“Not lies,” he protests, and there’s desperation in his voice. “I never lied to you about how I feel.”
“You lied about everything else!” I gesture wildly around the apartment. “This place. Your job. Your name. Your entire fucking identity. What part of thatisn’ta lie?”
His jaw clenches. “The fake dating was a lie too, Marley. Or did you forget that part?”
The words hit me like a physical blow.
I stare at him, and for a moment, I can’t even process what he just said. “That’snotthe same, and you know it.”
“Isn’t it?” There’s an edge to his voice now, something sharp and defensive. “We both agreed to pretend. We both went into this knowing it wasn’t real.”
“That’s not funny.”
“I’m not trying to be funny.” He runs both hands through his hair, making it stand on end. “I’m trying to make you see that we’ve both been pretending in different ways. The fake dating, keeping my identity secret.”
“Don’t youdarecompare those things!” My whole body vibrates with rage and hurt. “The fake dating was a mutual agreement that we both knew about. We were on equal footing. Butthis?”I gesture between us. “You hadallthe power, Nitro. You kneweverythingabout me, while I knewnothingabout you. You manipulated me.”
“I never—”
“You orchestrated myentirelife!” The words explode out of me. “You created a job for me. You probably pulled strings to make sure I got out of Derek’s firm. You swooped in like some kind of savior on your white horse, or black Harley, I guess, and you made me dependent on you without me even knowing it.”
“That’s not what I was doing.”
“Thenwhatwere youfucking doing?”I demand. “Tell me, Damon. What were you doing when you created a fake job for me at your company? When you made me your Old Lady without telling me you’re a fucking billionaire? When you let me fall in love with you while hiding thebiggestpart of who you are?”
He opens his mouth. He closes it. And he opens it again. “I wanted you to love me for me.”
“Ididlove you foryou!”Tears fall freely down my face, snot bubbles out of my nose, my face is blotchy and red, and I don’t even care. “I loved the guy who drove me in his Uber when I was heartbroken. I loved the biker who introduced me to his grandmother. I loved the man who made me feel safe, seen, and valued. But that person doesn’t exist, does he? He was just another character you were playing.”
“That’s not true.” His voice breaks. “Marley, that is me. All of that is me.”
“How am I supposed to believeanythingyou say?” I wrap my arms around myself, trying to hold the pieces together. “You trapped me. You made me your Old Lady, you claimed me in front of your entire club, and you did it while lying about who you are. Do you haveanyidea how that feels?”
“I didn’t mean to trap you.”
“Butyoudid!” I scream so loud, I’m sure the neighbors can hear, but I don’t care. “You made me fall in love with you. You made me trust you. You made me believe we had something real,honest, and true. And thewholetime, you were keeping this massive secret. This massive part of your life that you just… decided I didn’t need to know about.”
“I was going to tell you.”
“When?”I laugh again, that same broken sound. “After we got married? After I’d quit my job, the jobyougave me, and become completely dependent on you?When, Nitro?”
“I don’t know!”he shouts, and it’s the first time I’ve heard him raise his voice. “I don’t know, okay? I was fucking terrified of losing you.”
“Well, guess what?” I grab my bag from where I dropped it by the door. “You just did!”
His face goes pale. “Marley, please…”
“I can’t do this.” I back toward the door, putting distance between us because if I stay, I might crumble. I might forgive him before I’ve even processed what he’s done. “I can’t be here right now. I can’t look at you.”
“Don’t go.” He takes a step toward me, and I see it then, the fear in his eyes. Real, raw fear. “Please, baby. We can work through this.”
“How?” The question comes out as a whisper. “How can I trustanythingyou say when you’ve been lying to me since the beginning?”
“I never lied about loving you.”
The words hit me square in the chest, and for a moment, I can’t breathe.
I want to believe him.
