Page 15 of Trust Me With Forever

However, he stalked around the kitchen island and gently took my chin between his fingers. “What happened when you tried to call his bluff, Abigail?”

For a second, I wanted to be a brat and tell him to mind his own fucking business.

But the mixture of tenderness and anger—for me, not at me—made me pause. “Why do you care, Rafael?”

“Because for the moment, you’re still my wife, and that makes you mine to protect.”

“Protect? What, is this like the eighteenth century and the British are coming?”

“Don’t do that, Abby. Don’t change the subject with a joke.”

For a few beats, I stared at him. Talking about this was hard, harder than anything else in the world. Because I’d been an idiot, and it wasn’t easy to admit that. Not even to myself.

Could I confide in him about my screw up? He’d be the first one to hear the details. And given how he was more stranger than a friend at this point, it might be easier.

At some point, his finger started to stroke my jaw oh-so-gently, and I nearly hummed. What would it be like to be Rafe’s wife? To kiss him when I wanted, lick every inch of his body, and be there to cheer him up when he had a bad day?

What would it be like to have a man who’d stand by me instead of tossing me aside for a richer, prettier version?

Would he be someone I could trust? Lean on?

A small voice said,Don’t believe in fairy tales, Abby. You learned that lesson already.

I stepped away, and Rafe released me. Part of me wanted to rush back to him, but I held my ground.

He repeated, “What else did he do to you? Tell me. I can’t make a decision without it.”

I swallowed and tugged at my top. Could I do this? Could I really reveal more of my past to this man? A man I’d once idolized but now argued with constantly and barely knew at all?

Damn it, Travis really had screwed me up. Because I never used to hesitate in sharing stuff about myself. If anything, I had always shared too much.

For a split second, I wanted to run home and cry. I missed that version of myself so much.

His expression and voice softened. “Just tell me, Abigail. I’ve known you your whole life, and one mistake from your past isn’t going to make me run for the hills.”

“It might if it ruins your new dream.”

“I doubt it can.”

His cocky words sparked anger inside of me. And before I could become trapped inside my own head again, I blurted, “My ex has a deep fake video of me having sex with a former student. The original footage had been of me and him, but he had someone alter it, to the point most people will think it’s real. And the worst thing of all is that I hadn’t wanted him to take the video at first. But he convinced me it would please him, and I let him record us. But I never thought, I never…”

My voice cracked as my eyes heated with tears. I turned away and placed my hands over my face. One stupid night from my past had the potential to ruin my life and future and might even land me in jail because it looked so real.

How could I have been so fucking stupid?

That was a question I asked myself every day and never had an answer.

Rafe’s soft voice was right behind me as he said, “I’ll find a way to destroy it, Abigail. You have my word.”

After lowering my hands, I dared a glance behind me. At Rafe’s determined look and clenched jaw, I nearly believed him.

Almost.

Don’t be that naïve again, Abby.

A harsh laugh escaped me. “As if it’s that easy. He has buddies to back up the story, probably some copies stored in the cloud, and who knows what else. He’s a coach and might’ve even gotten students to agree to be witnesses. If it gets out, I’ll probably get arrested.”

“No.”

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