Page 67 of Twisted Trust
“No tricks.” He cuts me off and his eyes close briefly. “The moment I saw you in the parking lot, I felt like someone had punched me directly in the heart. All these years and suddenly, you were right at my feet. I couldn’t believe it. That was the moment I realized I didn’t want to kill you and this hatred I’dbeen clinging to was just weighing me down. And I realized I still loved you. Pathetic, right?”
I blink and two tears roll down my cheek while my vision clears. “You still… love me?”
“How can I not?” He laughs softly, but it lacks any humor. “You have no idea how deeply you sank into my heart, do you?”
A complicated swirl of emotions clashes in my chest. My old feelings for Levi mingle with my new feelings and this strange pain now that I know he viewed me as a traitor for so long. It all jumbles into a mess along with relief and fear, and I can’t decipher any of it clearly enough, but one thing does come through clearly.
Having Levi’s arms around me is the safest I’ve felt in hours.
“What about Scott? You need to promise me you’re not going to take him away from me.”
Levi’s brow shoots up to his hairline and genuine confusion twists his lips. “What? Why… Maeve, what are you talking about?”
“You’re rich and powerful and you can provide an insane life for him, but he’s stillmyson, okay, and I know I took him away, and if you’re angry about that, then we can talk about it, but he’s mine, do you understand? You can’t take him away from me.”
“Maeve… my God.” Levi shakes his head and then guides me backward to the couch where he sits me down. His arm remains around my waist as he sits next to me and he clutches my hand in my lap. “I see things clearly now. Clearer than I have in years.”
“Just tell me,” I whisper. “Tell me you won’t take him away, please.”
Levi’s eyes move back and forth between mine. “Maeve, I have absolutely no intention of separating you and Scott. Knowing he’s my son doesn’t change that. If anything, it just makes me want to protect both of you more than I already have done. I can guarantee that even with CPS sniffing around, Scottwill never be taken away from you. He will never be without family.”
I can’t decide if I trust him or if it’s desperation that I’m clinging to. His words are calm and he looks honest, but my defenses refuse to come down.
“But I know words won’t soothe that, so I just ask that you trust me enough to show you I mean it. Time will prove to you that I’m telling the truth.”
“Time,” I whisper.
“Yes, time. It’s the only way I can truly prove to you that I mean what I say. I don’t expect you to trust me right off the bat, but please trust that I will do everything and anything for my son. I never…” Levi pauses and his gaze falls away. “I never imagined that all this time, I was a father. I’ve missed so much.”
He sounds so genuine that my stomach twists and I clutch at his hand. “He’s only four. There’s still plenty of time.”
Levi looks back at me and his eyes roam my face. “I will get to the bottom of what really happened, I promise you. And that…” He casts a dark look toward the crumpled letter. “We’ll deal with that the best we can.”
“So you’re not mad anymore?”
“Given how you yelled at me, I think I should be asking you that.” Levi chuckles, then he puffs out his cheeks. “Holy shit. I came here thinking I was about to unravel the truth. And I did, to an extent, but it was so far from this story I’ve been living for the past five years.”
Nodding slowly, I wipe my eyes and deflate into him. “What does this mean?”
“It means…” Levi’s jaw tightens. “It means someone’s been playing me like a puppet for five years and they took away the only good thing I had in my life. And when I find them—” He cuts himself off and meets my eyes with a small smile. “It means I have a lot to make up for.”
“If you didn’t know then, you don’t have to,” I say softly. “How can I blame you for believing those lies when I also fell for them?”
“Because it was my job to protect you. I swore it to you the first night I kissed you on that boat. And I failed.”
“I don’t see how things could have been different if you were in a coma.”
“I shouldn’t have kept you a secret,” Levi replies, and his hands tighten around mine. “I did it because I selfishly wanted to keep you and what you meant to me all to myself and in the end, I created the perfect thing to be used against me. I was stupid and you’ve suffered because of that. I’m sorry, Maeve, I truly am.”
I believe him.
I don’t know if it’s exhaustion or wishful thinking, but everything he’s saying sounds like it’s coming from the heart. Tears well up before I can stop them, and I murmur an apology as he pulls me into his arms and holds me closer.
In the safety of his arms, I don’t hold back anymore. I’m not even sure what’s causing the tears, but they pour freely as he holds me tightly and murmurs soft sounds into my hair.
It’s partly a relief that I might finally be getting the help I’ve ached for all these years. It’s partly exhaustion from always being on edge and fearing that one wrong step will cause this fragile life to crumple. And it’s partly from pain that I spent years thinking the man I loved had turned on me when it was all a lie orchestrated by someone who knew our secret.
Someone who is still out there.
