Page 29 of The Wrong Side Of Us

“Explain.”

The single word carried a weight that lingered in the air. Jessica was lost, but Thomas…he sighed, speaking up immediately.

“I’m sorry for the misunderstanding. He knew nothing…”

His words should have eased my worries but instead did nothing. I smiled briefly, taking a seat on the sofa and hearing their voices but not truly listening. Everything had taken a turn for the worst suddenly, and I didn’t know what to do.

The room felt cold, and I wrapped my arms around my body to protect myself from my feelings. Except I couldn’t. They were there, taking over without compassion.

Catching everyone off guard, I stood up and started walking toward the bedroom.

“Evie—”

I stopped, hearing my name slip past his lips…so cautious and torn. “I just need to be alone,” I whispered, not bothering to turn around.

Without a further word, I did just that, letting myself fall into the bed, drowning in my thoughts and sorrow.

***

Nathan

There were many scenarios that came to mind as far planning a proposal for Evie—her thinking I was cheating was never one of them. Thomas and Jesse left after a long series of apologies that, honestly, I didn’t care to hear. The damage done proved Evie and I still had a lot to work on.

I shut off the lights in the living room and kitchen, making my way to the bedroom. The lights were off; her body was wrapped in a blanket. She didn’t shift, didn’t move an inch, but I knew she was awake by the quiet sniffling that came from her. I approached her, kneeling next to the bed and watching how a tear ran down her face.

She wiped her face, but the evidence of her sadness was there, too obvious to deny. “I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Evie whispered. “So please…if you know what to do, tell me, because I don’t, but I’m hoping you do.”

She had all the right to think wrong. What she’d heard, what she’d seen, all pointed to cheating, but she didn’t even give me the benefit of the fucking doubt, and that stung. There was a whole world between us now, and I wasn’t sure how to fix it.

“What is it going to take?” I asked, desperate. “I’m here with you. I had a career at the university that I left behind for you. I’ve tried to prove over and over to you that you can trust me, that I love you. What else do you want from me? I’m out of ideas, Evelyn. And I’m going out of my mind trying to figure out what the hell you want.”

“Don’t you understand why I doubted you?” she asked, her lip quivering.

“I do,” I said, softening my tone. “But I don’t know how to get rid of your doubts. I had one failed marriage, and I take full responsibility for it, but you have to know with you it’s different. With you, it’s real.”

Nodding, Evie took a deep breath to calm down, her usually bright eyes dimmed out by the pain she still felt.

“Could you just lie down with me and hold me?”

She didn’t have to ask twice. I laid down next to her and wrapped my arms around her body, pulling her close to my chest while she tried to sleep. We could try to work things out tomorrow. For now, I’d do whatever she wanted.

Chapter 12

Evelyn

We were at an impasse.

My sleep was long gone, so I stood up and got ready for the day. The frail woman staring back at me through the mirror was pitiful.

Finding my way back seemed impossible.

Once in the kitchen, I started cooking, wanting to distract myself from everything that happened. There was no point on dwelling on what happened. All it did was remind me of the trust issues I still had to work through to have a functional relationship with Nathan.

Remembering how much Nathan loved quesadillas, I opted to do just that for him while I’d eat cereal. By no means was I a good cook, but the pressure to not fuck this up was too much. I heard his footsteps before I even finished cooking and could almost picture him leaning against the wall while he looked at me.

My lips tilted up slightly.

I had to believe we would be okay.

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