This is the woman I'm destroying.
Every touch and kiss, every whispered apology—they're all built on the lie I'm still telling her. And the longer I let it go on, the worse the damage will be if it finally comes out.
Jade shifts in my arms, her breathing evening out as exhaustion claims her.
I press my lips to her forehead and stare at the ceiling.
I should tell her. Right now, while she's soft and close and might—might—forgive me.
But I'm a coward.
And cowards don't confess. They protect their lies until there's nothing left to protect.
I close my eyes and hold my wife, knowing that every second I stay silent is another nail in the coffin of our marriage.
Chapter Fourteen
JADE
When I wake, I forget where I am, and I reach across the sheets expecting to find an empty bed.
But Devon is there. His arm is draped over my waist, heavy with sleep, and I let myself sink into the weight of it. Into him.
Because I’ve missed this—missed him in bed with me.
Last night comes back to me. The way he kissed me, like he was trying to prove something, and I let him. How after, we clung to each other in the dark, neither of us willing to let go.
I don't know what it means yet. I don't know if sex can repair what's broken between us, but for the first time in over a week, I slept through the night. For that, I’m grateful.
Devon stirs beside me, his breath warm against my hair. "Morning."
"Morning."
He pulls me closer, pressing a kiss to my temple, and I let myself stay there. In his arms. In this fragile bubble, where nothing has been shattered yet. I wish we could stay here forever.
"I'll make breakfast," he mumbles against my skin. "Pancakes?"
My favorite.
A small smile tugs at my mouth. "You burned them last time."
"I was distracted." His fingers trace lazy patterns on my hip. "You were wearing that little tank top."
“Pah, more excuses."
He laughs, and the sound relaxes me.
This is myhusband.
The man who burned pancakes because he couldn't stop staring at me. The man who kissed me in front of fifty people at his eighteenth birthday party because he couldn't wait another second.
We can survive this.We have to.
Devon slides out of bed, and I watch him pull on sweatpants, admiring the way his muscles move beneath his skin. He catches me looking and grins.
"See something you like?"
I throw a pillow at him.
