Page 61 of Silver Fox's Secret Triplets
"You know what the worst part is?" I said, my voice hoarse. "I've been here before. I've been lied to by someone I trusted, someone I thought I knew. Someone who promised we were partners, then stabbed me in the back the moment it benefited her."
Meranda's face flashed through my mind—the woman who'd been my business partner, my confidant, my almost-lover. The woman who'd betrayed me so completely that I'd spent years rebuilding not just my business, but my ability to trust anyone.
"I swore I'd never be blindsided again," I continued. "I promised myself I'd never let anyone have that kind of powerover me. And then you walked into my office, and I let you in. I let you get close. I started falling for you all over again."
"Duncan, please?—"
"And the whole time, you were keeping the biggest secret of my life from me. You were letting me fall in love with you while hiding my own children."
I'd admitted more than I'd meant to, revealed more vulnerability than I was comfortable with. But the truth was out now, and I couldn't take it back.
"I never meant for any of this to happen," she whispered.
"But it did happen. And now I have to figure out how to move forward knowing that the woman I—" I stopped myself, not ready to say the word love out loud again. It was true, but I didn't want to pile guilt on her shoulders any more than I already had. "Knowing that you don't trust me enough to tell me the truth about the most important things."
She stood up slowly, and smoothed her hands down her skirt. "What happens now?"
I looked at her—really looked at her. Despite everything, despite the lies and the betrayal and the years of deception, I still wanted her. Still felt that pull I'd never experienced with anyone else. The realization made me angry all over again.
"Now I have to figure out how to be a father to children who don't know me," I said. "And you have to figure out how to co-parent with someone you clearly don't trust."
"I do trust you."
"No, you don't. If you trusted me, you would have told me the truth from the beginning. You would have given me the chance to prove what kind of man I am."
She took a step toward me, and I saw something shift in her expression. "You're right. I didn't trust you. I was too scared and too proud and too convinced that I knew better than everyoneelse." Her voice grew stronger. "But I'm telling you now. I'm trying to make it right."
"Three years too late."
"I know. But I'm hoping it's not too late for us to figure this out together."
I stared at her, feeling the familiar war between my heart and my head. My heart wanted to forgive her, to pull her into my arms and promise that we'd work through this together. My head reminded me that trust, once broken, was nearly impossible to repair.
"I don't know if I can do this, Ivy."
"Do what?"
"Trust you again. Let you back in. Risk getting hurt again."
She moved closer, and I could smell her perfume, see the flecks of gold in her hazel eyes. "I'm not asking you to trust me completely. I'm asking you to let me earn it back."
"And if you can't?"
"Then at least our children will have their father."
The mention of the children—our children—made something inside me crack. Despite everything, despite the betrayal and the lies, they were innocent in all of this. They deserved to know their father, and I deserved to know them.
"This changes nothing between us," I said, my voice strained. "Yes, I'm hurt. Yes, I'm angry. But I'm not walking away. Not from you, and not from them."
Relief flooded her features. "Thank you."
"Don't thank me yet. I don't know what this looks like. I don't know how to be a father, and I don't know if I can forgive you for keeping them from me."
"I understand."
"Do you? Because I'm not sure I understand it myself."
The space between us felt charged, electric. Despite everything that had happened, despite the anger and the hurt, I still wanted her. Still needed her in ways that terrified me.
