Total pages in book: 70
Estimated words: 67905 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67905 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 340(@200wpm)___ 272(@250wpm)___ 226(@300wpm)
My panicked breathing continued, unsure what to believe. “He—he wouldn’t lie to me.”
“Would I lie to you, sweetheart?”
My eyes flicked away, unsure who to believe. I could look past Bolton’s mistakes, but not this one. I’d never been so scared in my entire life. I’d thought I was about to be raped in that dark little room. There was no way that Bolton would let me be traumatized like that to get what he wanted. “I know Bolton is a lot of things, but he wouldn’t do that.”
All Theo did was stare at me. Didn’t press his argument. There was no judgment in his eyes.
“You weren’t there. You don’t have any proof.”
“Alright,” Theo said in defeat. “For what it’s worth, I hope I’m dead wrong. Your woman is the person you’re supposed to protect with your life. To purposely inflict harm on her, for whatever reason, is despicable.”
Bolton wouldn’t do that. He wouldn’t…right?
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there,” he repeated. “What I wouldn’t give for a redo.”
I stared at my hands on my knee.
A long silence passed.
No one came to the front door in the lobby. My emails went unanswered. My coffee turned cold.
“I want you to forgive me, sweetheart. Forgive me and give me another chance.”
My eyes found his again.
“You’ve seen a glimpse of the real Bolton now—and that’s just a glimpse.”
That dinner had been so tense, I’d thought my lungs were going to burst. “We do stupid things when we’re upset.”
“But we don’t do that.”
My eyes moved back to my knee.
“I’m sorry I didn’t take that call. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about my dead wife. But now, I’ve put it all on the line for you. Give me a chance, sweetheart.”
“But you had your chance—”
“You’ve given Bolton way more chances than he deserves,” he snapped. “All I’m asking for is a second one.”
“Bolton is my husband. It’s different.”
“You were going to divorce him until he pulled that burglary.”
“He didn’t pull that burglary,” I snapped. “And I wouldn’t have been home alone if you hadn’t broken my heart and dumped me. If you had taken my phone call. Theo, I care about you so much and this hurts like fucking hell, but it’s done.” It broke me to say those words and say them so harshly. “I wish things had been different. I wish the outcome were different. But we can’t change the past.”
He stared at his hands again.
“I told Bolton I would try.”
He kept his eyes down. “He doesn’t deserve you.”
“And I don’t deserve to be with someone who’s in love with a ghost.”
He lifted his chin and looked at me again. His stare was hard, like he had something to say but couldn’t bring himself to speak the words. “There’s a lot more to that story, but I don’t have the heart to share it.”
And it was probably best if he didn’t. “I do forgive you, Theo. But I can’t change everything that’s brought us to our current circumstances. An apology has the power to earn forgiveness, but it doesn’t have the power to change the past.”
He continued to stare at me, his coffee-colored eyes solid walls that blocked off access to his heart.
“I wish it were different.” He was such a beautiful man, on the inside as well as the outside. His wife had been the luckiest woman who’d ever lived for earning his love. It made her early death that much more heartbreaking.
After a long pause, he spoke. “Alright.” There was so much defeat in just a single word. His eyes dimmed slightly, the light from his heart disappearing as clouds gathered in his gaze. “Together or apart, I’ll always take your call, Astrid.”
His words cracked my heart, not just because of what he said, but because he called me by my name. “I know.”
He rose to his feet and faced the painting on the wall.
“Theo?” I stared at his back.
“Yes?”
“What deal did you make with Bolton? I asked him, but he wouldn’t tell me.”
He stared at the painting for a moment before he turned around and faced me. His eyes shifted back and forth between mine as he considered the question. “Bolton offered the name of my brother’s killer if I left you. I took the deal—and I’ve regretted it ever since.”
My arms crossed over my chest as the chill set into my bones. I wasn’t sure what was worse. The fact that Bolton had interfered in my relationship…or the fact that Theo had agreed.
“I’ve wanted my brother’s bones so I can bury him. Get some fucking closure. Revenge too. But my brother is dead, and nothing is going to bring him back. There’s no antidote to grief. Closure doesn’t exist. I should have chosen you. And I’m sorry I didn’t.”
8
THEO
“He has to be somewhere.”
Octavio sat across from me at the table. “He’s never in the same place twice—”