Page 6 of Nidev and Lyric

“I did not,” he said, closing his water.

“You want to know what I loved most about my findings?”

Loved. He very much did but he took a moment to consider. “Seems I actually do.”

Another seductively hot laugh. “The way you lost your hair and why you got that tattoo. I think it’s the most badass thing I’ve ever heard. And I know you’re not allowed to ask about why students pick Mentors but, I picked you because you represented everything I wanted to be. Strong. Fearless. Sharp. Merciless in perfection. I needed that. And you didnotdisappoint.”

He angled his head, trying to decipher the thing she kept leaving out. He did disappoint her, but not about that. Did it have to do with the prodigy academy? “What about with the prodigy academy? How’d I do there?”

The wreck of emotions on her lovely face was captivating.

“Really,” he said in mild surprise at the display, getting more of it with a vigorous nod.

“You sucked. George was the worst person. For me,” she corrected. “Whatever algorithm or fancy formula you all used for that, glitched on us.”

He recalled her reasons for asking to cancel the contract. “I believe you said he was too weak for father material on the dissolution form.”

“Among other things,” she barely said.

“I don’t recall more.”

“Because I didn’t put it,” she confessed with a mix of frustration and guilt. “Look… George was nice enough,” she said.“Arealgo-getter. He tried very hard to make thatarrangementwork and so did I, but in the end it wasn’t enough. And honestly, I didn’t realize entirely why at the time.”

That brought a dozen need to know answers. “George ticked off all the boxes that made him a thousand percent husband and father material.”

“And I’m not saying he isn’t going to make a great father and husband, just not to me. And I’m willing to say thatIwas the wrong pick forhim.”

He was only puzzled more. “What did you mean when you said he was too weak for father material?”

More guilt came as her gaze meandered. “Mr. Nidev, I didn’t even know at the time how to put it into words. Writing isn’t my strong suit and I sure as hell wasn’t going to voice it.”

His cock was officially fascinated. “Everything that’s said here, stays here. Legally,” he reminded, ready for every detail.

The worry on her face wavered a little. “You can’tevertell him I said this.”

He acknowledged with a single nod, and she took a deep breath.

“I realize now that poor George was doomed from the start with the way the whole class was set up to disregard women’s feelings and needs. The ones that go beyond being a prodigy factory.”

The crude yet accurate description of timeless hours and planning for that promising empire stung.

“I literally was not allowed to want more than what I was told I should so that’s one reason you never heard a word about it. For the first half of our relationship, I strived tobewhat the curriculum outlined a wife was to be. And when needs arose that didn’t line up with the curriculum, I mostly kept it to myself.”

“Mostly?”

“I made the mistake of telling George and of course he saw me as flawed but also wanted to help me because he’s really a sweet man and… wanted to succeed like I did.”

“So, he helped meet this… mysterious need?”

Head shake. “If he had, I might still be with him. He tried to help me getridof theneed since it was deemed by the curriculum to be secondary which amounted to unnecessary.”

What the hell was she referring to? “Exactly what is this need?” he gently asked.

She was suddenly at the edge of some cliff, and he’d just asked her to jump.

“You don’t have to answer,” he reminded.

“Pleasure,” she forced out. “I wanted pleasure in prodigy production.”

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