Page 13 of I Do, You Don't
No. This can’t be it. There has to be an explanation.
Delilah’s gaze doesn’t waver. “Maybe she was saying goodbye,” she whispers, her voice like cold steel. “One last time with him before locking herself away.”
No. The blow lands in my gut. I can’t breathe.
There’d been rumors about Lara and Calvin for weeks, but I ignored them all.
I open my mouth to protest, but nothing comes.
“No,” I rasp. “She wouldn’t.”
But the evidence is right in front of me.
What’s that saying? Guilt makes us project onto others. Lara’s been accusing Delilah because she’s afraid I’m sleeping with her. But why? Because deep down, she knows what I’m only now admitting,she’s been sleeping with Calvin. Projection. Guilt.
Delilah’s hand slips from my arm, and for a moment, I’m hollow. Her touch had always been a comfort, but now it feels like something else, like a push. Colder.
“I know you want to believe that. I do. But maybe… maybe she chose you because you were the better option. Not because she loved you more.”
The world tilts. I want to scream at her. To run inside and drag the truth from Lara myself.
But I don’t.
I sit frozen in the car, paralyzed by the storm inside me. I try to recall the feel of Lara’s hand in mine, the way she looked at me when she thought I wasn’t watching. The soft trace of her perfume still clinging to my clothes. I try to hold on to everything that matters.
But the photo won’t let go.
I need answers from her.
“What if it’s true?” Delilah’s words slice the air like ice. “What if you go in there and she lies to your face?”
My heart stutters, the weight of her words tightening like a vise.
“She’s not who you think she is,” Delilah adds, her voice laced with triumph. “Maybe she never was.”
My fists clench. I fight to breathe through the constriction in my chest.
Inside that building is the only woman I’ve ever wanted forever with.
And I might’ve already lost her.
Because if what Delilah says is true…
If it’s true…
I close my eyes, and for a moment I’m back on the beach, Lara’s laughter in my ears, her hand in mine, talking about forever. She whispered,I’ll always choose you.
Now I’m choking on the echo of that promise, Delilah’s words slicing through my mind. I can’t trust it anymore.
I can’t trust her anymore.
Delilah leans closer, her fingertips grazing my wrist, a touch too intimate, too personal. It feels like she’s testing a boundary, daring me to cross it.
“You deserve someone who sees you, Gideon,” she murmurs, voice a velvet whisper. “Someone who knows what you need… not what you think you want.”
What I need.
What I need is my best friend, just like I always have. Like I did when I was fourteen.
