Page 198 of Divine Obsession

The phone barely rang before he picked up, his voice smooth and warm. “Baby. Everything okay?”

I swallowed hard, my grip tightening on the phone. “You lied.” My voice trembled. “You didn’t come back for me.”

There was a pause on the other end.

When he spoke again, his tone was cautious. “What are you talking about?”

“You were helping him the whole time. Do you even love me? Or was I just some convenient way for you to get information on Maria?”

“Nat–”

“Maria is myfamily. Myeverything. She’s mysister, Trevor. And you knew that. You knew what she meant to me, and you still helped Zach…How could you?”

“You don’t understand–”

“What if he hadn’t fallen in love with her? What if he hadn’t changed his mind? What then, Trevor? Would I have a dead sister? Because ofyou?”

“I wasn’t trying to hurt you–”

“But you did!” My voice cracked. “You hurt me by hurting Maria. And now I can’t stop wondering if you’ve been using me this entire time. Every question about Maria. Every conversation. The folder you have on me… It all feels like a lie now.”

“It wasn’t a lie,” He said firmly, his voice lower now. “Not with you.”

I closed my eyes. “I can’t trust anything you say right now.”

“Natalia, please–”

“I didn’t want to choose between you and my sister, butyou forced me.” My voice broke. “I need space. I need a break. From us.”

I hung up.

A call from him came back immediately, but I turned my phone off.

My heart pounded so loud, it drowned out everything else. For a moment, I leaned against the wall, trying to steady myself, but the ache in my chest didn’t subside.

I walked back into the living room, my heart still pounding, my throat bleeding from everything I’d just said to Trevor. Maria was already sitting on the couch, waiting for me.

I silently took my seat back next to her.

The second my eyes met hers, the tears started to fall without warning.

She immediately reached for me. “Nat, what’s wrong?”

I couldn’t even answer. The words stuck in my throat, tangled in the mess of my emotions. I buried my face in her shoulder, silently crying as she just held me.

“Girls? What’s wrong?” A voice interrupted, breaking through the tension. Zach stepped out of the hallway leading to their bedroom, looking like he’d just woken up, his hair messy and his expression confused.

Maria shook her head, her hand gently stroking my back. “I don’t know.”

Zach’s gaze shifted to the laptop on the table. His face dropped as he noticed the open files, before looking at me and stepping into the large living space.

Maria caught our exchange. “What’s going on?”

I wiped my eyes, trying to pull myself together. “I’ve been… Seeing Trevor.”

Her eyes went wide. “WHAT?”

I winced at the force of her reaction. “For some time…”

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