“I couldn’t tell him you’d gotten locked up for murder,” he says, completely ignoring me. “So I told him I wanted to buy you a ring. Told him I loved you.” He gives me a sideways glance and I can feel his fury. All of it. “Said I was proposing to you. Figured once this was all cleared up, I’d tell him the truth.”

I run my brain through the ramifications of that, my throat going dry. By now his father must know he lied, if it was on the news. This must be why he’s flipping out. His father must have called and grilled him.

They’ve probably shown my picture and Nate’s by now. They were snapping photos nonstop as we left the precinct.

“Nate—”

“I told him I loved you, and you’ve been playing me this whole time.”

I stumble back a step. I’m so confused.

His eyes are locked on mine now, the anger there unmistakable, but it’s laced with hurt, which unsettles me. He was in such a good mood earlier, considering everything going on, all sweet and understanding and patient, and now...

I don’t know who this is.

I don’t know what happened.

Nate looks away, like he’s trying to collect some part of himself.

I’m still trying to understand. I draw a short breath and try my best to stay calm. “What are you talking about?”

“What the hell was I thinking?” He sounds so far away. “Maybe somebody figured out a way to get inside your account, sent some bullshit emails. But nobody could get their hands on those pics unless you sent them,” he says, his words crashing into each other, the slurring making them practically incomprehensible now.

I look away. I don’t want to see him like this. “I didn’t send—”

“Stop lying,” he barks, then lowers his voice to a harsh whisper. “Stop fucking lying.”

Before I can get another word in, he takes off, storming past the bed, and snatches open the closet door. “You fucked him at the party, didn’t you? You just couldn’t help yourself when you saw him. What is it, the power? The money? Or do you just have a thing for old, white motherfuckers? Fucking saggy, wrinkled balls—”

“Will you stop it?” I scream, pulling on his arm. “Where are you getting this?”

He whips around, yanking his arm free. His cheeks are flushed, his breathing quick. “You mean how’d I find out the truth?”

Those words settle into my chest and grip my heart and for a moment I think time has stopped.

“Nate.” I need to calm him down. “Just look at me for a second. Nate?”

His jaw flexes. “I saw the NDA.”

“What NDA? I never signed—”

“Why would you have to sign an NDA if you’re just an intern?”

“I don’t know what you’re...”