Page 39 of Dash

I fought to inhale but no air made it into my lungs. “You’re gonna have to explain better than that.”

“My father put a detective on you.” Her voice quivered with anger. “He’d heard the rumors, and knew I’d need proof. He showed me the pictures after Nix’s memorial service, while I waited for you to drive the wounded members of yours and Nix’s team back to the hospital before you came over. I sent them out for authentication right away. They came back legit within the hour. I’d defended you all the way to that point, told Father that you were not responsible for Nix’s death, but those pictures…” Her throat rippled. “They spoke for themselves. They ripped my heart open.”

She delivered the last line like a judge issuing the death penalty.

“You betrayed me.” Her eyes sparkled with repressed tears. “You cheated on me.”

I now knew what it felt to be skewered alive with poisoned arrows. Her accusations pierced through me and stripped me of everything I held dear. My honor. My pride. My dignity. Mydevotion to the one woman I’d loved with all I had.

Did she really believe the things she was saying?

I appealed to my better angels, but it was my ugly demons that answered the summons.

“Show me.” Making a superhuman effort, I superimposed my cool rationality on my growing outrage. I was gonna get to the bottom of this, right here, right now.

She eyed me warily. “Show you what?”

“The pictures,” I spat. “Do you have them?”

“Of course I have them,” she said as if I was being simple.

She’d kept what she thought was the evidence of my crime for almost three years. Not once had she mentioned them to me. She never gave me an opportunity for rebuttal. What did that say about her? About me?

“Where are they?” I fought to keep my indignation in check. “I need to see them.”

She tossed her hair over her shoulder. “It won’t change anything.”

“Show me,” I ground out. “Now.”

I came across more strongly than I intended. For an instant, I caught a glimpse of fear widening her eyes.

“Please.” I forced myself to soften my voice even though I could feel my heart growing thick, heavy armor in anticipation of the injustice she’d inflicted on me. “This is important.”

“Important for what?” She defied me with a haughty lift of her chin.

It was such an Astor gesture. It reminded me of her father’s arrogance. It also turned up the burner on my simmering rage. I answered through clenched teeth. “Important for my sanity.”

“Fine.” She huffed an annoyed and annoying breath. “My sanity never mattered much to you, but yours is precious. Wait here.”

She marched into her walk-in closet. Disobeying her, I followed, gritting my teeth until my gums throbbed. She tossed me a glower before she pulled aside a panel hidden behind her shelves, entered a combination, and opened a safe. She dipped her hand in the safe, then withdrew a large envelope.

“You wanted proof?” She slapped the envelope against my chest on her way out of the closet. “There you have it.”

The sideways glare she gave me felt as if I’d been slimed. The envelope in my hand was heavier than expected. I held on to it. The rage inside me kept growing.

Not a good sign.

Thena’s wrath had always been powerful, but so had mine. I got that she was mad at me. I was far from perfect, but her vile accusation and my clear conscience had me holding on to my temper by the skin of my teeth.

I made my way back to the bedroom, parked before the desk, and shook the envelope’s contents onto the brilliant white surface. The light above the desk revealed the frames of several enlarged pictures. Each one had been taken at a different hotel. Each one featured me and a busty brunette with long hair and curves galore.

At last, the dissonant fragments of the puzzle fueling Thena’s resentment came together in my head. I understood now. Sort of. Rage roared in my ears.

Fuck Richard Astor. At the expense of his daughter’s happiness—at my expense—he’d finally managed to wrench us apart. All because he needed to control and manipulate everything and everyone around him. All because Nix was dead, I wasn’t for sale, and he couldn’t control me.

“Athena.” My voice sounded tight and contained, but I kept my eyes on the pictures. “Is this why you broke up with me?”

She bit down on her trembling lip. “Why else?”

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