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“Worry about it? You recorded us having sex, Imogen, so yeah, I’m fucking worried. What gave you the right to do that?” She gets to her feet, straightening her back. Her nose crinkles as her lips press together. “What gave you the right to send it to your ex-boyfriend? I was a fucking fool for not believing him.”
“Are you finished?” she remarks sharply.
“Not by a long shot,” I reply.
“I didn’t send the video. I didn’t record it. Zach did. And during my dinner date last night, he felt the need to send it to me and blackmail me. He said if I didn’t do as I was told, he would sent it to people and that he would be in touch.”
“Fuck!” I hiss. “He’s fucking dead.”
“No. It’s done.”
“It’s far from fucking done,” I growl.
She rolls her eyes heavenward. “I’ve seen this movie before. Whatever you’re thinking of doing, don’t. Two wrongs don’t make a right. All it does is form a circle of retaliation and I don’t have time for that. I don’t want to make time for it. I’ve made my point, and if he decides to do shit again, I’ll deal with it my way. I’ll keep playing the Uno reverse card on him until he gives in. But I’ll be damned if I play a part in keeping the toxic cycle going.”
“He fucking recorded us, Imogen. You have no idea how many laws he’s broken by doing it. He doesn’t get to walk away from this. This isn’t just about you now. It’s about me.”
She snorts. “Are you seriously that scared that someone will find out you slept with me?” Her gaze runs over my body. “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with me.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about, Imogen, but this is fucking serious. He came to my home and told me to stay away from you. He’s telling me I don’t know you. He’s clearly not thinking straight, which is dangerous, Imogen.”
“This isn’t my fault,” she rasps. “I never asked for any of this.”
I place my hands on her shoulders, ducking down a little to meet her gaze. “I know it’s not your fault. It’s all his. But if you think this is a game to him, it’s not. I never pegged you as stupid. He’s watching you. He didn’t get lucky getting that video, Imogen. He didn’t accidentally come across it. He’s not in the right frame of mind. And he’ll either become obsessed with you to the point he hurts you, or it will end up being a case of, if he can’t have you, no one will.”
She shoves my hands off her shoulders. “Don’t do that. Don’t call me stupid and speak to me like I’m some naïve little girl.”
My eyebrows lower. “That’s not what I’m saying, Imogen. And I’m sorry if that’s how it came across. But we need to go to the police about this.”
“No! No one can know about this, Ben. No one. I mean it. They’ll have to recover the picture and video, and I can’t stomach the thought of someone seeing it. I’m still reeling over the fact it was recorded.”
Her lower lip trembles as she bows her head. And I feel like a prick. I step closer. “I’m sorry. I didn’t look at it from that perspective.”
She swipes at her cheek, unable to look at me. “It’s like he’s a different person. The Zach I thought I knew wouldn’t have done something like this. I thought our friendship would always come first.”
“I can’t answer that for you. Love can be painful. It can hurt. But you don’t set out to destroy that person. That’s not love,” I admit, before stepping close. I take her hands in mine and she lifts her head. “I do understand why he couldn’t jump back into being friends. Because as much as I treasure our friendship, I want it all, Imogen. I want you. I want us.” I lean down until our lips are a breath away. “I want a relationship. But there are things you need to understand.”
She pulls her hands back with an exhale. Her expression crumbles into agony as she steps aside, leaving the space in front of me empty. “I can’t do this, Ben. I just can’t. You say you want these things, but nothing has changed. You are clearly holding something back, and until that’s no longer an issue, we can’t do this. We can’t.”
Her heels click against the tarmac as she makes her way back inside. I sit down on the edge of the boot, dropping my head into my hands.
“Fuck!”
I should have been honest with her from the beginning. I shouldn’t have lied and said it was just sex.
Because it’s more than sex.
It’s her.
And I have no idea how to make this right between us.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Imogen
A silver Honda pulls into the private carpark at my dad’s work. I take a step down to greet George, but he’s not the only one who gets out of the car. Laura is with him, and she’s holding a laptop and a backpack.
“Hey,” I greet, then glance to Laura. “Is everything okay? I didn’t expect to see you.”
