Page 224 of Modern Romance January 2025 1-4

‘Youblush, Elodie. The first time I took you to bed you barely knew what you were doing. No wonder you didn’t—’ He broke off, registering the humiliation welling in her eyes.

But then she blinked and lifted her chin. ‘Didn’t...?’

Of course she would fight on.

Ramon didn’t finish the thought aloud. He was too bitter. Too bloodybroken.

Everything he’d believed was in ruins. He’d thought they were alike in what they wanted, in their ability to see this stupid marriage through, that they were mutually experienced enough to handle this affair. But he’d just begun to think that maybe there wasmorebetween them. Hell, he’d actually tried to understand her past infidelity. Butnoneof it was as she’d portrayed. She hadn’t even been unfaithful. She hadn’t been anything like what she’d said she was.

And maybe all he really was to her was the first guy she’d actually got off with. He sure as hell couldn’t be anything more when she’d shared so little of her real self with him. Indeed, she’d only told him the truth tonight because Callum’s outburst had caught her out.

It was like when he’d caught his father with that assistant. When Cristina had revealed her affair with his father and the truth about Jose Ramon. When he’d bullied his mother’s doctor into breaking his patient confidentiality clause and admitting to him that she had end-stage cancer.

Once more the world he’d thought he’d known was in ruins and itshreddedhim. He couldn’t stand that Elodie had held back on him this whole time. She hadn’tchosento tell him the truth. Hadn’ttrustedhim. Hadn’tcaredenough to open up.

Buthehad. He’d really started to think differently about his future with her. But who knows how long she would’ve gone on letting him think things that weren’t true?

The realisation pressed on his chest. An anchor, drowning him.

‘Why are you so bothered about a stupid number?’ Her breathing shortened. ‘It shouldn’t matter. I thought that you were happy to take me as I am.’

‘But you’renotas you made yourself out to be.’ How could he believe a word she said now? When she’d held back from him even in the one place where he’d thought they were completely intimate.

‘You said yourself my past is my past.’ Her voice rose. ‘What does it matter if it isn’t as colourful as everyone else thinks. It’s not their business and nor is it yours and—’

‘I don’tcarewho you have or haven’t slept with!’ he roared. ‘Thatis not the issue!’

‘Then whatis?’ Elodie cried.

This was going so much worse than she’d feared. But of course Ramon didn’t care how many men she’d slept with. It was irrelevant. He wasn’t jealous or possessive because he didn’t really care abouther. He’d never considered an actual future with her and never would.

‘It’s theliethat matters,’ he said shortly.

But he’d just accepted the fact that she’d lied to Callum. So when was one lie okay and another not? And she hadn’t so much lied as much as not spoken up. ‘Your pride has taken a hit because you didn’t know every last little thing about me?’

He stared at her. He looked dreadful—not just angry, but deeply bitter. ‘Honesty matters to me, Elodie.’

‘Really?’ Her emotions slipped and she called him out. ‘You’re the one who entered a fake marriage purely to keep control of some property you don’t even want.’

‘The honesty required was betweenus.’

But honesty took trust. Which took time. ‘You didn’t even tell me about that island at the beginning. Nor would I have expected you to. And you shouldn’t have expected me to tell you everything either. Relationships don’t work that way,’ she said.

‘Do we actually have a relationship?’

She hesitated, suddenly terrified about how to answer that. ‘We have apartnership. We are in the midst of an affair. We’re physically intimate...’ She didn’t know how else to define it. ‘Trust needs to beearned, right? I don’t trust easily. You don’t trust atall—’

‘How can you say that? I told you things I’ve never toldanyone. And you let me. You listened. Empathised even. You let me think...’ He trailed off.

She froze, hating his anger. She had to try to explain why she’d been quiet—why she’d been soafraid. ‘I needed you to think I could handle it. That I knew what I was getting into. If you knew what had really happened, you would have had such power over me. I couldn’t let anyone have that—’

‘Because you didn’t trust me.’

‘I didn’tknowyou then.’

‘And nothing has happened in the last few weeks to make you change your opinion—maybe believe that maybe you could begin to trust me?’

She breathed, unable to answer. The fact was even though she’d wanted to, she’d been too scared. She’d worried he mightn’t react well. She’d been right to worry. Because he wasn’t. He was prickly and doubtful and he wasn’t going to believe her if she said any of what she truly thought and wanted now.

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