Page 150 of Closer

Sender: John Barron, Receiver: Marc Edmunds.

It’s an e-mail exchange.

My eyes widen. “This is… they were in this together. It’s proof.” They hate each other so much that they worked together to break us up and prevent any chance of our families getting involved with each other.

Connor scrolls down further and opens up the other documents, revealing more of their scheme. The engagement announcement. Exchanging the information about the Nexus deal.

It’s all there.

I’m such a fucking idiot. Lil’s tear-streaked face as I left her in the library flashes in my mind. Like the biggest asshole on earth. All the while, it was my father and her uncle pulling the strings. How could I have been so blind?

“Everything I found was planted by them. And the information Lil told her uncle…” he says.

My chest constricts. “It was actually my father.”

He rubs the back of his neck, his brow furrowed. “This is bad.”

“Make copies of everything. We need to make sure that they can’t erase it anymore.”

Connor’s fingers hover over the laptop keyboard before he snaps it shut. “Consider it done.”

“Send it to me as well.” I pace the room.

“Are you going to tell her? Everything?”

That’s the question I’d like the answer to. Let the past be the past and move on? Or rehash it and might lose everything in the process?

Fuck. What the hell am I supposed to do? I want to tell Lil everything, lay it all out on the table. She deserves to know the truth.

But then I remember the way she looked at me when she told me she didn’t want to relive her childhood. The pain in her eyes, the way her voice trembled. She’s been through enough already. Do I really want to dredge up all that shit again? Her mind made her forget for a reason.

If I keep this from her, it’ll always be there, lurking. A secret that could tear us apart if she ever found out. But if I tell her… fuck, I don’t even want to think about what that could do to us.

We’ve been through so much already, fought so hard to get where we are. I can’t lose her again. Not now, not ever.

It’s a double-edged sword. It could set us free, or it could destroy everything we’ve built. And I’m not sure I’m ready to take that risk.

I lean against the wall. How long can I carry it before it breaks me?

Connor sips from a can of energy drink, the metallic clicking sound echoing through the room. “You should tell her. Secrets are what almost broke up Mary and me forever.”

“You’re right, man. I know you’re right. But we’re finally in a good place, you know? After all the shit, I don’t want to fuck that up.”

His gaze is steady. “I get it. I do. But trust me, the longer you wait, the worse it’ll be when she finds out. And she will find out eventually.”

“I…” He’s right, and I hate it. “I don’t want to lose her again. I can’t.”

He sets down his drink. “Look, I’m not saying it’ll be easy. But she loves you. She’s stuck by you through all of this. Don’t you think she deserves the truth?”

I love her more than anything, and the thought of hurting her, of potentially losing her… it hurts like hell. But she deserves the truth, even if it rips me apart to give it to her. I hope we’re strong enough to survive it.

I push off the wall. “Alright. I’ll tell her. But I need to do it my way, on my terms. I can’t drop this on her out of nowhere.”

“Of course. Take your time, and figure out how you want to handle it. But don’t wait too long, yeah? The longer this goes on, the harder it’ll be.”

“Thanks. I owe you one.” I clap him on the shoulder.

He grins. “Nah, you don’t owe me shit.”

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