The Life You Stole (Life Duet 2)

“I have a lot of stress in my life …” He began his usual spiel. It fit as an excuse for many things—headaches, sleep issues, the occasional grumpiness, maybe even snapping out a few regretful words with a raised voice in a heated moment. I gave him a pass for storming out of a room. Driving off and not returning for hours. Hanging up on the phone with me.

But he didn’t get a pass for hitting me. Even if my temporary submissiveness led him to believe otherwise.

“It won’t always be this way. When my term is up, we’ll reset. Take a long trip. And things will be better. Maybe we’ll take Evelyn and Ronin with us if they’re still together.”

What the hell?

I pulled my head away from his chest to look at his face. “What’s that supposed to mean?” He could beat me and break me, but he would never destroy my instinct to protect Evelyn.

He shrugged. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”

It wasn’t nothing. It was something.

“What’s nothing?” I tried to climb off his lap, but he grabbed my arms. Having met my quota of injuries for the day, I surrendered so he’d ease his grip.

“A friend of mine thought he saw Ronin at a bar with Adrianne Craig.”

I squinted at him, angry like it was his fault. Evie shared her concern over Adrianne, but I knew … just knew Ronin would never take the bait.

Graham rolled his lips together and nodded. “It’s true.”

“Evie must have been there too.”

“My friend never saw him with anyone else except Adrianne. He said they were huddled together in a small booth at the back of the bar. Supposedly, they looked quite infatuated with each other.”

“Did you say anything to Evie?” The muscles in my jaw tightened. I knew Graham talked to Evie more than his own wife some days.

Graham frowned. “No. I’m not one for breaking up marriages.”

Except his own.

I couldn’t believe it. Not Ronin. No way.

“Good. There’s no way there’s any truth to it, so there’s no need to stir up trouble.”

“Why would I stir up trouble?”

Emotion burned my eyes. Why …

I asked myself that multiple times a day.

Why marry me?

Why keep me?

Why hit me?

“I don’t know,” I whispered.

Graham pressed the cold pack to my cheek again. “I think I’m going to have to tell Evelyn about your cancer.”

My head eased side to side.

“You shaved your head. She’s going to know. I think it’s best if I tell her. You’re not in the right frame of mind to break the news to her.”

“I don’t have cancer.”

I swore at times he had this look on his face like he’d come to believe the lie as much as Ronin, like he wanted it to be true.

“So you’re just going to what? Not see her until your face heals and your hair grows back?”

“If you tell her the lie, I will tell her the truth.”

His expression turned to stone again. “You won’t.”

“Yes. I will.”

“She won’t believe you.”

I grunted a tiny laugh. “She’s my best friend. She will believe me.”

His lips twisted as he cocked his head a fraction and narrowed his eyes. “You? A crazy person who lied about having cancer after Evelyn’s mom died of cancer? She’ll think you’re fucking mocking the tragedy that happened to her mom. She’ll see a crazy person who cut off her hair to make it more believable. She’ll see the bruises you inflicted upon yourself to sell the lie … to hurt her.”

I shook my head over and over. What was he talking about? I wasn’t crazy. It was all him. “I would never hurt her.”

“No?” He cocked his head to the other side, studying me like the crazy person he tried to make me out to be. “I think if she thought you were jealous of my feelings for her, it would make this all very believable. You’re human. Humans can be vengeful … even the good ones. It’s an instinct we can’t deny. We are created in the likeness of perfection but thrust into a world of sin. No one is immune from its affects. Not me. Not you. Not Ronin and Adrianne Craig.”

“You can’t do this,” I hated my voice for shaking.

Keeping one hand pressed to the cold pack on my cheek, he slid the scarf from my head with his other hand. “Lila … I didn’t do this. You did.”

Swallowing the fear that he could hurt me even more, I whispered, “You hit me.”

The tiniest flinch wrinkled the skin on his forehead. “I’m sorry. I chose the wrong reaction. I just …” He frowned while his gaze spread along my shaved head. “I never imagined you would hurt me like this.”

My stomach twisted as my heart shriveled in my chest.

“I don’t expect an apology tonight.” He kissed my forehead. “It’s been a wash. Wrongdoing on both sides.” He set the cold pack in my hand.