I frowned, instantly suspicious about what he had in mind. He got up, wiped his mouth, and held out his hand. I wiped my mouth too, grabbed my glass, and reluctantly slipped my hand in his. Konflict led me into the living room and told me to sit on the couch.
“There are two baskets here with a pencil and some pieces of paper. We’ll each write down every question that comes to mind. Doesn’t matter what it is. Stuff we’ve been holding in for years or just things we’re curious about.”
“Any question?” I asked.
“Any question. No exceptions. Then we’ll swap baskets, each draw a question, and answer it.”
“Is this some kind of truth or dare? Don’t tell me we have to take off a piece of clothing every time we don’t want to answer.”
“No, it’s not truth or dare. It’s not even a game for me. I’m serious. In fact, no one gets to skip a question. You have to be honest and answer everything. Are you in or what?”
I stayed silent for a second, then nodded. “I’m in.”
“Great. Write as many questions as you want. We’ll answer a few every night before bed, all week long.”
So I did. I didn’t seem too into it at first, but once I had thepencil in my hand, all kinds of questions started coming to me. Stuff I never thought I’d actually get to ask Konflict.
When I finished, I let him know. He was done too so like he’d said, we swapped baskets.
“You want to start?” he asked.
“No, you go first.”
“All right,” he said, picking a question from the basket. “How many times did you sleep with Eleana Sawyer?”
“Whoa, straight to the point, eh?” he said, giving me a look.
My face was unreadable. “Answer,” I said.
I still hadn’t gotten over seeing that video of her naked on his bed, touching herself.
“Never,” he answered, looking me dead in the eye, not even blinking.
“You said we had to be honest.”
“I am. I never fucked Eleana. I never touched her like that.”
“Kissed?”
“No.”
“You’re a liar,” I muttered, looking away.
He caught my chin, turned my face to him.
“Hey, look at me. I’m not lying. I never touched that woman. I got close to her just so you’d think I didn’t care about you when every night I was fighting not to show up at the Korven estate and make love to you. I needed to lie to myself that bad, just to resist you. Nothing ever happened between me and Eleana.”
“But she was naked in your bed, fingering herself right in front of you, then she pulled off your towel. She wasn’t shy about telling me you two fucked that night. She even set up my kidnapping to get me out of her way. You’re telling me she did all that and you never even touched her? Didn’t give her a single bit of hope? Don’t bullshit me.”
“Serenity, if we’re going to do this, to ask each other these questions, to make it work, you’ve got to trust that what I’msaying is true. I have no reason to lie. I ghosted her after that gala. That day, I saw how much it hurt you to see us together and for the record, I swear, I never wanted to hurt you like that. I’m really sorry for how I made you feel that day. But after that, I cut her off completely. She broke into my place while I was in the shower. I found her naked on my bed, and I didn’t know she was filming us. There must not have been any sound on that video, otherwise you’d have heard me telling her to get out. She tried to touch my dick when she snatched off my towel and I almost broke her arm. If you didn’t see that, it’s because she really wanted you to believe something that never happened. Serenity. Please, believe me. From the first night I made love to you, I never touched another woman. I only wanted you. I’ve onlyeverwanted you.”
God. Why was my heart racing? Why did his words hit me this hard? I should be cautious, but when I looked into his eyes, all I wanted was to believe him.
“Do you believe me?” he asked softly.
“Did you sleep with other women during our year of marriage?” I pressed.
“Yes,” he answered without hesitation.
