Page 149 of My Ruthless Opponent

“You won Round One. At the party, I observed your restlessness. I saw how your troubled gaze was glued toward the lobby, searching for the signs of Raleigh. Nobody’s that good of an actor.”

I am speechless. I wasn’t conscious Archer was observing everything so thoroughly.

“After watching Raleigh with you today, each one of my doubts was put to rest. The way he looks at you… it says it all. It can’t be faked.”

My heart skips a beat. “How… does he looks at me?”

He gives me a warm smile and leans forward to tuck a strand behind my ear. “Like he wants to hide you from others. He looks at you like he doesn’t want to share you with the world.”

Butterflies take flight in my stomach. I am grinning so wide my cheeks hurt.

Archer chuckles and shakes his head.

Then he sobers up, his eyes moving over my face. “Why didn’t you tell him about your past, Hannah?”

His softly voiced question shakes me to the core.

I open my mouth to lie again but nothing comes out.

Archer studies me for a moment, his brows creasing. “You’re going to get married in a few days. Don’t you think he has the right to know that you are not Hannah Cooper but Hannah Lockwood?”

Every muscle in my body freezes.

In a second, all the misery comes hurtling back to me.

For a few slow moments, I remain motionless, letting the hurt spread through me.

The phone call from this afternoon had already left me on shaky ground, Archer calling me by my real name makes it all worse.

I changed my last name to my mother’s because I wanted to start a new life.

My old name only brought me shame. I am not Hannah Lockwood anymore. She was weak. She wanted to give up when her life was destroyed. I am not her.

I am Hannah Cooper. I am a strong woman who’ll not back down until I take my revenge. And I won’t tell Raleigh about my past life.

I won’t survive if he looked at me with hate and judgment in his eyes. I wouldn’t be able to bear it.

I shake my head and push out of my seat.

I face away from him, my hands banding around my front. “I-I can’t,” I release a harsh breath.

The sound of a chair scraping on the floor, then a warm hand settles on my shoulder. “Without the foundation of trust and transparency, you can’t build a successful relationship, Hannah.”

This relationship is a sham. Yes, we like each other now but that doesn’t mean our marriage will be real. Moisture gathers in my eyes at that thought.

Archer turns me to face him. “Come here.”

He takes me in his arms. “Why can’t you?” He asks softly.

“Because I am afraid that he will hate me,” I whisper.

“You don’t know that.” he chides me in a gentle tone, his hands rubbing my back.

“No one believed me.” Tears fall from my eyes and soak his sweatshirt.

“I did.”

Yes, he did.

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