Chapter 0345
I didn’t sleep well last night, and it shows in the way I look this morning. I am exhausted, both mentally
and physically. Rowan and I haven’t slept in the same bed since the night of our date. For the first time
since then, I’d been tempted to invite him after we came home from the police station.
I walk slowly to the kitchen. It was still early, and I was probably the only one that was awake. I needed
coffee ASAP because I had to take Gunner back. Calvin said he would be busy and might not be able
to pick him up, so I offered to drop him off.
Yawning, I cross the threshold to the kitchen but stop dead in my tracks. Rowan was seated at the
kitchen island with a steaming cup.
He turns when he hears me, and our eyes clash.
“You couldn’t sleep?” he asks, standing up.
Follow on NovᴇlEnglish.nᴇtI just nod my head as I watch him open the cupboard to get another cup. Without my asking, he pours
me coffee from the pot.
“I thought I was the only one awake,” I mutter as I take a seat next to me.
“Nope”
Even now, my mind is still playing everything Brian told us. The evidence was incriminating. There was
no way to prove otherwise. Brian told us that they would begin trial immediately, and with how things
looked, Emma faced thirty to fifty years in prison.
Something about that bothered me. I couldn’t place it. It was in the back of my mind, but just out of
reach.
“Is it about Emma?” Rowan asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
I take a sip, trying to clear my head with the caffeine. “Yes. I can’t get everything we learned out of my
mind.”
He nods his head. “Fuck. It’s so unbelievable. I never thought she would go that far, but thinking about
it now, maybe I just didn’t know her as well as I thought.”
His voice turns cold, and his eyes become dangerous. I know Rowan, and right now, I know he’s
thinking of ways to avenge me. It’s like he’s forgotten the history he and Emma shared.
Being on Rowan’s shit list is similar to being dead. He’ll destroy you and make sure there’s nothing left.
I know this because I was his enemy once, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. So many times I thought
of just packing and running away because of everything he put me through.
If indeed Emma is guilty, I feel sorry for her because what she went through in prison would be nothing
but a taste. It will seem like a fairytale compared to what will come next.
“I don’t believe she did it,” I murmured, staring at the steaming black liquid before looking up at Rowan.
His gaze shows surprise. “What? Brian showed us the fucking evidence, Ava.”.
“I know, but my gut tells me that she’s innocent. I can’t explain, and I should be the one at the forefront,
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmdemanding, but I just don’t believe the evidence. Emma may be a lot of things, but a killer isn’t one of
them.”
His gaze continues to search mine, as if he thinks I’ve just lost my damn mind. Maybe I have, but it
doesn’t change the fact that I believe Emma is innocent.
“How can you be sure?” he asks, his brows pulled down in a frown.” This is the woman who has
schemed, lied, and threatened since she came back. How sure are you that in her fucking quest to get
me back she didn’t think of eliminating you because you were a threat?”
His question makes pretty good sense. All I have is a gut feeling. That is not enough… And what if he
is right? What if what makes me think she’s innocent is a familial bond? I mean, we’ve been estranged,
but before that, we were family, even though we didn’t get along.
Sighing, I take a sip of my coffee. I don’t know how to explain it to him. Rowan is one of those people
who trusts facts. Without evidence, I won’t be able to sway him. Without evidence, I won’t be able to
sway anyone.