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“Talk to me, man.”

“I fucked up, Bran. She found out. About me pretending to be Chris at the party.”

“Damn, that’s rough.” Brandon grabs a pair of gloves and tosses them to me. “How did she take it?”

Right, that’s why my knuckles hurt so much. I was so agitated I forgot to put them on.

“About as well as you’d expect.” I secure the gloves on tightly. “She’s hurt and angry, and I don’t blame her. But she wants to meet Chris.”

Brandon’s eyes go wide. “What? Are you insane?”

I grit my teeth, throwing punches at the bag. Fuck, what am I doing?

“You’re actually going to allow this?” Brandon grabs my shoulders, forcing me to face him. “That’s going to be tough for both of you.”

I know, but what else can I do? And I already said I would.

My hands curl into fists as I think of Mary meeting Chris. Of his smug smile and the predatory gleam in his eyes. Of all the ways this could go wrong.

“You didn’t see her. I can’t deny her this, not if it means I have a chance of earning her forgiveness.”

“There has to be another way,” Bran says. “Anything.”

“There isn’t.”

He sighs. “Are you able to keep your cool when you see him with her?”

“I have to.”

“You gotta decide, cuz. How far are you willing to go for her? For this?”

“However far I need to.”

Letting her get close to Chris goes against every protective instinct I have. But I’m out of options here. All I can do is pray I don’t lose her for good after this.

The hurt and anger radiated off her in waves when she found out I had pretended to be someone else that night. I would do anything to take that pain away, even if it means facing my own demons.

She thinks she needs this, that seeing Chris will give her the answers she needs. But I know better. He’ll only twist the truth to suit his own agenda, to make himself look like the victim in all of this.

I have to be there to make sure he doesn’t hurt her any more than I already have. Even if it kills me to watch her with him, to see the hope in her eyes that there was something real between them.

There wasn’t. It was all a lie, a carefully crafted deception to get what he wanted.

I don’t know if I can do this, if I’m strong enough to watch her walk away from me and into his arms. But I have to try. I have to believe our love is stronger than the lies that brought us together.

I just hope I’m not making the biggest mistake of my life.

Brandon holds up his hands like mitts. “Now, are you done moping? I didn’t come all the way down here to watch you beat yourself up.” He grins, nodding at the punching bag. “Literally, in this case.”

A smile tugs at my mouth, and I shove his shoulder. “Arse. Come on, then. Let’s see what you’ve got.”

“You’ll need a clear head if you’re going to face this mess.” Sebastian appears.

Yes. Yes, I do.

But the only one who can give that to me is my Blue.

Chapter 41

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