The nightmare woke me up again. I couldn't take this anymore. My body couldn't take this anymore. I needed the sleep, especially after the grueling workout that Tristan put me through earlier this evening.
Getting dressed in a tank top and a pair of denim shorts, I made my way out of my room, leaving Tristan still asleep on my bed. I didn't see the need to wake him up. My nightmares were mine and mine alone.
After fixing myself something to eat, I ended up making my way towards Tristan's office. I opened the mahogany door and entered the silent room. I placed my plate on his desk and looked at the million books he owned in his library. Impressive works: Jane Eyre, A Tale of Two Cities, Oliver Twist, Gulliver's Travels, The Mysterious Island; the man cared for fantasy. Quite shocking.
I sat down at his desk and moved to grab my plate when my hand mistakenly touched Tristan's laptop. It instantly came to life but that didn't bother me. What bothered me was the picture on Tristan's laptop. The picture was of me, only dressed in a T shirt, lying on a bed on Tristan's yacht. There was caption as well: S H E ' S Q U I T E A B E A U T Y.
Who the hell took this picture?
"I see you're awake," I heard someone say.
I looked up to see Tristan standing by the doorframe, only dressed in pajama pants with his hands buried deep in the pockets. Once upon a time, I would've blushed until I was as red as a tomato but right now I didn't care though. I was too angry.
I turned his laptop in his direction so that he could see what I was looking at. "Why do you have a photo of me on your computer?"
I watched as Tristan closed his eyes and deeply sighed. "I was hoping you wouldn't find that. He took it and left it on the yacht for me to see."
My eyes widened. "'He' took it? 'He' was there?" I asked, my heart pumping in my chest. "He was that close to me?"
Tristan could see that I was starting to freak out and walked over to me, pulling me out of the chair and sat down in it, placing me in his lap. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me closer to his body to comfort me; his fingers were rubbing small circles on my back.
"I'm sorry, Heaven," he whispered in my ear.
Tristan hardly ever apologized to anyone so for him to say that to me, twice no less, meant that he cared.
I twisted myself to look at him. "Who is he?"
Tristan was silent. I could practically see the gears turning in his head. I knew he was pondering on whether to tell me or not but I was not giving up until I had some answers.
"I'm sure you've realised by now that Yasmine and Landon look nothing like me," he suddenly said. I nodded my head. I always wondered why. "That's because they aren't my brother and sister."
I stared at him in shock. "Excuse me?"
Tristan sighed. "Yasmine and Landon Devareaux are not my real brother and sister. I've always considered them my siblings but they are not. Clarissa and Jason Devareaux adopted me when I was seven. My real name is Tristan Carmichael."
I looked at him strangely. Tristan stared at me like I was supposed to have some sort of idea as to what he was talking about.
Tristan saw my reaction and sighed. "I suppose you wouldn't remember. Phillip and Dominique Carmichael were both found shot dead in their house twenty years ago. You would've been four. The news didn't go into much detail about their deaths. Apparently, it was quite gruesome. They had two sons. One was six, the other was nine. Tristan and....."
I gasped, realizing where he was going with this.
"Damien," Tristan finished, his eyes squeezed shut as if he was trying to ward off the pain. "My brother."
"It's him. He's the one that beat me up. Why?"
Tristan deeply sighed before placing a small kiss on my hair. "Damien never liked me since I was born. I still have no idea why. He was my father's - he was Phillip's son, he was a daddy's boy while I stayed with my mother, Dominique." Wistfully, he chuckled as if he was replaying a fond memory in his head. "She was the most beautiful creature I've ever seen. Silky red hair and amazing violet eyes that sparkled when she smiled. My mother was my best friend and when she died, my whole world was lost.
"Phillip used to beat her just like Damien did to you. He'd beat her black and blue for the simplest things; his dinner had to be on the table by six and it must be piping hot, his pillow had to be fluffed to perfection, his shoes had to be so clean he could see his own reflection. She was his personal maid rather than his wife and it killed her. Sometimes, he would use to me to get her do things she didn't want to do. He would hit me and sometimes let Damien join in because he knew that she would do anything for me."
I was mesmerized and shocked by his story. What kind of man would hurt his own child?
Tristan's eyes were cold as he continued his story. "The day she died was the worst day of my life. It still haunts me to this day. It was a week after my sixth birthday. It was just the two of us; she wasn't allowed to throw a birthday party for me or get a cake or presents so she waited until they were gone to do something special for me. Every weekend, Phillip would take Damien for their weekly hunting trips. They'd be gone for hours on end so she thought we were safe. She knew I was fascinated with the Power Rangers so she got me a Power Rangers themed cake and the red action figure for my present. Everything was going so well...until they came home earlier than expected.
"Phillip looked around the room and understood what was going on. He rushed to her side and dragged her out of the chair, throwing her on the ground. I jumped out of my chair to rush to her. I didn't want her to get hurt anymore because of me but before I could get to her, Damien grabbed the back of my neck and pulled me closer to him. He was a lot stronger than me for a nine year old but I kept trying to fight him off. I watched as Phillip kicked my mother repeatedly in her stomach. My mother was already weak from the injuries she sustained the week before when she asked if she could get me a cake.
"I could only take hearing her scream and groan in pain so many times. It was unbearable. I yelled for him to stop, I yelled at Damien to let me go but the two fools wouldn't listen. It was like they had already signed her death warrant. Suddenly, he stopped kicking her. He dragged her up by her arm and pushed her away from him. My mother stumbled over her feet but she managed to stay up. Phillip had this malicious gleam in his eyes and I knew he was going to do something I would never forget. Before any of us could blink, he pulled out a gun, aimed and pulled the trigger. The noise echoed in the house. I watched my mother fall to the floor with a hole in her chest. I knew the minute she hit the floor she was dead but I didn't care. I had to get to her. I kicked Damien in the shin and he released me long enough for me to run to her side. I was trying to get her to wake up when I heard another gunshot. I barely turned my head to see Phillip fall to the floor, a hole blown through his skull. The only one I cared about was dead and the monster took his own life."
Tears were streaming down my face. He was just a child when he watched his mother being murdered in front of him. I don't think I would be able to handle it if my mama died.
I wrapped my arms around his shoulders and buried my face in his neck. "I'm sorry, Tristan. I sorry I didn't listen to you."
"I have to keep you safe, Heaven. You're the only woman besides my mom and Yasmine that I care about. Damien thinks that it's my fault Phillip killed himself. He thinks I took Phillip away from him and I'll be damned if he takes you from me," Tristan said as he lifted my face to look at him. "I can't lose you too."
I placed my lips against his, giving him the sweetest kiss. "I don't want to lose you either."
Tristan lifted me up, bridal style, and carried me out of his office. "What are you doing?" I asked, laughter bubbling inside me.
"I'm taking you to meet your guards."
I knew he wanted to forget what we talked about before. He was using this as a tactic and I happily went along with it. I wasn't going to push him any further.
He took me into the kitchen, where two men were standing at the kitchen island, eating a plate of sandwiches. They were both big men, almost as tall as Tristan. One had curly blond hair and the most beautiful gray eyes I have ever seen. The other had jet black hair, cut military style and green eyes.
They looked up when Tristan entered with me safely wrapped in his arms and immediately went into military stance.
"Sir," they said as Tristan placed me on my feet.
"These are your new guards," Tristan said as he looked solely at me. I think he wanted to make sure that I was okay with the situation. It still irked me that he did this without my knowledge and permission but I knew he did it to keep me safe. "This is Gray Owens and Marco Mitchells."
"Miss Chambers," they said as they nodded their heads at me.
I stepped forward, a smile on my face. "Okay, don't call me Miss Chambers. I'm Heaven," I said as I held out my hand.
The curly haired blond stepped forward and shook my hand. "I'm Gray."
Wow, he had gray eyes and his name was Gray. "Your parents were funny right?"
"Yeah," he said as he smiled at me. "I have a sister whose name is Blue because of her blue eyes."
I smiled and looked at the other guy whose face remained expressionless. "You're Marco?"
Marco nodded his head at me. "Yes, Miss Chambers."
I made a move to protest but Gray stopped me. "He's not going to call you Heaven not matter how many times you tell him to."
I nodded my head in understanding and looked at Tristan who watched the exchange with a small smile on his face. "So how does this work?"
"They will follow you closely. I want them with you at all times but if anyone asks Marco is your brother and Gray is your cousin."
I frowned. "Doesn't everyone know that I only have a sister?"
Tristan smirked at me and I wondered what he was thinking. "Fortunately for us, you hardly speak to anyone at the company so no, they don't know that Hadassah is your only sibling."
I nodded my head, feeling suddenly overwhelmed with the situation. Tristan, seeming to be in tune with my emotions, asked Gray and Marco to give us a little space. The men obliged, wishing us both a good night and headed to their rooms.
"What is it?" Tristan asked the second both men disappeared around the corner.
I looked at him, tears pooling in my eyes. "Why are you doing this for me, Tristan? I mean, I know you want to protect me but what's to stop you from leaving me after this whole mess is over with? I'm no Alexis Vanderpool. I don't have a hundred million dollars to my name and I'm not an heir to some fortune 500 company. Why would you want me?"
I had to get all of my insecurities off of my chest. I hated the fact that I knew I would never be good enough for Tristan but I hoped that he would be able to see past that.
Before I knew it, Tristan was placing me on the island and standing in between my legs so that we would be the same height. I couldn't look at him. I felt small in his eyes.
He placed his thumb under my chin and forced me to look at him. The fierce determination in his eyes made me shrink back just a little bit but Tristan was having none of that; he grabbed my legs and pulled me closer to him.
"Don't you ever let me hear you say that again. You seem to have forgotten that I'm not a Devareaux. I wasn't born rich either Heaven; I'm just as vulnerable as you are. My mother was my only friend and when she died I had no one. I kept to myself at the orphanage till I was adopted. Landon and Yasmine managed to get me to break out of my shell just a little bit but I still felt lonely. I was a bit of a player but none of those women did it for me, emotionally or mentally...until you came along."
I gasped; my eyes widening immensely. "Me?" I whispered.
He shot me his breathtaking smile and nodded his head. "Yes, you. Heaven, you make me feel things that I thought I would never feel again. Love. Loyalty. Worthiness. I want you. I've always wanted you. I didn't want to drag you into my world like this but I can't lose you, Heaven. You mean too much to me."
Biting my lip to stop myself from smiling, I stared into his eyes that told me his story. He was telling the truth; he laid his emotions down on the table and left himself bare just for me.
"What about Alexis?" I couldn't stop myself from asking. "She's been trying to get you into her clutches for so long."
Tristan sighed and ran his hand through his hair. "That's because of my parents."
His parents?
"Landon and I have been trying to keep it from Yasmine. She worships the ground our parents walk on and I don't want to be the one to ruin her world like that. Clarissa and Jason Devareaux are not the happy couple they want people to think they are. They have their own baggage too. They wanted me to marry Alexis so that we could join Devareaux Corporation and Vanderpool Finances. We would be the ultimate power couple."
A marriage proposal? Between Tristan and Alexis? That was cause for a disaster!
"I turned down the proposal," Tristan said. "Landon still talks to his parents but they are not happy with him because he had a child out of wedlock, especially with a woman we cannot find. They constantly chastise him because he didn't give Cherish up for adoption. They don't care about their only granddaughter but that doesn't matter. Landon wouldn't let them go near his daughter with a ten foot pole."
Tristan had to experience this madness everyday of his life? Suddenly, I felt very happy for my strict father, my smothering mother and my rambunctious sister.
"Thank you," I said as I looked into Tristan's hazel eyes. "For sharing that with me."
Tristan smiled at me before leaning forward to give me a lasting kiss.
"Je t'adore ma chérie."
~~~~~~~~~
So now we know Tristan's past!