Page 55 of The Billionaire's Betrayal
His gaze instantly hardened, a flash of anger briefly shining in it.This blind loyalty to her made me sick.
"She's not like that!"he protested."You don't know her."
"But you know her well, don't you?"I retorted, my voice trembling with contained rage."Very intimately, even..."
He opened his mouth, but I didn't give him time to deny.
"Tell me, Tristan, when did you make love to her for the first time?Was it in New York?Or...yesterday, in your office?"
His face fell.His eyes widened in horror as he understood.I saw him turn pale suddenly, as if all his blood had just left him at once, while my tears, those traitors, still flowed for a man who didn't deserve them.
"Eva...I don't know what you saw, but I swear I pushed her away," he pleaded, his voice hoarse.
I wanted to believe him.I would have given anything for it to be true.But how could I?Not when he was still defending her so ardently just seconds before.
"Please, Eva, believe me."
I let out a bitter, painful laugh.
"Why should I believe you?I stopped being your priority a long time ago...I was just too blind to see it."
"You're wrong, Eva."He ran a trembling hand through his hair."It's true that I was lost and that my choices might make you doubt me, but you are and will always be my priority."
Overwhelmed, he wanted to get up and approach me as if to console me, but he thought better of it.The realization struck him: he had become the last person in the world capable of comforting me.He clenched his fists, his body suddenly seeming too big, too awkward in the confined space of our living room.
"I beg you, Eva, don't cry," he murmured in a broken voice."You know I can't stand to see you cry."
A bitter laugh escaped me, so close to a sob that the difference was almost imperceptible.
"Don't worry, I won't impose this spectacle on you anymore.Everything is over."
His eyes widened, as if my words had struck him in the face.I saw panic invade his features as he realized that our story was ending here, in this living room that had witnessed so much love and now our end.But what did he think?That I would stay there, a passive spectator, watching him build his new life with her?That I would be content with the crumbs he would deign to leave me?
No.I wasn't that kind of woman.I had never been.I wanted all or nothing.
"It's over between us, Tristan," I repeated in a voice that no longer trembled.
His eyes misted over at this cruel truth.I could see he was suffering, I knew that a part of him still loved me, but I had my own pain to manage.I could no longer be the one who consoles, who understands, who forgives.
His lips began to tremble, and soon tears rolled down his cheeks.I looked away, refusing to see his pain, his belated regrets.He no longer had the right.It was he who had chosen to destroy everything, he who had broken us.
Suddenly, he stood up, approached me, and took my face in his hands.His intense gaze, filled with distress, plunged into mine.His mouth descended on mine in a kiss filled with love and despair.I struggled, refusing to yield to his embrace that tore me apart inside, but he insisted, again and again, until, broken with grief, I lowered my defenses, collapsing.His mouth deepened our kiss and devoured me as if the world was about to end.Overwhelmed with love and pain, I returned his kiss with all the violence of my wounded soul.Our kisses tasted of our tears and our despair.I loved him!My God, I loved him so much!I wanted everything from him, his kisses, his tenderness, his skin.
The tension between us electrified.My fingers slid into his hair.Our bodies pressed against each other as if they never wanted to separate again.Our embrace became feverish, our lips moaned with desire.Without a word, he lifted me, my legs wrapped around his hips, and carried me to our bedroom.He laid me on the bed and undressed me with a tenderness mixed with urgency.When he was naked in turn, he took his place between my legs.His mouth set out to discover my body, caressing me, loving me with a desperate intensity.
Our bodies united with passion, each thrust bearing the weight of our love and our despair.As pleasure overwhelmed us both, he whispered his love to me again and again, before collapsing against me, breathless.
That night, I showed him in every way I could how much I loved him.
Exhausted, we finally fell asleep, Tristan tightly wrapped around me.He held me against him, as if he never wanted to let me go again, as if, once more, I was the center of his world, as if he was choosing me.But I had no illusions.It was too late for us; this night was just a last gasp, a final period to our story.I nestled against him to breathe in his scent one last time.
34.She no longer believed me
TRISTAN
Something wasn't right.I woke with a start, completely disoriented.I reached out to Eva's side of the bed but found only cold sheets.
Gradually, memories of the previous night returned to me.Our night had been incredible.The passion was still there, more vibrant than ever.
