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“You mentioned Presley,” she croaks a moment later. “Is she….”
“Yes.” A smile tugs at my lips. “She’s the innocent, yet feisty part of you. She’s the one who sees the world how it should be, without all the heartache and darkness.”
Her gaze falls to our entwined hands, and she’s silent for so long I fear she won’t speak. But then she lifts her head, and I see the haunted look in her eyes.
“Something bad happened, didn’t it? Something that made me this way.”
“Yes.”
“I don’t want to remember.” She roughly shakes her head, her hair flying about her shoulders. “I’m not sure I ever want to remember. And I don’t care if that makes me crazy or insane.”
I hate hearing those words leave her lips. They shouldn’t even be in her vocabulary.
“Baby, the only thing you’ve done that’s crazy is think that I would ever touch another woman.” I lift her hand to my lips. “Youmake my heart beat.Youbreathe life into me.Yougive me everything I need and are everything I could ever wish for. There’s not a soul alive that could come even close to tempting me away from you. I will be yours andonly yoursuntil I take my last breath.”
For years, I’ve felt profound guilt for hiding Scarlett from Cat. Despite being the same person, I felt like I was betraying Cat by being with her when she was Scarlett. When I was with Athena, I felt the same guilt, but it wasn’t as strong since our relationship wasn’t sexual. As shocking as this news is to Cat, I’m glad she finally knows the truth.
“Do you believe me?”
She chews on her bottom lip a moment before letting it go. “I don’t know. I want to, but….” She trails off, looking uncertain.
I don’t let her doubt bother me. It would be difficult for anyone to believe.
What does bother me is the way her body stiffens slightly when I pull her into my arms. My jaw clenches, but still, I lock my arms around her, refusing to let her go. Thankfully, she allows the embrace, which gives me hope.
I close my eyes and breathe in deeply, pulling in the sweet scent of my wife.
ChapterTwenty-Seven
Caterina
Iwake up to the steady thump of Hunter’s heartbeat in my ear and the warmth of his body pressed underneath me. I wrinkle my nose when one of the coarse hairs on his chest tickles me.
“Good morning, beautiful.”
I smile and tilt my head back to see his eyes. “Morning.”
“How are you feeling today?”
My smile slips when I remember what happened yesterday. What I thought was going to be my world ending with me catching Hunter in the act of cheating on me, turned into something way different. It still changed my life, but not in the way I could have expected.
I’m still not sure if I truly believe him, but the alternative—which is him cheating on me—isn’t something Iwantto believe.
Three different people.
The mere thought causes my chest muscles to spasm.
If I’m being truthful with myself, it’s easier to believe what Hunter told me. Sometimes I hear them whispering to me. Way in the back of my mind, from a place I’ve kept hidden for years and discounted as fictional characters begging for their story to be told, I hear their voices talking to me. They aren’t fictional. They’re real, my own flesh and blood.
While Hunter insists I’m not crazy, I know many people would disagree. I mean, how could someone be one person one moment, then be someone else entirely in the next, andnotbe crazy? At the very least, it makes me unstable, which seems almost as bad.
“Hey.” I slide my eyes back to Hunter. “Talk to me,” he says, running his finger between my eyes where I’m sure there’s a frown line. “Tell me what you’re thinking.”
“Will you… tell me about them?” I ask hesitantly. “These other… people.”
Using the arm he has wrapped around my waist, he runs his hand gently up and down my side. He’s quiet for a moment, as if he’s gathering his thoughts and figuring out what he wants to say.
“Athena made an appearance first,” he begins, his voice deep, but quiet. “She’s the broken part of you. The part that feels she doesn’t deserve love, so she hides herself away at The Grove. She doesn’t let anyone close enough to touch her, except me, and she only lets me hold her hand. Anything else, you become agitated.”
