Work In Progress (Red Lipstick Coalition #3) - Staci Hart Page 0,133

in your heart to give that back, offer an apology of your own. Do you think you could do that?”

“I…I don’t think I have a choice,” I said, the stony weight on my chest lifting, powered by glimmering hope. “I don’t know if I can go on without her.”

“If anybody can mend this, it’s Amelia,” she said with all the faith in the world.

And I believed her without question.

Theo flew into the room, gaze on the phone in his hand. “You haven’t been online,” he said, his brows drawn.

My chest seized. “What fucking now?”

His jaw was set. “The Times printed the retraction. You need to read it.”

I took his phone, my mouth bone dry, heart stopping completely when I read the headline.

“My Month with Thomas Bane: The Real Truth About Tommy” by Amelia Bane.

My gaze shifted to Theo’s, a torrent of thoughts exchanged in that single glance. And then I dropped my eyes to his phone again and read.

Everyone thinks they know the truth about Tommy.

He’s a player and a rake. A rogue and a menace. He’s irreverent and charming, a scoundrel worthy of headlines in all of your favorite gossip columns. He’s trouble with a capital T to start and an oh, my at the end.

Some of that is true.

Most of it isn’t.

A month ago, none of you knew my name. I was just a painfully shy book blogger with a new job at the Times.

A month ago, I wasn’t married.

A month ago, I’d never been kissed.

And then I met Thomas Bane.

If any of you have had the pleasure of meeting Tommy, you know that he is one of the most magnetic, charismatic, and convincing men on the face of the earth. And when he asked for my help, there was only one answer I could give.

Never once, not for a single minute, have I regretted saying yes.

There is so much that I could say about Tommy. I could speak gospel about his dedication and work ethic, his rise from obscurity to build an empire. I could speak volumes about the fierceness of his love, the depth of his loyalty to those he cares for—his family.

But the testament I want to give is my own.

Our marriage was fake. That’s true.

Until it wasn’t. Because I fell in love with Thomas Bane.

I know why you believe the lies about him. We believe what we want, what we’re fed. Thomas Bane, Nazi. Bad Boy Bane, the public menace. Thomas Bane, the liar. The heartbreaker. The charlatan who’s been fooling us all, if you believe Vivienne Thorne.

I can’t blame you for that. I believed the lies, too.

It’s how I lost the only man I’ve ever loved.

But here is the truth about Tommy. He taught a girl who was afraid how to be brave. He showed her how to love without condition, to trust without question. He gave her hope. Showed her the depth of his heart, unlocked the gate to his life, himself, without hesitation.

He gave me his trust, something he’s not granted to any woman before.

And I betrayed that trust when I believed the lie that Vivienne Thorne published.

Tommy has let you all believe the lies before because he fabricated them himself. He wanted you to believe what he gave you because it misdirected you from the things he truly loves. But this lie was different. Because with Vivienne’s lie, he was hurt, though not because of the lie itself. But because I believed it.

No, I’ve never regretted marrying the most loyal, honorable, and loving man I have ever known.

But I have so many other regrets.

I’m sorry I didn’t trust him. I’m sorry I didn’t come to him when Janessa Hughes asked me to expose his secrets. I’m sorry I was so naive to think I could bear the burden on my own. That in trying to spare him pain, I only caused him more.

But my greatest regret is betraying my love by believing Vivienne’s lie without a single question.

Vivienne conveniently failed to mention in her salacious recount of their tryst that it happened a year ago. She left out the facts—that his past fake relationships were meant to protect him, protect his heart and family from this exactly.

The best thing I ever did was agree to become Amelia Bane. Because knowing Tommy has forever changed me. The depth of his love, the breadth of his devotion, the hard line that exists between right and wrong. The man beyond the wall is so much more than I could put into words. More