Pushing one of the pillows to the side, he sits down on the edge of the bed. “Do you wanna catch a movie tonight? I’ll suck it up and watch a scary one with you.”
I shake my head. “I don’t feel like watching a movie.”
“Do you want to go out to eat? Go bowling?” he asks, his voice hopeful.
“I don’t want to go anywhere. I just wanna be alone.”
He places his hand on top of mine. “Annalise, I know you’re hurting right now. But please let me take you out to get your mind off of things.”
I sit up straight in bed, yanking my hand away from him. “Are you trying to tell me I should just forget about him?”
“No. I would never tell you to forget about him,” he says, his brows dipping together. “The death of a loved one is not something you can easily move on from. I just want to put a smile on that beautiful face of yours.”
Anger swirls inside me. “You don’t understand how hard this is for me. You never will. You may not have the best relationship with your father, but at least he’s still around. Please stop forcing me to do things with you.”
His throat bobs. “You’re right. I’m sorry for pushing you to go out when you’re not ready.”
I don’t say anything to him, refocusing my attention back on my phone. A post from a gossip page, The Daily Tea, grabs my attention.
The first photo on the post is an image of Maddox and me in high school with the caption: “The real reason why they broke up.”
My body surges with heat when I swipe to the next photo and see an image of Charlotte. There’s a small paragraph next to the photo saying that we broke up because Maddox cheated on me with her.
“What the hell?” Maddox says, glancing at my phone. “Thisshit is getting out of hand. I’m going to hire a private investigator. This has to end.”
He continues talking, but I don’t hear him. Everything around me fades and all I can see is Maddox pounding into Charlotte. She moans his name as he grips her ass, driving himself deeper.
“You foolish girl. Falling for his tricks again.”
I shake my head, trying to push that negative voice out of my head.
No—he didn’t cheat on me. He loves me. He’s shown how much he cares about me. He would never hurt me.
“There’s no proof of his faithfulness to you. He’s a liar, just like your father. He’s going to continue to cheat on you and deceive you.”
I close my eyes, trying to drown out the voices, but they become deafening.
“No one will ever love you.”
“You are worthless. That’s why your father left you. Why your abuelo left you. Maddox will leave you, too.”
A chilling wave of ice courses through my veins, inching its way toward my heart and enveloping it in a frigid embrace.
“I have to go,” I say, pushing myself off the bed.
Maddox stares back at me, a look of confusion plastered on his face. “Where are you going?”
Ignoring him, I leave his bedroom and head to the entrance, grabbing my purse off the entryway table.
I head for the door but he gets to it first, his tall frame blocking me. “Is it because of that post?”
I slip on my sandals and sling my purse over my head. “Please let me leave.”
“God, you don’t know how sorry I am,” he says, placing his hands on my shoulders. “First the blackmail with the sex tape, now this. I hate that you are dealing with this because of me. I promise you I’m going to find a way to put an end to this.”
“How can I believe you’ll stay true to your promise, when you couldn’t even stay true to me?” I snap, my voice trembling with rage.
“What? Annalise, I love you more than anything in this world. I would never hurt you.”
