Page 82 of Noah

"Was Noah cheating on you?"

"No, Mom. No. Noah would never do that."

Mom sighed. "I knew your dad was cheating on me. I had no idea he had a whole other life until you were six. That he had another home with his mistress and their children."

"Why did you think it was better to lie to us?" I'd been meaning to have this conversation my entire adult life. Walking away from Noah, the man I loved, had brought it to the forefront.

"We wanted you and your brother to have a normal life."

I tensed and sat up. "It wasn't normal, Mom. It wasn't anywhere near normal."

"It was a mistake. A mistake I wish I could take back."

"It's fucked me up, Mom. I don't trust anyone. It has to be hard-earned."

"Do you trust Noah?"

"I gave him my entire heart to hold. Of course, I trust him."

"Are you sure it won't work with him?"

"I don't want to hurt him, Mom."

"You're not a horrible person."

I jammed my hand into my hair, tears streaming, ready to scream, and put my fist through a wall. The possibility that I was defective when it came to love was too debatable to take a chance.

"I'm done talking about this."

"I love you, Brody. Phone me if you decide you need to talk more."

"Love you too." I disconnected the call and tossed my phone onto the bed. I gathered Noah's pillow up again, holding it to my chest and crushing it against my nose.

I had never expected to ever love this hard.

It was because I loved him that I was letting him go.

I patted the bed and Bentley jumped up and curled into a ball at the foot. I lay down, still clutching Noah's pillow, dug my feet into Bentley's side, and cried myself to sleep.

Chapter Seventeen | Noah

Liam rubbed my back from his place seated beside me. The meeting of the Salish Sea Society was underway, and all attention had been turned on me.

"Tell us what happened," Liam said. "All of it, Noah."

I'd had time to think about why Brody wasn't responding to me. The first text I sent to him indicated it had been read. I'd sent the message missing you to him and he hadn't responded.

That could only mean one thing.

I'd fucked up this morning by telling him I loved him.

"We had an amazing time last night all things considered." I stared at my drink. Not wanting to make eye contact with any one of them. To witness the sorrow about to emerge on their faces.

They let me speak. "It was one of my parents' galas, so he had to witness all of that. But we had fun with Sean and Frances. Brody was happy when we climbed back into the limo."

I twirled my drink. "We had the most amazing sex. Twice last night and then again, this morning. This morning was different, though. He was facing me. I could watch his eyes."

I sighed. "I thought I saw something there. Something I've been feeling lately."

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