Page 125 of Secrets That Bind Us
Where the kiss is as electric as the first time.
“God, you smell like him.”
I’m so ready to take off my mask, to tell her it’s me, but she shakes her head at me, unwilling to let me drop the facade, and so I oblige her. Whatever she says to me, I say to her, hoping she recognizes the sound of my voice. Anything. But when my clothes are off, I realize she wouldn’t. I’ve made too many changes. I have scars now. Tattoos. Packed on more mass and muscle. Besides, it's too dark. I'm not the same man I was at eighteen and thank God for that. I fuck my woman over and over, making her scream in every position I can think of.
I fall asleep with her in my arms-- mask still on.
When I wake up, she’s gone.
I go downstairs and join the hungover couple for brunch, swallowing down bile. “Fuck, I haven’t drank that much in years.”
They grumble over their mimosas.
“Where’s Verity?”
Zoey sighs. “She’s gone.”
My brows furrow. “What do you mean?”
“I mean she left last night. Slipped away and went home. Said something about a deadline or something. But she left before midnight.”
I shake my head. “No. That's not right. We had sex last night. She fell asleep in my arms. I was…” I trail off. What time was it last night? Did I sleep with her? Oh fuck. But it felt like her. Every moan was hers. Ithadto be her.
Evan sighs this time. “I don’t think it was her, man. I’m sorry.”
I feel depleted.
THREE MONTHS LATER
I show up at Zoey’s after a vagueWE NEED TO TALKmessage. She’s sitting on her teal bohemian couch, tears in her eyes.
I take a breath to compose myself. A crying Zoey isverybad news.
I stand there as Evan rubs at her back. “What’s… what is it? Is everything okay?”
Zoey shakes her head slowly. “They’re eloping.”
Whoosh whoosh whoosh.
My soul feels like it’s tumbling out of me as blood pounds in my ears.I’m gonna be fucking sick.
“What? No. This can’t happen. No, I’ll… I'll go. I’ll stop the wedding.”
Zoey erupts again, crying harder, sobbing so hard her entire body is shaking.
Evan frowns and shakes his head softly. “You can’t Dean, she’s… Verity’s pregnant.”
My heart crashes through the floorboards under my feet and sinks into the ground beneath me.
And yet that string in my rib cage, feels like it’s being tuggedharder.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Dean
Age Twenty-Six
I’ve been tracking Micah’s movements for the past fifteen months with Marie’s money. I know how that sounds. But after she came back from visiting Verity for three days after she had her son-- who looks just like Verity, not that twat Micah– Marie was diagnosed with stage two ovarian cancer. And she said she noticed a lot of…peculiarthings about Micah. Things that started reminding her of Richard. Not the good parts of him.
