Page 80 of Goldrage
My knuckles hover inches from his door, but before I can knock it swings inward. Strong hands catch my wrists, yanking me inside before I can gasp. The lock clicks behind us, sealing us in darkness.
“I’m sorry.” The words tumble from Adrian’s lips before I can even inhale. His fingers thread through my hair, desperate, shaking. “I’m sorry for arguing with you the other night. Perhaps it was my medication making me see things, making me confused. I’m sorry for not listening, for not believing you. I’m so sorry, my love.”
The break in his voice is more than I can take. Here he stands, apologizing when he didn’t do anything wrong.My throat closes around a sob I won’t let escape. Instead, I press my mouth to his, swallowing his apologies, tasting the salt of his guilt.
Our agreement means nothing right now.
“It’s okay,” I breathe against his lips when we finally break apart. I cup his face. “I understand why you were confused. But we don’t have much time, and there’s something I need to tell you.” I take his wrist. “Let’s sit down.”
He lets me guide him to the bed and our knees touch as we face each other. The mattress dips beneath our weight. In the silver light bleeding through his windows, I can see his eyes dancing between mine in curiosity.
“Adrian.” His name sits heavy on my tongue. “Um…” I take a breath; I just have to say it. “You weren’t seeing things the other night. Someone was in your room. Someone who wanted you to think it was me.”
Every muscle in his body locks. His fingers turn to stone in mine, but he doesn’t pull away. Doesn’t speak. Just waits, suspended in that terrible space between knowing and not knowing.
“I found evidence in Bianca’s bathroom. A red wig. Green contact lenses to change her eye color. Ovulation tests.” My voice is cracking, but I force the rest out. “Bianca disguised herself as me and came to your room that night.”
The silence that follows isn’t just quiet, it’s a vacuum, sucking all the air from the room. Adrian’s gaze drops to our fingers, his chest rising and falling in sharp, shallow bursts. When he finally responds, his voice is barely more than breath shapedinto words.
“She… she made me think…” The sentence dies, unfinished, and his face twists into horror.
“She assaulted you.” I keep my voice gentle but firm, the way you’d speak to someone standing on a ledge. “What she did was rape. She used your love and trust in me to… I’m so sorry.”
Adrian—my strong, stoic Adrian—breaks.
It’s not dramatic like you’d see in a movie. There’s no screaming or throwing things. Just a quiet crumbling, like watching a statue erode into dust. His shoulders cave inward, trembling with the effort of containing sobs. His hands grip mine hard enough to be painful, but I bear it. I let him use my touch as safe ground as shame and fury chase each other across his face.
“I thought it was you.” The words scrape out of him. “I thought you’d come to me, that you wanted… I should have known. I should’ve recognized it wasn’t you. I’m… I’m sorry. I was with another woman?—”
“No. Don’t apologize because this wasn’t your fault. She drugged you so you’d be confused. It was all a disgusting trick.” I pull him against me and he tucks his face into my neck. “She manipulated you, used your love for me. You’re the victim here. You did nothing wrong.”
His tears soak through the thin fabric of my night shirt. I hold him tighter, one hand stroking his hair while the other traces circles along his spine. Each shudder that runs through him feels like it’s tearing pieces from my own chest. Soon, I’m sobbing with him.
I glance at the clock. We only have five minutes left. I hate that I don’t have enough time to really comfort him andbe here while he sorts through his feelings, but I can’t change that.
“I have to go in five minutes,” I whisper, just so he knows I don’t have a choice. “I wish I could stay with you all night.”
He nods and pulls back. After wiping his cheeks, he says, “I’m not surprised she’d do something like this.” His eyes are red but clearer. “I knew Bianca was becoming increasingly desperate, but I didn’t think she’d go this far. The lengths she’ll go to for security…” His gaze searches mine in the moonlight. “Do you think the pregnancy took?”
Acid rises in my throat and I feel woozy just thinking of it. “I don’t think anyone will know for a few weeks. But whatever happens, we’ll face it together. You’re not alone in this. If she’s pregnant, we’ll figure something out, no matter what.”
His fingers find mine again in the darkness, weaving together like they were always meant to fit this way. “How did I find such an amazing woman as you? I love you so much, Aurelia. I don’t know how I’d survive this without you.”
Our mouths meet in the space between heartbeats. Salt mingles with sweetness. It’s a kiss from two people choosing each other in the wreckage of everything else. When we part, his palm comes to rest against my stomach.
“And if the baby turns out to be Julian’s,” he says, “I’ll be here for you. I’ll love any child you carry, regardless of biology.”
The guilt makes me sick, but I nod. He’s offering tolove a ghost. This man, who’s just learned that a woman deceived and violated him, is promising unconditional love for my lie. The irony tastes awful.
But beneath the guilt, there’s love so fierce it steals my breath. This beautiful, broken, impossibly generous man would rearrange the stars for my happiness.
“We’re a team,” I manage, pressing my forehead to his. “Soulmates. Whatever happens, we face it together. I believe that with everything in me.”
My eyes catch the digital clock again. Time is bleeding away. “Things are unraveling,” I say quickly. “We need to move forward with bringing the Consortium down. Now.”
“It’s not time yet, my love. Lorenzo has most of the information I’ve gathered, and we’re close, but the timing has to be exact. One wrong move and the plan fails.”
“But Julian is getting more unstable.” I lean forward, letting him hear my desperation, though I’m really more worried about the fake paternity test. “What if he hurts someone? What if he hurts you? We can’t keep waiting to escape.”
