The Man I Thought I Trusted - E. L. Todd Page 0,68
billionaire. Now, you’re having all these clandestine meetings behind my back and shoving mountains of paperwork at me that you expect me to sign with no questions asked. You constantly expect me to trust you, but you never trust me.” I lifted my gaze and stared at him, no longer fighting the tears that couldn’t be stopped.
“You are the person I trust most in this world—”
“Well, you don’t show it very well,” I snapped. “You asked me to give up my job for you. I’ve made compromises for this relationship, really big compromises, and then you do me dirty like that.”
“I didn’t do you dirty—”
“I’m tired of being in a relationship where I’m always getting the short end of the stick. I’m tired of feeling like the one at the mercy of your power.”
His face began to flush, and a moist sheen covered his eyes.
“I’m tired of this relationship being complicated because of who you are. I forgave your lie and moved on because I love you, but this is always going to come between us. Even if we get married and move forward, this situation is always gonna pop back up.”
“No. What’s mine is yours—”
“No, it’s not. What happens if you die? Do I inherit your ownership of the company? Or does it go back to your sister? What about if we have kids? The fact that I don’t know any of this and you expect me to sign off like I do is a slap in the face.”
He stood there in silence as he struggled to find a response. Everything was happening so fast, and he had an entire audience there to watch the scene unfold. “We have established that I haven’t handled this well. I’m telling you, Renee was pulling the strings of this whole thing. Let’s go back to the office tomorrow and start over.”
He didn’t get it. “It shouldn’t be this hard to be with somebody.”
His eyes started to fall when he understood where this conversation was headed.
“It shouldn’t be this complicated.”
“Don’t say that.”
“It’s just not meant to be…” There was no doubt that I loved him. I loved him so much, but this relationship had been a roller coaster since the beginning. “Our relationship started on a lie, and then when we got here, you start our marriage with deception. It doesn’t feel right anymore.”
Dax was absolutely still, his eyes wide with disbelief. He continued to breathe through the pain that weighed down his shoulders and brought him flat against the earth. Our eye contact seemed to be too painful for him because he dropped his gaze and ran his hand across his jawline.
When I’d woken up that morning, the sky was blue and it was a beautiful day. The leaves in Central Park were turning brown and red as the season deepened. But once I stepped into that office, everything changed.
“Sweetheart…” He raised his gaze to look at me again, his eyes reflected the light of the lamp behind me. “Don’t do this. I didn’t even want a prenup in the first place. I don’t want it, not because I’m an idiot who doesn’t learn from my mistakes, but because I have absolute faith that we will be together forever. I said those words to my sister, but they weren’t enough to make her feel better. Yes, all that paperwork was a corporate stunt, but I had nothing to do with it. And I don’t even know all the details of that prenup because I really don’t care what it says.”
I stepped back because everything had shattered for me already. This penthouse didn’t feel like my home. This man didn’t feel like my fiancé. I’d spent a lot of my time trying to make this work, and the truth was, it was never meant to be. “This is why rich people only marry rich people. It’s much easier that way.”
He shook his head. “We belong together. You know that.”
“If we belong together, it shouldn’t be this hard. We’ve been trying to make it work and have never been successful.”
“Well, this time, we will be successful,” he said firmly.
“I don’t feel the same way anymore, Dax.” I couldn’t look at him. The moment was too painful to experience in the present, so I pulled away to protect both my heart and mind.
It was quiet for a long time.
My arms crossed over my chest, and I stepped farther away. All my stuff was there because it was my home, but I suddenly felt like it