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“I don’t believe you,” he repeated, stepping closer. “Idon’t fucking believe you.”
“What is there not to believe?” I asked, tossing my hands up. “I told you, I forgot about the damn implant, my period started and reminded me, so I contacted my doctor to get it removed.”
“Why wouldn’t you just… tell me that?” he asked, shaking his head. “If it were an honest mistake, you could’ve just said that shit, no big deal. But the sneaking around, the secrecy… it makes me feel like you did this shit on purpose. Like you were intentionally putting it off.”
My eyes narrowed. “By a month? What would’ve been the point?!”
“You tell me!” he bellowed, getting closer still. “But if it was just some oversight, you’ve had more than a month to correct the shit,knowingwhat we were trying to do. What’s in thefucking contract.”
“Now you want to bring up the contract?!” I huffed. “Orion, we’ve barely talked about it, and certainly haven’t had arealdiscussion about planning a baby because when have we even had time?!”
“Oh, so you’re trying to pin this on me?!”
“I’m notpinninganything on anybody, I’m just saying that it’s not fair for you to react like this, when it hasn’t even been a long time.”
“How should I react, huh?” he asked, right in my face. “HowshouldI respond to finding out you’ve been playing in my goddamn face?!”
“Iwasn’t,” I insisted, not backing up. “It was a mistake!”
“Which you tried to sneak around about, instead of just fucking telling me?”
“Yes, because I was afraid you’d reactexactlylike this!”
“Because you know exactly how suspect it looks?!”
“Because I know exactly how much of a fucking narcissist you are. That you wouldn’t accept somebody daring to overlook something that is not remotely a daily thought!”
“Foryou!” he spat. “Not a daily thoughtfor you, but it is ever-present in the back ofmymind, or is that not something you’ve considered?” he asked. “Probably not. It’s funny that you can accusemeof narcissism like you aren’t the one who’s treating our contract like it’s not a big deal because it’s not importantto you.”
My mouth dropped open.
“I… I…you haven’t even mentioned it to me!” I accused, shaking my head. “For you to now be claiming it’s so important!”
He scoffed. “Nalani, it was acleardeal breaker in our contract and you agreed to it. We’ve been fucking raw, at every opportunity. I didn’t think Ineededto say it. And I was hoping that leaving it unspoken would make it less pressure on everybody, but I see you’ve taken that as an invitation to just do whatever you want.”
“If I was doing whatever I wanted, I would still have the implant in my arm,” I told him. “Be glad I have a conscience about it.”
Instantly, his whole energy shifted.
Andnotfor better.
He simply gave me a nod and didn’t say shit else before turning away and stalking out of the room.
Somehow… I didnotfeel like I’d “won.”
TWENTY-TWO
ORION
My fingers tapped impatientlyon a glass of bourbon that shouldn’t even be in my hand.
Drinking on the clock—especiallybefore noon—shouldn’t have even been an option, and yet it was. Right at my desk.
I knew better.
But I was stewing.
Ihatedstewing.
