Chapter Thirteen
“I CAN’T BELIEVE IT.”
I press my hands over my mouth as I say it, half-sitting up in a guestroom bed that’s so luxurious it can double as a fancy suite in a fancy hotel.
My gaze flies up to Mr. Everford, who’s standing at the foot of the bed with his hands in the pockets of his trousers, and even though I really do remember now—
How is that possible?
How can the stranger and Mr. Everford be one and the same person?
“I understand,” he says mockingly. “I must’ve looked a lot differently back then.”
I can only wince at his words, and I can’t even say he’s being unreasonable because he’s not. I know what this looks like, but he...he doesn’t understand.
“I...I know you think I’m lying,” I stammer, “but I really...I didn’t...”
I’m hoping I could find a way to explain things without admitting the truth, but...nope. It’s clear to me now the truth is really the only way out, and so—
“I had really bad eyesight back them...but I never wore glasses.”
I find myself twisting a corner of the duvet between my fingers without looking at him, embarrassment and shame rising together because now that I’m twenty years older, the way I acted then just seems so unnecessarily...shallow.
“Sandy didn’t like me wearing them. He says it makes me look old, which I’m sure it does, so I only used them when no one was around.”
“I see.”
Why does it feel like he’s just playing along? Why does it seem like he still thinks I’m—oh.
“The sheet music was just for show. I wasn’t using them when playing. Whenever I’m rehearsing in public, I only play the songs I’ve memorized.”
His gaze narrows, but I tell myself that’s a good thing. At least he’s giving me the benefit of doubt this time.
“What about now?”
“After we graduated from college, Sandy paid for corrective surgery.”
He studies me in silence, his handsome face inscrutable, and I find myself gnawing uncertainly on my lip because honestly...
“That changes a lot of things,” he says quietly.
Did it, really?
I just don’t know what to think right now or how to process the fact that Mr. Everford and I met twenty years ago. And when I think about how he’s the same man who once asked me out on a date—
He’s right, I find myself thinking with a gulp.
What we’ve both just revealed changes things.
A lot.
And that terrifies me so, so much that when I heard him say—
“Look at me, Nicole.”
I want to shake my head, but when I make an attempt to do so, the sides of my temple start pounding, and so I have no choice. I have to put it into words—
“I c-can’t.”
And it’s just as I feared. It’s just two words, but my voice still ends up quivering.
“Why?”
I don’t want to answer that. I don’t even think I should—
Oh!
The bed dips as Mr. Everford sits on the edge, the mattress tipping toward him as he cups my chin, and...no, no, no.
Why is my body trembling at his touch? This shouldn’t be happening. It doesn’t feel right...but why doesn’t it feel wrong either? Is this because I’m still in shock? Not just from being nearly raped but also because after Sandy’s betrayal and kicking me out...
“Look at me, Nicole—”
Why are my senses suddenly swooning at hearing him say my name?
“—or I’ll kiss you.”
I’m already looking up even before he’s done speaking. Who cares about pride when it’s my heart’s survival at stake and—oh.
Oh no.
Because the moment my gaze collides with his, I can no longer hide from the truth.
I look into the ocean-blue depths of his eyes, and I just know.
I can never look at him the same way again.
He’s no longer Mr. Everford, the billionaire boss that my husband Sandy used to work for.
Instead, he’s who he’s always been.
A man who knew how my soul worked even when we were still strangers—
You play like you’re all in a world of your own.
A man whose words I couldn’t make myself trust because they terrified me—
Go out on a date with me.
I look at him now, and I...I finally see him, not just because my eyes are fine, but it’s because my heart...
It’s started working properly, too.
And so when I look at him—
I see who he’s become, who he’s always been, and I...
I don’t get it.
Why would a man like him want someone like me?
A man who could have anyone, choosing the woman whose own husband decided she wasn’t worth keeping—
“There are things we’ll have to talk about eventually.”
I can only nod...even though a part of me is terrified to even think what those things could be.
“But for now, all you need to focus on is getting better—”
Oh, if only it would be that easy. But I still have to make a living—
What the?
He’s just pinched my cheek like I’m a little girl being scolded, and he’s now...unbelievable. He’s actually gazing at me now like he’s actually expecting me to thank him for his discipline?
“We are two adults, are we not?”
I find myself nodding absently, fascinated as I am at the way he suddenly sounds so...British?
“Then may we drop the formalities and speak plainly?”
I nod again while thinking, yup, I’m not imagining it or anything. He really sounds so, so British—
“Are you going to sign the divorce papers?”
—and I guess that’s what I should be on the lookout for, the next time this happens.
When he starts sounding super British, watch out!
His next words are sure to give me a heart attack, and that’s why I’m now sputtering incoherently.
“W-Why—I d-don’t—”
“Yes or no, Nicole.”
“But I don’t understand why it even matters—”
“Because I want you.”
I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
“From the very first day we met, I’ve wanted you.”
This can’t be true.
“But you were already with Pettyfer, and I knew you would never be the type to leave him.”
Am I really, really hearing this?
“But now that he’s cheated on you, it’s my turn now. I intend to make you mine. For the rest of our lives.”
All I can do is stare. Is this really happening?
The fingers around my chin tighten.
“So I’m asking you again, Nicole. Are you going to sign the divorce papers?”
For one moment, I’m tempted. So, so tempted by so many things. Just so, so tempted to take the easy way out and say yes.
But—
“I can’t,” I whisper.
His lips tighten, and I’m stunned how the sight makes my heart ache. My whole life, my heart has only cared for Sandy, and while it’s painful to think how it was never the same for him—
“Why?”
This...is even more painful.
This one word that Mr. Everford has made forced himself to ask...because he was telling the truth earlier, however difficult that may be to believe. He wants me, and that’s the reason he’s asking why.
It’s just one word, but I instinctively know how much it’s cost this proud, proud man to ask this. For him, this is no different from begging already, and so for him to still ask why—
That’s what makes me realize one more painful truth.
My heart has never ached like this for Sandy, and that’s why I have to tell him the truth.
“If I sign the divorce papers, it means I’m admitting to cheating on him first...with you.”