Page 121 of Covenant

“Yep,” I lift my face to the sky. “And you know the worst part? That day, his first day at the firm, he walked right up and hugged me. Fuckinghuggedme. Like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t landed me in jail and then fucked off for the next decade and then some.”

Like he hadn’t torn me apart. Like I hadn’t had to sew myself back together for years after that.

Jackson gives a low whistle before slowly shaking his head. “All right, bro. The entire situation is fucked up. But there’s still something I don’t get.”

“What?”

“Why’d he ghost you?” He taps his fingers against his chin. “Why didn’t he take your call that night? Why send you there in the first place?”

I heave a sigh. “Believe me, I’ve asked myself those questions enough to drive even the sanest man to the brink.”

“From everything you’ve told me, it doesn’t sound like he would have done any of that,” Jackson persists. “Are you sure that’s the whole story?”

“It’s not.”

Both of our heads whip around at the sound of Matthias’s grim voice. He steps out of the shadows, and I groan inwardly. Just how long has he been hiding there, listening to me pour my heart out?

From the intensity of his stare, the thin set of his mouth, and his arms folded over his chest, I’m going to assume he heard everything.

“Hey, there!” Jackson says, waving his hand.

But his greeting goes unanswered as I stare at my husband—the man who I’ve loved as long as I can remember.

Jackson slaps his hands on his thighs abruptly and stands. “Right, I think that’s my cue. Later guys.”

With that, he walks off, leaving Matthias and me alone. Any other time, I’d be pleased with the speed and ease at which he’s moving with his new prosthetic, if it weren’t for the fact he’s abandoning me.

Matthias slides into the space Jackson left open, so close to me, our legs touching. Everything inside of me leans toward him.

“You ready to talk about this now?”

I exhale shakily and fist my hands on my thighs. “What if it ruins everything?”

“Wy…” His hand slides over mine, his thumb caressing my skin. “Everything’s already ruined. I think it’s time one of us admits it.”

I blink, my vision traitorously blurry. “Fuck you. This is all your fault.”

His thumb stops its movement. “How so?”

I don’t look at him as I confess, leaving it between us and the stars. “Because you made me fall in love with you. It’d be so much easier if I could hate you. This wouldn’t matter then.”

His voice breaks. “You love me?”

Exhaustion weighs heavily on me as I twist to face him. “Yeah. I do. I don’t know when it happened, or if it’s always been there. But I’m so fucking tired of hiding it. I’m weary of having to try and pretend. Aren’t you?”

His throat clicks as he swallows. “You have no idea.”

The tension between us pulls tight as we sit on the fragile ledge of the future. Whatever happens next will send us over the edge. To happiness or heartbreak.

It’s time to find out which.

“Okay,” I say finally. “I’m ready. It can’t be as bad as the version I’ve lived with all these years.”

Matthias laughs bitterly. “Oh, Wy. My love. It’s so much worse.”

27

MATTHIAS

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