Total pages in book: 171
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 162003 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 810(@200wpm)___ 648(@250wpm)___ 540(@300wpm)
And at the end of the day, I had no other choice. I was going to have to come clean about not trusting him and ask him what it all meant.
***
When Ryland got home, I was waiting for him with a special dinner from one of his favorite restaurants. He kicked off his cap-toe Armani dress shoes and loosened up the collar of his navy blue shirt while he watched me with an odd expression.
“You’ve been in a very giving mood today,” he remarked.
I gave him a weak smile. Of course, he knew something was up, but I wasn’t going to delve into it right away. I would let him eat first, relax a little before I told him I’d lied to him.
“Come and eat,” I urged him. “Before it gets cold.”
He sat down across from me and dug in. The room was quiet, too quiet. I ate my gnocchi and tried to find something pleasant to say before I dragged up the darkness that seemed to loom over us.
“I’m excited to look at houses on Saturday,” I volunteered.
Ryland polished off the last of his steak and pushed his plate across the table as he leaned back in his chair. “I’m glad to hear it, baby girl. Now come here and give me a cuddle.”
I walked on jelly legs and sat on his lap, curling against his chest. He was so warm and strong beneath me. My solid foundation. I hated that I still didn’t trust him completely, and I felt even worse for lying to him.
“Tell me what’s on your mind.” He rubbed circles over my back. “I know there’s something.”
I clutched at his shirt and started crying. How embarrassing. It was happening more and more the farther along I got in my pregnancy, and half the time I didn’t even know why.
“Baby.” He gripped my chin in his fingers and brought my gaze to his. “What’s the matter?”
“I’m a horrible person,” I blurted. “A horrible wife.”
“What are you talking about?” he asked.
“I tricked you today,” I said, tearing my gaze from his. “I came to your office and had sex with you so I could look through your files.”
He stiffened beneath me, and his grip tightened. “Why, Brighton?”
“Because I knew you were hiding something to do with Brayden,” I explained. “I talked to him after you’d seen him in Chicago. And I thought… I didn’t want to believe you’d do that to me again. But I really started to think…”
I couldn’t say the words because it was too devastating to even consider. Ryland sighed and pulled me closer.
“You’d have every right to think that,” he said solemnly. “But I need you to know that’s never going to happen, Brighton. I need you to trust me.”
“I know.” I nuzzled against his neck. “But why didn’t you tell me you were keeping tabs on him?”
“Because I didn’t want you to worry,” he said. “I didn’t want you to have any more unnecessary stress.”
“Well that isn’t your call to make,” I protested. “Not when it comes to my family, Ryland. I need to know what’s going on. Even if I might not like it.”
“C’mon.” He lifted me up and carried me to the couch, setting me down so that my head was in his lap. “I’ll tell you what you want to know, but you have to promise not to get upset. It isn’t good for the baby, and I need you to trust that I’ve got the situation under control.”
“Okay.” I nodded.
Ryland stroked his fingers through my hair, massaging my scalp as he spoke. He was staring at the wall, and I could see a hint of that old familiar hatred in his eyes when he started to explain.
“There are things I haven’t told you,” he said. “Things I didn’t ever want to tell you. But you’re my wife, and I don’t want secrets between us.”
“Me either,” I agreed. “I want to know everything about you, Ryland. The good and the bad. Whatever it is, it’s in the past.”
He paused to let his eyes wander over my face, and I knew at that moment he still saw me as his pure and unsullied salvation. He didn’t want to taint that, and yet he continued anyway.
“I wanted to kill Frankie,” he deadpanned. “But by the time I left the hospital and figured out who killed my family, Alfredo had already taken care of him. He wasn’t at all pleased with the gigantic mess Frankie had made of that situation.”
“I imagine not.” I closed my eyes and breathed through the pain in my chest. As much as I hated Brayden’s decisions, I was grateful for them. Because if he hadn’t been with Frankie that night, Ryland wouldn’t be with me today. It was a catch twenty-two.
“It was all I thought of while I recovered,” Ryland continued. “So you can imagine my disappointment when it was taken from me before I even had a chance. Frankie deserved to die, but it should have been me to do it.”