“Seduced you—”
“I know you’ve only been screwing me to get what you wanted for VLA,” he said. “You don’t give a damn about me.”
“I do,” she insisted. “I’ve told some lies, but I didn’t take that photo. And my feelings for you are real. I care about you, Simon. More than I’ve ever cared about any man before.”
“You don’t care.” His eyes narrowed. “You told me all these sob stories about you and Gary and your son, so that you could get my sympathy. My trust. I don’t know you at all.”
A lump formed in her throat. Each accusation was like a shot to her heart. “You do know me.”
“Who are your accomplices?” he demanded. “Is anyone else at Dover in on this?”
“I don’t have any accomplices. What are you talking about?” she asked desperately.
“So, you hacked into my system on your own, then...” Pure contempt flashed in his eyes. Simon didn’t look like himself. She’d never seen him look so cold. So uncaring. How could he believe she was capable of something so terrible? “I should have known.”
“I don’t know how to hack into anything, Simon,” she said. “Anyone who would be able to hack your system would have to be a genius. Someone smarter than you. And I don’t know anybody smarter than you.”
“Flattery isn’t going to save you,” he said. “I know why you did this.”
“I would never do anything to hurt you. Please believe me,” she begged.
“You never got over our breakup,” he said. “That’s the motive, isn’t it? You’re still angry about that.”
“I’m still hurt, but I’m not angry enough to do something like this,” she said.
“It’s been ten years, Heather,” he said. “Ten years of you holding a grudge. I don’t know what kind of person gets so hung up on someone that they cling to them for over a decade. It’s pathetic. I left. Get over it. It’s like I’m being punished for moving on with my life. It’s not my fault you didn’t make something of yourself and got knocked up by some bum.”
Her vision blurred with tears. He was right. She was pathetic. Holding on to some teenaged fantasy of her high school sweetheart. She had been so devastated that she’d had to change schools. Not that she would confess that to him now, because it would only confirm his worst suspicions about her. Only a truly pathetic person would let a breakup hurt them badly enough to transfer out of school.
Gary had been right, too. A man like Simon could never want her. Maybe Simon believed the worst, so he’d have an excuse to dump her. That way he’d never have to admit he was bored with her. He’d have a damn good reason to toss her aside without any of the guilt attached to it.
“I know my life is so petty and small compared to yours. But that’s only because I refused to get over you. Every choice I made was a reaction to my broken heart.” Hot tears rolled down her cheeks. “I might be pathetic, and I might still be hurt about the past, but I swear I didn’t do this. I’m not going to let you define me for another decade. I’m done. No more. If you can’t believe me, then that’s on you.”
“I don’t believe you,” he said. “When Everett first came to me about his suspicions, I stood up for you. Now I see what a mistake that was.”
“Everett suspected me?” she asked. “For how long?”
“Long enough.”
“So, all those things you said about wanting to be with me....” She forced back a sob. “You had suspicions about me when you said all those things?”
“I did.”
“So...all those things you said about wanting a relationship were a lie,” she said. “You had sex with me even when you thought I was capable of doing something like this. You seduced me. Why? To get what you thought was the truth out of me?”
“I don’t know why.”
“You used me.” Raw pain gripped her heart. All those tender things he had said to her back in his apartment had been lies. None of it had been true. He had never really cared for her. Just like Gary had warned her.