"Ace... I need to explain to you why I married him. No more lies. No more secrets. The past behind us."
He nods. "I'm listening."
There it is. That ache in my stomach. That embarrassment coiled so deep it's fused to my bones.
"He was blackmailing me, Ace. He has a website. Sex tapes of women." I pause, reading his reaction.
His jaw goes tight.
"You and him?" He almost forces himself to say.
"God, no."
He blows out a breath.
"He hacked my phone, Ace. He had the FaceTime of us. That night I stayed at his house. All the pictures I'd sent you. A whole collection of me and you."
His hands squeeze the wheel so hard his arms shake.
"He threatened to leak it to everyone I know. And everything he had on your family. All I had to do was marry him. Once the company's papers were signed, I was free to go. But he kept moving the date." I stop. Swallow. "And then he found out I was pregnant."
I think about his smug face when I found him in the lobby after the scan. The way he wanted to pretend to be the father. How happy his parents were.
"He wanted to adopt our baby and become the father. That's when I snapped, Ace. I couldn't do it anymore. I couldn't let him do this to our baby. To you. He grabbed me, so I hit him with that damn award." My voice cracks. "I didn't want to kill him. I'm not that person."
Ace's hand finds my thigh and squeezes.
"I know, baby. I know. But even if you did want to kill him—even if you stabbed him through the heart—it wouldn't change how I see you."
I wipe my tears.
"Does it change how you see me? Knowing I do this? I killed a man yesterday who tried to stab me in an alley."
My mouth drops open. "What?! Someone tried to stab you? Ace!"
He chuckles. "He didn't even get fuckin' close, baby."
"You're crazy, Ace. You drove into LA knowing Gianna's family had said they'd kill you, and you still did that for me."
"I'd walk through flames for you, Harper. There isn't a line I wouldn't cross to save you."
I smile. "No. Knowing what you do doesn't change how I feel about you, Ace."
"Good girl," he murmurs.
"I'll have Romeo clear out everything of Hudson's, all the stuff he held over you. Those videos won't exist in a few days. Okay?"
"Thank you," I whisper.
"Why didn't you tell me?" He keeps his eyes on the road.
I swallow. "I was embarrassed, Ace. It was a horror film playing out, and I panicked. He used my fears against me, and I didn't fight it. I wanted to protect you. My family. Our future kids from ever seeing their mom like that. And I couldn't bring myself to admit how stupid I was."
"You aren't stupid, Harper. Don't say that."
"I am. I keep making stupid decisions. Leaving you the first time. Letting Hudson blackmail me. Walking down the aisle."
"He blackmailed you, Harper. That isn't stupid. That is you protecting people you love."
