Page 152 of Thorns of Malice

She takes another bite. After swallowing it, she takes another sip of wine and then puts her glass down. She turns toward me, and her face once again goes serious. She blurts out, "What was the prize?"

The hairs on my neck rise. I hope she's referring to something else. So I cautiously ask, "The prize?"

She tilts her head, studying me. "Don't play dumb, Dax. What was the prize for the game you had me playing that I didn't even know I was in?"

Her words slap me in the face. Bile creeps up my throat, and I swallow it down.

She closes her eyes. "Please just tell me, no matter how bad it is. All these years, I just wanted to know. What was it you won?"

I shift in my seat, hating myself, trying to form the words, but there's no easy way to admit it. So I finally state the blunt truth. "It was just points on an imaginary scoreboard between Avery, Bobby, and me."

"That was it?" she questions, with a hint of anger mixing with hurt in her voice.

I put my hand on her thigh. "Yes. You said you wanted to know the truth. That's it, and I regret it. There's not a moment in my life since that I haven't regretted it."

She looks away.

I don't force her to look at me, wondering how she'll ever love me unconditionally again. What I did to her was horrible.

She stares at the bread, biting her lip.

"Ivy?"

She snaps her head back toward me. "Who leaked the video?"

"Avery."

"How do you know it was Avery?"

"It had to be her. It wouldn't have been Bobby," I assure her.

"And why is that?" she questions, tilting her head, her glare shooting into me like a laser I can't avoid.

I suddenly feel like I'm in a trap.Does she somehow know?

When I don't answer, she asserts, "I need to know the truth, Dax. Tell me now why you think Bobby didn't leak that video. Why are you so sure?"

My chest tightens. "You're not going to like this answer either."

"Just tell me," she orders.

"Okay. Bobby had the idea to blackmail Lilly's dad, Senator McBean, and I went along with it. Lilly was paired with you the night of the sorority party so we could get something to hold over her and her father's heads. Bobby wanted it so we could?—"

"So you could extort him?" Ivy says, her voice dripping with displeasure.

I swallow hard. "Yes."

She looks away, stares at the wine, and taps the bottom of her glass.

I move my hand to her thigh. "Ivy, I know what I did was unforgivable. If I could do things over, I would. I hope you believe me."

She turns back toward me. "I do believe you."

Surprised, I arch my eyebrows. "You do?"

She nods. "Yeah, I do."

Real hope fills me for the first time since she's been back. But I'm cautious. It'll take a lot for her to forgive me and for us to be back where we were, and my gut tells me I'm more aware of that than Ivy is.

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