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“Shit.” I close my eyes. “Fuckthat. Go to the police.”

“I paid him.”

“Why?”

“I omitted my conviction when I applied to the Bar. If I out him, I out myself. I lose my job. I can make more money, but if he reports me, I’ll be disbarred, and it would have all been for nothing. I sold some of my investments. I have half a million pounds in my account waiting to be transferred.”

I grab her by the shoulders. “Are you out of your mind?”

“No. He can report me to the Bar. I could lose my job.”

I rewind to the first bomb she dropped. “Youlied on your application?”

She closes her eyes. “I only decided to read law because I wanted to find a way to clear my name, and I knew that the bestway to beat the system was to be part of it. My plan was, once I qualified as a barrister, I’d be able to access court records and hunt for the evidence the police and my expensive-ass lawyer missed. But then I became a barrister and met Reena and Dominic and Jodi and…you.” Her eyes soften, and she swallows audibly, and I’m torn. I want to comfort her, but I can’t.

“I decided I didn’t want to dredge it all up again. I’ve made a name formyself. I love my job. It’s all I have. I can’t risk it for anything.”

“Good to know I count as nothing.”

Her head snaps up, her eyes blazing. “Omar, be fair. This was supposed to be a temporary, enjoyable interlude that would end when you went back to America. I hoped I’d never have to tell you. That we’d get to walk away with nothing but fond memories.”

“Wow, I wish you’d told me that before I fell in love with you.”

“I did tell you that. You didn’t listen.”

“Oh, so this is my fault?”

“No, but it’s not my fault that I’m alone in this world and can’t rely on anyone but myself.”

“You could have relied on me.”

“Not if you’d known this.”

“Well, I’d much rather know your shit than live on your lies. They are fucking poison. The truth is terrible sometimes, but it’s necessary. And I just can’t understand what I’ve done to make you think I wouldn’t show you the same compassion you showed me.”

Her swallow is audible and wet, and her voice quavers with an anguish that’s as palpable as my own. “When it started, I didn’t expectus.” She waves a hand between us. “And this isn’t the kind of thing I tell people on a first date. Not because I wantto deceive you but because it’s been used against me. I didn’t know I would love you and that you would love me, too.”

“Fine. But when you did, you kept on lying. You should have told me.”

She purses her lips and eyes me with skeptical eyes. “So if I’d said, ‘I was convicted of killing my father when I was thirteen. I didn’t do it, I couldn’t have because I loved him more than I loved to breathe, but I pled guilty because my lawyers told me to and I was a scared thirteen-year-old girl with not a soul in the world to hold my hand. I served my time, but I can’t live my life as I choose because of a crime I didn’t commit. So I changed my name and started a new life. And I wanted the temporary pleasure you’re offering.’” Her voice breaks. “If I’d said all of that, would you have brought my iPad back to my place, or danced with me and made love to me?”

“We’ll never know because you didn’t give us a chance to find out.”

She closes her eyes and blows out a harsh breath. “You haven’t spoken to your father for the better part of a year. I knew.” She opens her eyes again and the bleakness in them is nearly unbearable. “You were supposed to leave. You said so.”

I laugh to keep from bellowing. “Sorry I ruined your plans.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m just telling you what my rationale was.”

“There’s no rationale for misleading me like this. Were you never going to tell me?”

She shakes her head. “I didn’t kill my father. I wanted something in my life to not be tarnished by that.” She sounds so tired.

“Then why aren’t you trying to clear your name?”

“I just wanted a clean slate. I’m so sorry, sorrier than I can say that I dragged you into this. But nothing has to change. Ifyou can see past the name and see it’s me—the same woman you’ve always loved—can’t we please go on, just as we are?”

“What, with you paying a blackmailer and practicing law illegally? No. We can’t do that. At least not together.”