Page 26 of Bitter When He Begs

I don’t want Nate involved.

So I do what I need to do.

I lie.

I sigh, shoving my hands through my hair. “Luca’s just… fixated on me. I don’t know why, I don’t know what started it, but he gets off on making my life hell.” I force out a smirk, shrugging. “His weird little obsession. Kinda pathetic, honestly.”

He stays silent as he waits for me to lie some more, and I fucking do. “For some reason, he decided I’m his new favorite thing to torment. Maybe he’s bored, maybe he just likes seeing me squirm, but either way, it’s nothing. He’s a bully, I’m handling it, and that’s all there is to it.”

Silence.

I risk a glance at Nate, and fuck, he does not look convinced. His jaw is tight, his brows are furrowed, his fingers drumming against his knee like he’s working through a million different scenarios in his head, and none of them are ones I want him to be thinking about.

I sigh again, rubbing my temples. “Seriously, Nate, it’s fine.”

His fingers stop drumming. “Fine,” he echoes.

I nod. “Yeah.”

Nate stares at me for a long moment, and I know he doesn’t believe me. Then, finally—

“You’re full of shit.”

I groan, throwing my head back against my pillow. “Jesus Christ, Nate.”

But he’s already giving me that knowing look. “Sage, everyone sees it. Everyone sees the way he watches you, the way he acts around you, like he’s got some kind of claim on you.” He shakes his head as his voice grows more intense. “And I’m supposed to believe this is just bullying?”

I keep my expression carefully neutral. “Yes.”

“You’re a shit liar.”

“I’m not lying.”

“You are, and you know how I know?” Nate leans in, tilting his head. “Because if this was just about him fucking with you, you’d be pissed. You’d be telling me all the ways you were gonna get him back, all the ways you were gonna make his life miserable. But you’re not.”

I tense because he’s right. He knows me so fucking well, but I can’t drag him into this. He watches my reaction, and I can tell he’s mad. “So tell me what the fuck is really going on, Sage.”

I shake my head, forcing a smirk. “You’re overthinking it, man. It’s not that deep.”

Nate glares at me. “Bull. Fucking. Shit.”

I roll my eyes, reaching for my phone like I’m done with this, like I’m about to move on with my day, like my stomach isn’t twisting into knots at the way Nate is picking me apart so fucking easily. “Believe what you want.”

He keeps staring at me, but finally,finally, he stands, shaking his head in frustration. “You know what? Fine. If you’re not gonna tell me, I’ll figure it out myself.”

That snaps my attention back to him, and my stomach drops. “Nate—”

He smirks. “What? Worried about what I might find out?”

I clench my jaw. “I told you, there’s nothing to find out.”

“Sure.” He tilts his head. “Then you won’t mind if I start asking around.”

Panic spikes through me, and I sit up fast, my pulse hammering. “Don’t.”

Nate’s smirk fades slightly, and he turns serious. “Then tell me the truth.”

I stare at him, my throat tight, my skin hot, my chest aching with a feeling I don’t know how to name. I just shake my head,my voice low and pleading. “Stay out of it, Nate. Please, just… don’t go digging.”