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“I’m not. If I hadn’t seen it, I would have just believed the lies too, and she would’ve died for nothing.” His shoulders fell. “It’s unfair.”

“It is, and the one who did that to her deserves to die, cruelly. I’ll help you end him.”

“I know. I trust you more than I trust myself.”

“And I trust you, Asher.”

“You do?” His eyes were wide, vulnerable as they met mine.

“Yes, I do.”

Saying the words aloud was like handing him the keys to a fortress I wasn’t even sure I was ready to leave. But maybe I should. I had stayed in for too long.

I had always been wary of people. Waiting, looking for their masks to come apart. And yet here I was choosing trust, choosing him.

That fucking terrifies me.

That young, broken girl in me whimpered. She liked it better with the walls high. She was afraid of being vulnerable, being without any defense in front of a man.

It’s okay, Diya. We’ll survive. He won’t break us.

And she believed me.

I believed him.

After Asher left, I did another search on the Bricks brothers. There were a lot of articles about Vincent and Mayor Bricks, but there was nothing much about Jonah.

I closed the laptop just as Sarah showed up for her session. After Sarah’s session was over, I headed down the hall to Stanley’s office and knocked lightly on the door.

“Doctor Stanley?”

He looked up from his laptop. “Come in. Everything alright, Doctor Sharma?”

“I just need some information,” I said, stepping in. “Did Jonah Bricks stop by to see you?”

Stanley gave a short nod. “Yeah, he did.”

“What was the reason for his visit?”

He shifted slightly in his chair. “He’s my patient. You know I can’t go into detail about that.”

“Of course,” I said quickly. “I understand.”

There was a pause before he looked at me more directly. “Why are you asking?”

I hesitated, then shrugged. “Just… curious, I guess.”

Thanking Doctor Stanley, I walked out, wondering about Jonah Bricks, and the other Bricks brothers.

Something didn’t sit well with me whenever I thought of him, and I trusted my instincts.

“I’ll find out.”

“Hi, Diya. Leaving?” Asher asked as I walked out of the door later that evening after the dinner was over. “Should I come to the cottage tonight?”

“It’s better if you don’t. For now,” I said, looking around the quiet place.

“I want to be with you.”