Chapter Sixty Eight
Venessa POV
By Tuesday evening, the guilt of keeping secrets from Khalid was eating me alive from the inside out. Every time we spoke on the phone, every time he sent a sweet text message checking in on me between his high-stakes board meetings, a sharp wave of shame washed over me. I was terrified of Julian’s warningthe idea that I was a "liability" or a "weak spot" that could ruin Khalid’s life. I kept telling myself that if I could just handle this stalker problem quietly on my own, I could protect Khalid’s peace of mind and prove that I wasn't a burden to him.
But the universe, it seemed, had absolutely no intention of letting me handle it quietly.
I arrived back at my apartment building late, around eight o'clock in the evening. The sky was a deep, dark indigo
