No. He couldn’t talk his way out of this. “You sold this idea of me as a Lolita-like creature. Did you read the book, Lukas? Lolita was innocent. She was preyed on by an older man who should have known better. Sound familiar?”
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Aubrey
Lukas made a face. “Everything I said about you was true. You were young and devious. Totally without boundaries.”
“Funny, but you thought I was old enough, mature enough, when you wanted to take my clothes off.”
Your parents don’t understand you and they may not trust you, but I do. I have since I first saw you sitting with Stella in her office at our house. I could see you were something special. You flirted and wore that skirt. I would have ignored it, wrote it off, but you were different. Not a kid like everyone said.
Hanna didn’t let that juicy bit pass. She leaned in closer to him, ready to do battle. “Teen girls? Is that really your thing, Lukas?”
“Hanna, come on.” Lukas let out a harsh laugh. “You see what Aubrey’s doing. She’s always hated Stella. This is about their dysfunctional relationship and the fact I wouldn’t take Aubrey’s side and lie about my then wife.”
“You never touched Aubrey? You’re saying you didn’t take advantage of her?” Hanna thumped her fingers against the desk.
That comment made me sound weak. I was never weak. “I don’t love the way you phrased that but proceed.”
“Come on. This isn’t serious. She was a child. I was almost thirty and a married man.”
Technically true but not the whole story. “Was that ano?”
I called him for help that day. Uncharacteristic. He was more focused on his good news. On celebrating.
You’re the first to know. Not Stella. You. I’ve been promoted. Everything is going to plan.All the stress and long hours. The fights with Stella about my priorities. All paid off.
My legs wrapped around his waist. His belt digging into the soft skin of my upper thigh. The way his breath stuttered in my ear. The heat of his body against mine.
I remembered it all.
“Look. Okay.” He let out a rough laugh. “I wasn’t going to bring this up because it was years ago and she was a confused kid, seeking attention. Aubrey’s home life was difficult. She was dealing with a lot at the time. Stella can explain the psychology of it better than I can, but Aubrey came on to me. Unbuttoned her shirt. It was flattering and over in a second.”
Nice try. “We had sex the first time in the passageway behind the closet in my parents’ bedroom. I was fourteen. It was September and everyone was here for an end of the summer party, swimming and eating, including Lukas here and hiswife.”
“That’s not true.” Lukas sounded so angry. So vehement in his denial.
Do you want me to take my top off? No, don’t worry. I won’t tell.
Months of meeting in secret, including that day fifteen years ago. “We did it all the time and would laugh about how clueless my parents were. We wondered how they didn’t hear the banging or the moaning.”
“You sick piece of garbage.” Hanna’s focus switched to Lukas. Her voice vibrated with what sounded like rage.
“No. Stop.” Lukas didn’t beg. He ordered while he lied. “She’s making it all up to save her own ass.”
“You used to like my ass.”
His usual calm demeanor vanished. “Shut up!”
“You have the nerve to yell at me?” Big fucking mistake. I’d had years to target my hate. Of the list of people who deserved to have their histories sliced open, yanked out, and displayed for all to see, Lukas held a special place.
I went to that supposed therapeutic boarding school defending him. Insisting we were dating. While other students spoke about their dreary lives, I stayed silent. I knew what I was doing with him and had consented. I didn’t need help.
In my head, I understood him when Stella didn’t. I watched other girls get sucked under by mediocre men while I waited for Lukas to come for me. He divorced Stella fairly quickly and surely... But no. He threw me out like an outdated broken toy.
Hanna picked up her phone.
“Put it down, Hanna.” Lukas’s voice changed. It was deeper, more serious. He also flashed a knife. “Right now.”
