Page 18 of My Tutor, My Stalker

“How? I didn’t even know I was being filmed.” There’s betrayal in her eyes and I know I fucked up.

“I put up cameras in your room,” I confess. “I just wanted to make sure you were safe.”

Elsie is shocked, but her hand clicks something else that pops up on the screen. She doesn’t read it, though, focused on me instead. “That’s why…that’s how you know I had those scars. That night when Bill tried to touch me…you came so fast…did you know because you saw it here?”

I nod. “I was furious he tried to touch my girl. I couldn’t stop myself from coming to you.”

Elsie covers her face with her hands. “Oh my god, how long has this been going on for?” Her blue gaze is cold as ice when it turns to me. “Are there cameras in other parts of the house?”

I don’t want to lie to her. “Two years. Ever since I started tutoring you.”

Her eyes go wide. “So, every time I…” She drags in a deep breath. “I touched myself, you knew?”

I nod. “I loved watching you call out my name when you made yourself come.” My voice is low and sexy, but she doesn’t respond to it. “Every morning, I watched you dress, and undress, and it made me feel like I was there with you. I wanted to be part of your life.”

“But…you always pushed me away. You said I was just a student.”

“You were underage, baby girl. I didn’t want to do anything you weren’t ready for.”

“So, what? You watched me instead?” She shudders. Her fingers slide over the mouse and she clicks another window and realizes I’ve bugged other rooms too. Her eyes move to the screen and she realizes I’m watching the hallway, George’s room, and her parents too. “Oh my god, you’ve bugged my whole house.” Her hands shake on the mouse. “What’s this?” She leans forward, reading the records of George that I have.

“Baby, that’s—” I stop short when she finds a video of George on the screen. I freeze when it begins to play, showing George kicking a boy. I’ve been gathering evidence of his bullying over the years. I’ve bugged him too and his regular visits to the Mulligan house have helped me get more information on him.

“This is…my brother…” She turns to me. “Why do you have videos of him?”

I grab the edge of the table hard as Elsie clicks another video of George and his friends getting drunk. She can see him forcing a new student to drink as he walks around, high on drugs. “Ohmy god…what’s this?” Her eyes are accusing when they meet mine.

I want to lie to her, tell her it’s nothing, but I can’t lie to my future wife. I love her too much to deceive her. “Ronan….please tell me this isn’t what I’m thinking.” Her eyes flicker to the image of my brother on the desk and everything just clicks into place. My baby girl is smart, and right now, I regret it. “Wait a minute, you said your brother committed suicide because he was being bullied.” She turns to the screen and gasps. “It was George…he died because of George? The rich kid you talked about…” Elsie’s eyes begin to water, but she tries to keep a straight face, shaking her head. “Oh my god.” Her hands cover her mouth.

“Elsie, listen to me—”

She stands up, unable to look me in the eye. “The rich kid who bullied your brother…the only one who got away with it...it was my brother.”

The cat is out of the bag. I remain silent, unable to deny her. A broken sob escapes her lips. She assesses me as I stand quietly like a prisoner. When I take a step forward, she holds up her hand. “Let me get this straight. You came to my house because…what? Did you want revenge? You wanted to expose George for what he’d done?”

It’s then that I realize how strong Elsie is. Even as she watches everything crumble around her, she tries to think. It’s a side of her I haven’t seen before, but just one glimpse of her strength is enough to make me fall in love with her all over again.

“Yes,” I admit. “I was devastated after my brother’s death. When I found out George had driven him to take his life, I wanted revenge. I wanted to destroy him but nobody would listen to Mom or me. Your dad used a lot of money to bury your brother’s sins. All the evidence was gone before I could get to it.”

“So, you came to our house. You bugged my house so that you could expose George.”

“People like him don’t change. I wanted to get close to him so that I could destroy him.”

“And me? What about me? Was I just a convenient excuse to infiltrate George’s house.” She turns to the sex tape frozen on the screen and her mind churns again. She knows.

“I wanted to ruin you,” I reply. “Like he ruined my brother. I wanted to make sure your family never saw the end of the scandal you’d bring.” My fist tightens. “At first, the plan was to breed you, get enough sex tapes of you to destroy your family’s image, and leave you while you were pregnant with my child, but….” I pause, watching Elsie’s eyes fill up with tears. “I became obsessed with you. As I watched you every night, I felt a strange sort of connection to you. After I discovered your mom was hurting you, I was determined to get you out of that house. You’re nothing like the rest of them, and I know that now.”

“You were going to leave me once I got pregnant?” Tears fill her eyes. “So, I was just a pawn to achieve your revenge.” When she looks at me, I notice one tear rolling down her cheek. “Was…any of it real?”

“Everything was real, Elsie. It might’ve started out as revenge, but the moment I kissed you, I knew I couldn’t go through with it. My feelings for you are too strong, too real, and I couldn’t stop myself from falling for you. You’re smart and confident and sexy and loving, and any man would fall for you. How was I supposed to resist you? The day I came inside you, I knew I could never choose revenge over you.” My legs move forward and Elsie takes another step back. My heart breaks at her obvious distrust.

“I don’t believe this….” Her fingers intertwine. “If I hadn’t stumbled on your videos today, would you have continued lying to me?”

“I wanted to tell you,” I admit. “But after I asked you to be my wife, I forgot about it.”

“Forgot? You’ve been watching me every day, Ronan. Even moments before I came here….you were stalking me.”

Stalking. That’s an ugly word.

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