Meadow’s POV:


    The woman


    I thought would bear my grandchildren.”


    That was what Ingrid had announced in front of everybody. In front of ric’s own wife. In front of me<b>. </b>


    Guests were clinking their sses together,ughing at Ingrid’s words all while cheering for and weing Yvonne.


    “Meadow.”


    I could hear ric next to me, but his voice sounded so far away. It wasn’t just him. Yvonne had lied to me too, telling me they had just a one–night stand when it was obviously more than that.


    Yvonne scanned the crowd, and when her eyes zoned on me, she smirked.


    Smirked.


    This time, when ric pulled me away, I didn’t stop him. I followed him mindlessly to the car. I was <b>too </b>stunned to say <b>a </b>word, still trying to process this.


    Before the incident happened with my parents, Yvonne was practically non–existent. We only knew that our mother had a sister but we hadn’t met her before. She lived with her parents–<b>our </b>grandparents, until <b>all </b>of a sudden, she showed up at twenty–one and said she was going to take care of us


    She was born here in Seattle. Made sense that she knew ric, but-


    ric’s scent infiltrated my nostrils, snapping me back to the reality I had no idea I’d zoned out of. I was sitting on the passenger’s seat and he was currently leaning over to fasten my seatbelt.


    “I got it,” I muttered, blocking his hand as I waited for him to leave.


    He didn’t argue or order me to let him do it for me, which was surprising, but I let out a breath of relief once he moved away from me.


    Was this… a coincidence?


    ric already seemed to know a lot about me before we met, and I suspected he knew about my family, but there was no way… No way that he would’ve still wanted me if he knew who I really was.


    ric slid into his seat, and his hand moved to switch on the engine, but he stopped halfway, letting out a sharp breath. “Meadow.”


    I swallowed. “Yeah.”


    “I understand how this looks,” he started in a low, unsure tone.


    For the first time since I met him, ric sounded unsure. Wow. Yvonne had really shaken him. “But I-”


    “We didn’t say goodbye,” I cut in, looking out the window.


    “What?”


    “Your mother. You didn’t tell her we were leaving.”


    I was trying to change the subject, because I didn’t want to talk about <b>this</b>. Didn’t want to admit that I was


    hurt


    I didn’t have any right to feel hurt. ric wasn’t mine. He never was.


    “I’ll speak to herter,” he murmured after a full minute had passed. “Hey, look at me.”


    I shook my head, still looking out the window at the other cars that were parked <b>around</b>. I wanted


    nothing but to get home and rest my head, because right now, it was pounding.


    I felt ric’s hand on my jaw, and a soft gasp escaped my lips as he turned me to face him. The expression on his face was indifferent, his tone exactly the same. “Talk to me.”


    “I don’t… I don’t have anything to say, ric,” I whispered.


    “Sure, you.


    do,” he said firmly. “And you’re going to tell me the first thing on your mind so we can work things out from there.” His brows drew together. “I don’t want you giving me the silent treatment,


    Meadow.”


    My jaw twitched. “If you don’t want me <b>giving </b>you the silent treatment, then don’t order me to tell you the truth and punish me for lying when all you’ve done is lie to me and use me.”


    He stroked my cheek with his thumb. “Use you? What do you-”


    “You kissed me, ric,” I blurted out, yanking my face from his grip. “I didn’t think anything of it before, but then I remembered that you apologized right before you kissed me.”


    “I’m sorry,” he’d said to me. And when I asked him to kiss me again, he just dismissed me.


    ric’s expression turned guilty, only confirming my suspicions.


    My heart dropped into my stomach. “You refused to kiss me all these weeks, and the second you spoke to your ex–girlfriend, you decided it was the right time for our first kiss?” My voice was shaking, and I could already feel the tears forming. “Is that all I am to you? Just a pawn? A rebound for a lost love? I mean, I know that this isn’t a real marriage, but I thought you had a bit of respect for <b>me</b>.


    I swallowed, <b>shaking </b>my head. “I <b>guess </b>I was wrong<b>. </b>You’re all the same. You and Tyler”


    ric froze, his jaw clenching as his eyes turned hard. I’d hit a nerve. Thest thing ric wanted was to bepared with scum like Tyler.


    “Don’t say that,” he gritted out.


    “What?” I snapped. “I’m only calling it what it is, ric. Don’t get pissed at me for telling the truth when you don’t have the courtesy to do the same.”


    “Don’tpare me to him,” he said, quietly this time, although the heat in his eyes had turned lethal. “I neverid a hand on you. I never lied about who I was. And I admit I lied about rissa being just an old friend, but you have to understand, I was caught off–guard tonight. I haven’t seen her in over ten years so I didn’t know how to tell you, To be honest, I didn’t even think it mattered.”


    My stomach twisted, and I scoffed. “You didn’t-”


    “Will you let me finish?” He cut in. “I didn’t think it mattered before, but now, seeing you react this way, you can’t even begin to understand how sorry I am that I lied to you.” He paused, eyes darting to my lips. And I’m sorry about the initial reason behind the kiss. I needed something to ground me and ended up using you in the process. But I’m not sorry that I kissed you, Meadow.”


    My breath hitched as ric palmed my cheek <b>again</b>. I leaned into the heat of his palm, feeling my eyelids


    flutter<b>. </b>


    I swallowed, hating the way my body responded to his touch. And this time, when I looked in his eyes, I saw the guilt swirling in them. He was sorry, I had no doubts about that.


    And maybe, just maybe, he didn’t know about my rtion to Yvonne–rissa.


    “It wasn’t the best circumstance,” he continued. “But given the opportunity, I would do it again and again. You want to know why I didn’t kiss you?”


    I nodded. He voice lowered. “It’s not because I didn’t want to, or because I was saving the best forst.” His mouth twitched. “I didn’t kiss you because I was terrified that I’d get addicted to this mouth of yours, Meadow. I didn’t kiss you because I knew it would be more difficult for me to let you <b>go </b>when the time


    “ric-”


    “Now all I can say is that my fears were valid.” He leaned in close, pulling me to him by the nape of my neck. I swallowed. Our faces were only centimeters apart now.


    “Now that I’ve tasted your sweet mouth, I don’t ever want to stop.”


    A shiver ran down my spine as ric moved to kiss me, but at thest second, I turned my <b>face </b>away so his mouth grazed my cheek.


    I couldn’t kiss him.


    “ric,” I said under my breath “I can’t. Not right now.”


    His reply came after thirty seconds. “Okay,” he whispered against my cheek. “I understand. And I will <b>make </b>it up to you. I promise.”


    I nodded, although I didn’t ept it.


    The only thing that would make me satisfied was if rissa would leave Seattle and nevere back Because if she <b>was </b>here, and Ingrid was still pushing the notion of them being together, then this was not


    the end.


    And my secrets weren’t safe.