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Secrets…Lies…and Betrayal.
It’s been far too long since I’ve laid eyes on Abby.
I expected surprise.
I expected anger.
What I got was devastation.
Abby’s been lying to me, keeping secrets that affect us all.
Our past…? It’s complicated
An elusive truth with the power to alter everything I know, everything I want, and everything I love.
But things aren’t always what they seem.
And betrayal…it never comes from the person you expect.
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Enter the release day giveaway here!
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Abby steps in front of me to head him off. “Ethan,” she pleads. “Let me explain.”
He ignores her and tries to sidestep her, but she’s too quick and too determined to keep the peace.
“You son of a bitch!” he spits at me.
“Ethan, please,” she begs.
“You said you loved her!” he yells, trying to push past Abby, her palms pressed against his chest to keep him from getting too close to me.“You said you fucking loved her.” His finger points at me accusingly.
Abby freezes with her arms still raised defensively and turns to me with a stunned expression and wide eyes. Shit. This is not how I wanted her to find out. I never told her I loved her. I should have just told her back then. Back before things got so complicated. Back before she thought I was a lying piece of shit.
“What?” she asks, unbelieving, her voice straining on a suppressed sob. I run my hand through my hair and release a pent-up breath.
“This lying son of a bitch told us he loved you. The night Caleb drugged you and tried to take you.” Abby winces at the memory and I want to deck him for bringing it up. “He wouldn’t let anyone else ride in the ambulance with you. Not Tiff, not even me. And I believed his bullshit.”
“It wasn’t bullshit.”
“The fuck it wasn’t.”
“It was true.” I turn my attention from Ethan and stare down into Abby’s stunned face. “It is true. I should’ve told you.” Of everything we left unsaid, that’s the part I regret the most. I reach down and tuck a strand of dark, wavy hair behind her ear. “Maybe if I had, this whole mess wouldn’t have happened. You would have known how I felt and wouldn’t have doubted me.”
He ignores her and tries to sidestep her, but she’s too quick and too determined to keep the peace.
“You son of a bitch!” he spits at me.
“Ethan, please,” she begs.
“You said you loved her!” he yells, trying to push past Abby, her palms pressed against his chest to keep him from getting too close to me.“You said you fucking loved her.” His finger points at me accusingly.
Abby freezes with her arms still raised defensively and turns to me with a stunned expression and wide eyes. Shit. This is not how I wanted her to find out. I never told her I loved her. I should have just told her back then. Back before things got so complicated. Back before she thought I was a lying piece of shit.
“What?” she asks, unbelieving, her voice straining on a suppressed sob. I run my hand through my hair and release a pent-up breath.
“This lying son of a bitch told us he loved you. The night Caleb drugged you and tried to take you.” Abby winces at the memory and I want to deck him for bringing it up. “He wouldn’t let anyone else ride in the ambulance with you. Not Tiff, not even me. And I believed his bullshit.”
“It wasn’t bullshit.”
“The fuck it wasn’t.”
“It was true.” I turn my attention from Ethan and stare down into Abby’s stunned face. “It is true. I should’ve told you.” Of everything we left unsaid, that’s the part I regret the most. I reach down and tuck a strand of dark, wavy hair behind her ear. “Maybe if I had, this whole mess wouldn’t have happened. You would have known how I felt and wouldn’t have doubted me.”
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Read the first chapter here!
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Ashley is an author and book lover living in Ohio with her husband and two sons. She's loved reading since childhood and has always enjoyed creating characters and stories. She finds inspiration everywhere: a song on the radio, a person she passes on the street, a place she's visited on vacation. She lets her imagination run wild and her fingers do the typing.
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