“Did you do this on purpose? While I wasn’t looking?”
Maya frowns, her expression a mask of confusion—genuine, or perfectly performed. “No. Of course not. It must’ve been when I kissed your ear. I don’t know. When was that?”
Her answer comes too smoothly. I can’t tell what’s real anymore. But the stain is there, glaring up at me, burning like a brand. Proof of everything I destroyed.
And even if she’s lying, it doesn’t matter. Ceci saw far worse than a lipstick stain.
How did I miss it?How the hell did I let it come to this?
Maya breaks the silence, her voice dropping to a whisper. “You could come by my apartment later. We can talk about it properly.”
The thought makes me feel cold all over. I see it all. The photos of me entering and leaving her building. The receipts. The evidence Ceci gathered and arranged in that damned binder.
“No,” I say, my tone cold and resolute, leaving no room for argument.
She forces a thin smile. “I understand.” She bites her lower lip, then adds softly, “If you change your mind or need anything, I’ll be waiting.”
I stare at her for a few seconds longer than I should, words caught somewhere between guilt and exhaustion.How did I let it come to this?
I think of her smile. The way she always seemed to see me, to anticipate what I wanted before I even asked. The easy conversations. The small, harmless touches that became something else. The beginning of my downfall.
“You can go, Maya,” I say, my tone flat, my eyes fixed on the stack of papers on my desk.
When the door closes, I lean back in my chair and press my head against the leather. I need to end this quickly. Cleanly. Without making it worse. Without hurting Ceci any more than I already have.
Maybe I should do what Oliver did. Buy a diamond necklace. Ten, if that’s what it takes for her to leave quietly.
I inhale deeply and shove the thought aside. None of that matters.
There’s only one thing that matters now.
I need to win Ceci back.
Maya
As soon as I close the door to the supply closet, I lean back against it and smile. Small at first. Then slowly spreading, until it takes over my face.
How weak she is.Pathetic.
A single lipstick stain was enough to rattle her? To send her spiraling? I would never let a man like Colin slip away over something so small.
If he were my husband and I’d found that shirt, I’d wait up for him, wide awake, and fuck him until he remembered everything that was ours—everything I gave him, everythingonlyI could give.
And then I’d find out who the other woman was and make sure she understood who she was dealing with.
That’s what a real Mrs. Montgomery would do.
I almost wish I could take credit for the stain.Almost. But I would never risk it. Not when Colin has already started pulling away. All I did was keep him close. Keep giving him exactly what he wants.
Now that she knows, with her out of the way, reassignment or not, he won’t be able to ignore what’s been right in front of him all along. A different department won’t change anything. We’ll keep crossing paths. Every day.
He might not come to my apartment tonight. Or tomorrow.
But give it until the weekend. It’s only a matter of time before he’s at my door again. Before he remembers.
Before he’s mine. Truly mine this time.
Until that weekend in September stops being a memory of what we were, and becomes what we’re meant to be.
