Page 47 of Price of Victory
I could see the hurt flash across his features, and I hated myself for putting it there. But I didn’t know how else to handle this, didn’t know how to explain that the last thing I wanted was to drag him into the middle of a corporate scandal that could destroy everything we’d built.
“Look,” he said, his voice careful and controlled, “I know your family situation is complicated. I know there’s history there that’s difficult to talk about, especially to talk to me about it. But we’ve been together for months now, and I feel like I barely know anything about that part of your life.”
“Maybe because it’s not important.”
“How can it not be important? It’s your family, Aiden. It’s a huge part of who you are.”
“No, it’s not.” The words came out more vehemently than I’d intended. “I’m not defined by my father’s business dealings or my family’s reputation. I’m my own person.”
“I know that. But pretending like none of it exists isn’t healthy, either.”
“I’m not pretending anything. I’m just choosing not to let it control my life.”
“There’s a difference between not letting it control your life and completely shutting me out of it.”
The accusation stung because there was truth in it. I was shutting him out, deliberately and completely. But I didn’t know how else to protect what we had, how to keep the toxicity of my family’s world from poisoning the one good thing I’d managed to build.
“I’m not shutting you out,” I said, but even as I said it, I knew it was a lie.
“Yes, you are. Every time anything related to your family comes up, you change the subject or shut down entirely. Do you know how that feels? Like there’s this huge part of your life that you don’t trust me with.”
“It’s not about trust.”
“Then what is it about?”
I opened my mouth to respond, but the words wouldn’t come. How could I explain that I was trying to protect him without sounding patronizing? How could I tell him that I was terrified of losing him without revealing just how deep this thing between us had gotten?
“It’s about keeping things simple,” I said finally.
“Simple.” He repeated the word like it tasted bitter. “Right. Because God forbid our relationship should be complicated.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
“Isn’t it? Because it sounds like you want to keep me in some separate compartment of your life. The fun part, the easy part, but not the real part.”
“That’s not true.”
“Prove it. Tell me what’s going on with your family. Tell me why you’ve been distracted and tense all morning.”
The demand hung in the air between us, and I felt my defenses slam into place like armor. This was exactly what I’d been trying to avoid, this moment when I’d have to choose between protecting our relationship and protecting him from the mess of my family’s scandal.
“Why?” I asked, and I could hear the edge creeping into my voice. “Why do you need to know? What possible good could come from dragging you into corporate politics and manipulation?”
“Because we’re dating,” he said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “Because when something’s bothering you, it bothers me, too. Because I care about you, and I want to understand what you’re going through.”
The sincerity in his voice should have melted my resistance, should have made me want to open up and let him help carry whatever burden I was struggling with. Instead, it just made me more defensive, more convinced that he couldn’t possibly understand the implications of what he was asking.
“Or maybe,” I said, the words coming out cold and calculated, “you’re just curious about the drama. Maybe you want the inside scoop on whatever crisis is happening with Whitmore Entertainment so you can share it with your family.”
The moment the words left my mouth, I knew I’d gone too far. I could see the exact instant when my accusation hit him, when hurt transformed into something harder and more dangerous.
“What did you just say to me?” His voice was quiet, deadly quiet, and I realized I’d crossed a line I couldn’t uncross.
“I didn’t mean…”
“No, I think you meant exactly what you said. You think I’m what, fishing for information?”
“That’s not…”
