Paul was laughing as he left. He wouldn’t be laughing later when I was pummeling him. Kiera’s hands dropped from my body once he was gone; I felt hope for us dropping with them. She believed him. She absolutely, 100 percent believed him. How do I fix this?

Closing my eyes, I swallowed the sudden lump of tension in my throat. I don’t know what to do. How do I make her believe me over him? When he’d just wrapped up all her fears in one tidy, little sadistic present. She was just going to have to blindly trust me. Again.

Reopening my eyes, I slowly turned to face her. The rage and pain I saw on her face tore me wide open. She doesn’t trust me…at all. I was about to start explaining, but she didn’t even let me open my mouth. Her right hand reached out, slapping my cheek full force, her promise ring digging into my skin. The abrupt, unexpected pain sent shockwaves down my body, and all of a sudden, what I felt the most…was anger.

Mine was no match for Kiera’s fury though. “You son of a bitch!” she screamed, backing away from me.

I rubbed my jaw, feeling the sting of a fresh cut over the burn of the hard contact. “Jesus, Kiera. Can I explain before you start whaling on me?”

My eyes narrowed as I glared at her. I thought she’d at least let me speak before she started assaulting me. Guess not. The heat in her eyes far outweighed the heat in mine. The betrayal on her face was so clear; seeing it cooled my temper. “You can explain ‘scoring the hottest chick’? You can explain ‘two in one night’? You can explain him ‘getting your seconds…again’?”

I suddenly felt extremely exhausted. Fuck you, Paul. Fuck you very, very much. A weary sigh escaped me as I ran a hand down my face. “Yes, Kiera. I can explain.” If you just let me.

She shoved a finger into my chest like she wished it was a sword. “Are you cheating on me?” she snapped.

I grabbed her hand. I tried to lace our fingers together, tried to get her to calm down, but she fought me; her rigid fingers wouldn’t let me in. “No, I’m not,” I told her, my voice soft. I ducked down to look her in the eye, so she could see my sincerity, but she avoided eye contact with me. This wouldn’t work, not if she wouldn’t even give me a chance to refute him. I tried again. “Hey, I’m not, Kiera. I’ve already told you that before…several times probably.”

She inhaled a shaky breath, and when she spoke her voice shimmered with emotion. “Then what…was he talking about?”