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Story: Ill Will

“He found your old friend just because we got married? Do you know how sad that is?”
“I mean, you married me for revenge.”
“It wasnotjust for that.” His voice was so sharp that it made me pause.
“But that’s what you said.”
“That was the reason you’d believe.”
“Youhatehim. Anyone can see it.”
“Yes, but I don’t care about the revenge part of it.”
“Then what do you care about?”
“You.”
My eyes grew wide.
“Since when?”
“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”
“It has to be after the honeymoon. Or maybejustbefore, but?—”
Levi cut me off with a laugh. “When you’re ready to know the truth, let me know.”
“And until then?”
“I’ll be doing what I have this entire time: proving you wrong. About us. About Calvin. All of it.”
I swallowed. “That’s what you’ve been doing this whole time?”
A slow smile spread on Levi’s face. “Yes. Glad you finally caught up.”
Chapter Twenty-Three
For two weeks,things were good. Levi always woke up first to make coffee and breakfast. I would soon follow to take my medicine, and we would sit at the new dining room table to talk about our plans for the day. He would tell me about everything that was going on in the office, and I would either tell him what book to read or talk about what outside project I was working on that day.
And when we went to bed, he would always kiss me good night before holding me as I fell asleep.
Things were good. Nearlytoogood.
But there were cracks in our happy little marriage.
Despite us sharing a bed, Levi never seemed interested in anything more than holding me. Before the migraine, there was no space between us. Now, it was like he was trying not to awaken the horny side of me every time I woke up next to him.
I wasn’t sure if he was giving me space to make a move or if he was afraid that somehow fucking me against the wall was the cause of my migraine, but either way, I didn’t know how to ask him about it.
If he told me he was simply giving me space, that was one thing. If he turned me down, I might not be able to recover from that.
I knew chronic conditions weren’t sexy. But I had never let a guy see me like that. I was terrified of the repercussions.
It wasn’t the only off-limits topic we had. Since the party, Levi hadn’t mentioned Calvin once and changed the topic when I tried to. It wasn’t like I loved talking about my brother, but I knew something was coming. Calvin wouldn’t take what I’d done lying down, and he would retaliate eventually.
And I wasn’t sure if either of us were prepared.
Despite the holes in our communication, I still didn’t want to lose any of what I had. I kept telling myself that we would be fine, but I was slowly remembering the other things I didn’t know about.

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