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His eyes widen in shock, and I feel like I’ve slapped him across the face.

“Please don’t be mad.” My voice shakes. “Oliver and I... talked.” More like he blackmailed me. “I have a longer history with Oliver, and throwing that away...”

“You’re lying. You can’t stand the sight of him. Why would you get back together?”

My heart pounds against my chest, every beat screaming at me to tell the truth. But I can’t risk it. I can’t let Oliver hurt Bash or our family and if I tell him anything, he will try something.

“He apologized.” My hands tremble. “And he... we want to try it again.”

Bash’s eyes narrow. “With what did he threaten you?”

“He didn’t threaten me. I told you, Oliver, and I decided to try again.”

“I don’t believe that for a second. You’re lying to me, and I want to know why.”

I lift my chin, summoning every ounce of strength I have left. “Believe what you want. I’m back with Oliver, and that’s the end of it.”

He takes a step closer, his broad frame towering over me. His green eyes bore into mine, searching for the truth I’m hiding, and I force myself to hold his gaze.

“You don’t have to do this alone.”

But I do. This time, I have to protect him. I have to fix my mistakes.

“Thank you. But there is nothing to fix.”

I can see the battle raging inside him—the desire to help me and the respect for my decision.

“Fine. Do it your way.” With that, Bash breaks away from me and strides away, the door slamming shut behind him.

What am I doing? The only thing for sure is that Oliver lurks out there, waiting to strike again. As long as he’s around, Elijah and I don’t stand a chance.

I drop to the floor, the cold tiles beneath me anchoring me to reality.

The air feels thick around me, suffocating me as I try to come to terms with the reality of my situation. I’m trapped. I close my eyes, willing the tears to stay at bay, but they spill over, hot and bitter, tracing their way down my cheeks.

The sound of the door makes my head jerk up. Lil is beside me in an instant, gathering me into her arms. After calming down, Lil wipes the tears from my cheeks with a tissue.

“You didn’t tell him?” she asks.

I shake my head.

“He could help.”

I nod, swallowing around the lump in my throat. “But I don’t know what Oliver would do if he finds out... I don’t know what to do.”

“Shh, we’ll figure this out together, okay?”

“He can’t know.”

“Okay,” she says. “Watch a movie and eat ice cream? I bought some.”

A watery smile tugs at my lips. “That sounds perfect.”

Lil ruffles my hair. “Great. Now, I’ll put the groceries away, and you find something for us to watch. We’ll veg out the rest after that.”

I nod, wiping my eyes once more.

As Lil handles everything in the kitchen, I slump onto the couch.

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