Page 105 of Filthy Rich Temptation
Sure?
I break down, head shaking. She pulls me in, holds me tight, gently shushing as the tears finally come – tears I haven’t let fall since I walked away from Theo.
I’m not sure about anything any more. All that rubbish I fed him about standing on my own, knowing my own mind. Who’s the liar now?
But I have to be sure. I have to be strong. For Lottie. For me.
I’ve got a new life to start.
Just… not tonight.
Tonight, I can cry.
Tomorrow, I’ll stand tall and move forward with my daughter.
Just like I always meant to…
Before I fell in love with him all over again.
* * *
Theo
I’m on my third drink when Axel levels me withthatstare.
‘You said we weren’t going to talk.’
‘I lied.’
I drop my head into my hands, jaw clenched tight against the churn in my gut.
‘Not talking about it doesn’t make it disappear,’ he says quietly.
‘And what would you know about it?’ I snap, flicking my head up. ‘You never loved anyone in your life.’
He doesn’t even flinch. But I do.
‘I’m sorry, Ax. I shouldn’t have said that.’
There’s something in his eye that I can’t read, something that gives me a moment’s pause. It’s not quite pain. It’s something else. Like he’s holding back on me.
‘Ax—’
‘I know enough to know what this is,’ he says over me. ‘Did you tell her?’
‘Tell her what?’
‘What do you mean, “what”? Did you tell her you’re in love with her?’
I shake my head. ‘How could I, after all that?’
A ghost of a smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. ‘Well at least you’re not denying it any more.’
He’s right. I’m not. Because I can’t.
It’s in every breath I take and will be until my last.
‘So let me get this straight: she left you because you were keeping secrets from her?’
