convinced it is not Sir’s handwriting.” She kissed the journal, a look of relief on her face.
“If it wasn’t his, whose was it?”
Brie said with disdain, “Lilly’s.”
Tono couldn’t hide his shock. “She faked an entire journal?”
Brie shook her head. “No, she wrote one line in it.”
“You’re telling me she stole his personal journal and wrote in it?”
“That’s exactly what happened, and she did it because she hoped one day I would read it.”
Tono shook his head, horrified by the calculated act.
Brie looked at the journal again as she flipped through the pages. “I remember seeing a note she’d written to Sir when they’d first met, and her handwriting reminded me of his. At the time I thought it was sweet—highlighting the fact they were siblings.” She stopped on one page, staring hard at the single sentence written there. “I never suspected for a second that she would use it against me in the most hateful way.”
Brie shut the journal and continued walking on in silence, but Tono noticed how tightly she hugged the journal to her chest and the slight smile on her lips.
He understood it was a personal victory against Lilly and trusted it would be the first of many.
Once they arrived at the apartment, Brie asked him to listen in on her phone call with her mother, asking for his guidance during the call.
“Aren’t you afraid I will hear things you don’t want me to know?”
“Tono, it’s not prudent to keep this from you. Besides, if I can’t trust you, then who can I trust?”
He nodded, agreeing with her assessment. “My one piece of advice, Brie, is to let her do the talking. Answer only what’s required and don’t go into detail. No reason to complicate her life by giving away more information than necessary.”
“Got it.” Brie hit dial and switched it to speaker phone.
Her mother immediately picked up. “Brianna, what’s going on? I have been sitting by the phone all this time waiting to hear back from you.”
“Mom, before I say anything, I need to know exactly what happened.”
“What happened? I’ll tell you what happened! I received an email from someone calling themselves Brianna’s Friend. In the email were pictures of your husband with another woman. Both of them looked disheveled and his hands are on her in all three photos.”
Brie shivered but sounded calm when she asked, “Mom, those photos… what are they doing in them?”
“They show the two walking down a street in some foreign city—oriental by the looks of the lettering. They both appear to be quite drunk.”
Brie said nothing, so Tono nudged her gently, encouraging her to speak.
“Mom, besides the photos, was there anything else attached in the email?”
“Yes, it came with a disgusting message.”
“What did it say?”
“Mr. and Mrs. Bennett, I felt the need to inform you that your daughter is married to a monster. These photos were taken months before their wedding. This is Thane with his biological sister. She is pregnant with his child.”
Brie let out a small gasp. Tono took her face in his hand and gazed deep into her eyes, helping her to regain her center.
“Brianna, tell me this isn’t true!”
“No, Mom, it’s a lie. A terrible, vicious lie. You can’t believe a word that woman says.”
“What woman?”
“Thane’s half-sister. Lilly is out to destroy us.”
“Are you positive she’s lying?” her mother asked, clearly unhinged by the news.
“I know she is, Mom. She’s trying to hurt me by going to you.”
“But, Brianna, how do you explain these pictures?”
“Thane said his sister insisted on celebrating when she thought their mother had opened her eyes. He told me that the two of them got drunk that night. I’m willing to bet those photos you have show Sir simply trying to get them both back to the hotel in one piece.”
“I’m not sure…” she replied. Tono guessed she was staring at the photos. “How do you explain their disheveled state?”
Brie looked at Tono for a moment before answering vaguely, “Foreign countries can be dangerous for drunk Americans.”
“Do you have any idea what would have happened if your father had gotten a hold of this email instead of me?”
“I do. I have thought of nothing else. I’m just eternally grateful it found its way to you first.”
“Brianna, why would this woman accuse Thane of such a thing?”
Tono could hear the anxiety in her mother’s voice and scribbled a note.
Assure her.
“Mom,” Brie said gently, “Lilly is crazy like her mother. She wanted to hurt us, but her last-ditch effort didn’t work because of you. I can’t thank you enough.”
“You don’t know how close she came, little girl. Your father is pulling into the driveway as we speak.”
Tono quickly wrote another note.
Evidence.
Brie quickly instructed, “Mom, can you forward the email to me before you delete it? I may need it for evidence against her.”
“Brianna, you know I hate keeping things from your father.”
“I trust you to do what you feel is best.”
In the background they could hear the sound of a door opening.
“Is that you, dear?” her mother called out before hanging up the phone.
Brie stared at Tono in stunned silence for several moments before uttering, “Tono, there are pictures…”
She grabbed her tablet and opened the email her mother had just sent. Attached to it were the three photographs her mother had talked about. Tono stared at them closely, noting the disoriented look on Sir Davis’s face, and the way he held Lilly close to him.
Lilly, on the other hand, was smiling up at him strangely.
Brie enlarged the photos so Tono could study them more closely. Lilly didn’t have the look of a drunken woman. Her stare was far too intense. It gave Tono chills to look at it.
He also noticed that the woman seemed to be holding Sir Davis’s hands against her body, as if she were posing him. It only affirmed his suspicions that Lilly had staged the pictures.
While he was still trying to wrap his head around the horrifying accusation being levied against Sir Davis, one thing was evident based on the photos alone. “She planned this, Brie. These pictures were plotted out.”
Brie actually smiled at his pronouncement. “I’m comforted to know she took pictures that night. In trying to prove his guilt, Lilly shared evidence that proves hers. Maybe she isn’t as sma
rt as she thinks.”
Tono put his arm around Brie’s shoulders and cautioned, “Although it is obvious this is a scam, Lilly still poses a real threat to you. Irrational people are capable of causing considerable damage.”
“I understand, Tono,” Brie said, smiling, “but I can’t wait to go to the hospital in the morning and tell Sir the good news! Lilly thought she could hurt me by leaking it to my parents, but she only hurt herself. I’m sending these to Mr. Thompson right now.”
While Tono was glad to see the weight lifted off Brie, he wouldn’t feel the same until Lilly was in the hands of the authorities. That look in her eyes as she stared up at Sir in the photos chilled him to the bone.
Dancing in the Rain
“I live for our nightly phone calls.”
“It is the highlight of my day as well, Autumn.”
She let out a happy sigh. “Maybe we can do a video chat tomorrow? I think seeing you would also help with this whole separation thing.”
“That’s a good suggestion. I’ll upload an app on my phone so we can do that next time,” Tono agreed.
“Ren…”
“Yes, Autumn.”
“I do trust you.”
“I’m glad to hear it.”
“Please give Brie my best.”
“I will. Take care of yourself until we chat.”
“Thanks for calling.”
“My pleasure, Autumn.”
Brie had walked in at the tail end of the call and quickly retreated. Afterward, Tono went to find out what she wanted.
He heard her softly sobbing in her bedroom as he approached the closed door. “Brie?”
The sound suddenly stopped.
“Brie,” he called out again, slowly opening the door when she didn’t answer. “What’s up?”
“Nothing,” she replied, but she smashed her face into her pillow and started to sob even louder.
Tono slowly entered the room. He could instantly tell Brie had moved nothing since the plane crash; everything remained in place like a museum waiting for Sir Davis’s return. It was eerie, reminding him of the story of Sleeping Beauty.
He asked her lightly, “What’s with the dead flowers?”
She pulled her head out of the pillow and glanced at them. “Ms. Clark sent them to me. I didn’t have the heart to get rid of them after they…” She struggled, seemingly unable to utter the word “died.” The tears threatened to start up again so she distracted herself by pointing out the nightstand covered in belts.
“Sir told me to leave them there to celebrate his return.”
Tono smiled kindly, although his heart was breaking for her. There was so much love and pain here. “Ah.”
She glanced around the bedroom. “Everything here both comforts and torments me.”
Tono nodded in understanding. “Is that why you were crying?”
She shook her head, unable to look him in the eye.
Knowing he couldn’t force it out of her, he decided on a different tactic. “Would you like some tea?”
Brie smiled sadly and nodded.
While he boiled the water, Brie came out of her room and sat cross-legged on the marble floor next to Shadow and began petting the cat. Her forlorn expression concerned Tono, considering her earlier excitement.
Once the tea was ready, he walked over to her. When she started to get up, he stopped her. “No, no. Stay where you are. I will join you on the floor.”
He knelt down before handing her a cup, then settled on the other side of Shadow. Brie took a long whiff of the green tea before sipping, and purred, “I love your tea, Tono. Whenever I make it myself, it never tastes quite as good.”
He chuckled, taking a sip. “I’m sure that’s not true.”
“It is. You have a special knack I don’t.” She still was refusing to look him in the eye.
They sipped the hot liquid in silence. Tono waited until the right moment to speak, using her sub name to emphasize their deep connection and history. “What are you thinking about, toriko?”
Brie smiled at him hesitantly as she reached out to pet Shadow again. “Tono…I just wish that knowing me didn’t have to hurt you.”
“Hurt me?”
“You should be with Autumn right now.”
“We’re doing well. There is no reason to concern yourself. In fact, tonight she specifically told me to give you her best.”
Brie gave him an unconvincing smile, and then started to cry again.
“What are these tears for?” he asked, smiling tenderly at her.
Looking away, she said with anguish, “I just feel all I’ve ever done is hurt you. I hold such sorrow because of it.”
He shook his head. “Do you remember when I sang that song to you about The Dance?”
“I’ve never forgotten it. It eats me up inside.”
He chuckled softly. “Brie, I do not regret my dance with you, however short it was. You opened my heart to a deeper love I did not know existed.”
Her bottom lip trembled. “But I broke that beautiful heart…”
“You bruised it, you did not break it. How can I fault you for following your destiny? It allowed me to follow mine.”
She glanced at him. “You truly feel that way?”
“I do. There is no need to question it again.”
He could see her eyes were still watering.
“Is there something else?”
Her face screwed up adorably as she tried to keep from crying.
“It’s okay. You can tell me anything.”
“I doubted Sir,” she said in the barest of whispers. Brie held her breath to keep in her emotions, and took another sip before speaking again. “Even though he told me he didn’t do it. Even though I knew Lilly couldn’t be trusted…” She looked into his eyes. “I needed to see those pictures as proof.”
Tono looked at her questioningly, not understanding where the deep-seated pain was originating from.
Her honey-colored eyes penetrated his soul when she confessed, “I’m not worthy to be his sub anymore.”
The weight of those words seemed to fill the room.
Tono noticed that Shadow had been watching Brie intently when she started crying, and now suddenly got up to settle in her lap. Brie just stared down at the cat, her tears falling freely onto his black fur.
“I know you, toriko. There’s something you haven’t told me. A reason you felt doubt.”
She wiped at her tears, nodding. “There was… The night she accused Sir in China, I could tell something bad had happened to her. I knew it in my gut. I still believe something terrible happened. I just don’t know what.”
“Didn’t Sir Davis always tell you to trust your instincts?”
She nodded.
“He does not fault you for it, Brie. He knows your nature as well as I do.”
Brie looked at Tono, her eyes void of their normal light. “I’m feeling as if…people would be better off without me.”
Tono was reminded of the dream and ordered harshly, “Stop.”
She was confused by his command and began to get up, clearly upset.
Shadow jumped from Brie’s lap as Tono took her by the wrist to prevent her from leaving. “These thoughts, they are poison.”
She just shook her head, obviously drowning in the darkness.
“Wait here,” he commanded.
Tono got up and returned with a single strand of jute, settling himself behind her. In slow, meticulous movements, he began to bind her tight. Brie needed to be his captive audience for her to hear his words. If he did not break this dark hold on her heart, nothing else would matter.
“I remember the first time I saw you,” he began. “Those eyes captivated my soul. Do you remember looking in the mirror back at me that first day?”
She only nodded.
“I was inspired by the joy of your submission. It resonated within me in a way I’d never experienced. I couldn’t get enough of you.”
Tono pulled the rope tighter, wanti
ng her to be challenged by the constriction. Forcing her to exist in the moment, not allowing her to dwell in her own thoughts.
“Did you know that I imagined you tied up in my rope on that first day? All I dreamed about was connecting with you through the jute, because I knew even then that you were a kindred spirit.”
Brie finally spoke. “I remember how kind you were, Tono. Teaching me a lesson with your tea. You were natural about it and it was not humiliating for me.”
Tono laughed lightly. “It was a simple issue easily addressed, little slave.”
“My first time with the jute was truly magical. Something I will never forget.”
He added another knot and wrapped one arm around her, whispering in her ear, “The fact you enjoyed the wax as well was a pleasant surprise.”
She smiled, remembering. “You turned me into art.”
“And yet, it was not only your submission and joy of the rope that had me captivated. It was your heart for others and your talent behind the camera. I find every aspect of you fascinating.”
Brie shook her head.
Tono grabbed her throat and pulled her head back, immobilizing her.
“Yes, everything about you is special to me—your weaknesses and your strengths. I saw you at the beginning of your training—unsure and inexperienced. And I had the honor of watching you grow into the fine woman you’ve become. Every moment with you is a treasured memory. Even when I watched you turn and offer your collar to another man.”
He heard her gasp and held her even tighter, knowing she needed to hear it. “The pain of that moment is eclipsed by the joy I feel now. It is a part of me—of us. Only you and I share and understand that pain. Only you and I know the gratification of maintaining the deep connection we have despite it. It honed me into a stronger man and helped me survive the death of my father and the challenge of my mother. Your love inspired me to pursue Autumn with relentless determination. So you are not allowed to think others would be better off without you.”