Page 86 of An Unholy Affair
‘No.’ As he said the words, he realised he meant them. Eveline’s career highlighted just how socially unacceptable his was, but it didn’t mean he wanted her to change anything about herself.
‘Do you feelanythingfor me?’ she asked.
He dug the heels of his hands into his eye sockets and let out a strangled cry.
‘Jack?’
He raised his head. ‘Yes, Eveline, I do. I feeleverythingfor you.’
A solitary tear ran down her cheek. It felt like acid dripping on his soul.
‘Then why can’t we be together?’
His throat was too full of emotion, but he forced the words out.
‘I’m a bad—I’m not the right person for you. I’m not good enough for you—’
‘But—’
‘Eveline, please. I’ve done things in my life I can’t tell anyone about. Not my friends, not my family, not even you.’
Her face paled.
‘The Jack everyone thinks they know is a lie. I’m not who anyone thinks I am. And I can never be involved with someone like you.’
Silence.
‘Are you a contract killer?’
He stared at her in shock.
She swallowed. ‘Like John Wick?’
He huffed out an incredulous laugh. ‘No. Jesus Chri—No.’
‘Are you a serial killer?’
‘What the f—? No, Eveline. I’ve never killed anyone. I’ve never even been in a fight before.’
She visibly relaxed. ‘Are you a thief?’
‘No!’
‘On the run from the law?’
‘No.’
‘From the mafia?’
‘What? No!’
‘Loan sharks?’
‘I’m not in debt to anyone. Neither have I broken any laws or, to my knowledge, pissed anyone off.’
‘Have you abandoned your wife? Your ch-children?’
Jesus Christ. ‘I’ve never been married. I don’t have a girlfriend, or any children.’
