Page 77 of Fourth Point Of Contact

The heavy sigh that left his lips was accompanied by a pained expression that I didn’t recognize. He’d never once looked so full of regret, but I couldn’t figure out what brought upon this sudden change of heart.

“Piper, I was so wrong.” His brows scrunched as he stared at our joined hands. “I—I can’t stand the thought of how much I hurt you.”

“You can’t?”

I studied his tortured face and tried to find any sign that he was lying, but he looked genuinely upset about the whole thing. I didn’t understand it.

“The things I said and did—” He shook his head regretfully. “How can I even ask for your forgiveness?”

“Yeah, I was thinking the same thing,” I said before I could think better of it. I was here to get my papers back, and if I snapped at him, that wouldn’t help the situation.

“You have every right to be upset with me. What I did was unfathomable.”

I wasn’t sure why, but tears pricked my eyes. I didn’t want him back. I knew that much. I could never trust him again, not after the things he said and did, but to hear him admit that the whole thing was his fault…it felt like retribution.

“James, you hurt me so much.”

“I know.” His voice was so quiet, I almost didn’t believe it was him talking. But they were his words, his lips moving. “Can you ever forgive me for what I did to you?”

“James—”

“Hear me out.” His eyes shot up to mine and the tears swimming in them nearly broke me. Nearly. “I don’t know why I did it. And there’s no excuse for it. Frankly, there’s nothing I could say that would make any of this right. I hurt you so badly, and—she wasn’t even worth it.”

“Is she gone?”

I wasn’t sure why I asked. It wasn’t like it would make a difference, but I needed to know she wasn’t here any longer.

“Yes. She left the next day. She had business in London and—God, this is so embarrassing.” He sucked in a breath and looked at me. “She’s married. She didn’t even tell me. And I was so upset with her, and that’s when I realized how bad it was—what I had done to you. I understood in that moment that I had hurt you beyond repair, and you didn’t deserve that.”

His words were touching, but I still couldn’t believe it. He had fucked another woman on the table in front of me, and then tried to destroy my life. How could he be so upset about this now?

“I ruined your apartment,” I said, stunned by his admission. “I put insulation in your clothes.”

He chuckled, brushing his knuckles against my cheek again. “So like you. I should have seen that coming.”

“You shipped all my things to a storage unit. I have no ID and no paperwork to get it back.”

“Why don’t you have an ID?” he asked, suddenly concerned.

“It’s a long story, but I lost everything and?—”

He walked away, picking up the phone on his desk. “Yes, I need all of Ms. Monroe’s paperwork as quickly as possible. She needs a new ID ASAP.”

My brows furrowed in confusion at his demand. “How can you do that? I have to go in. I have to?—”

“I’ll take care of this. It’s my fault,” he sighed.

“But why? Why would you take care of this?”

“Because I screwed up. I know I did, and I want nothing more than to make this right for you.”

I was reeling, completely confused by this one-eighty. I knew in my heart there was nothing he could say or do to make this okay, but my feet refused to walk to that door until I understood why. Call it curiosity or whatever else, but I needed answers so I could move on.

“Tell me it’s not too late, Piper. Tell me I haven’t ruined everything between us.”

I gaped at him, shocked at his admission. “James, what exactly did you think was going to happen? That I would find you fucking another woman and then walk back into your arms when you apologized?”

“I know,” he frowned. “I know it doesn’t…there’s nothing I could say to make you want me back. But…we had some great times. Remember the dinner outside that little cafe? Or when I made you breakfast in bed after our first night together?”

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