Page 141 of Eternal

“Don’t avoid the question.” I swat his hand away. “Why were you calling me that?”

“Your father was getting ready to file a medical conservatorship.” Declan reaches down and traces the ring on my finger. “He needed a contingency in case I didn’t make good on my father’s deal to make sure he wasn’t the only one who would lose.”

“How?”

“Dr. Parish has been altering your medical records, Teal.” The hurt in Declan’s eyes has my chest tightening. “I knew something was off when I first read them, but the more time we spent together, the clearer it became. His records of you didn’t line up with how lucid you actually are, and his notes of your therapy sessions didn’t align with what you were actually saying. He and your father were planning to deem you clinically insane.”

“Why would he do that?” A tear rolls down my cheek, but my body is still too numb to feel it. “Am I that crazy, Declan?”

“No.” Declan sits up, cupping my face in his hands. “You aren’t crazy, Teal. So don’t even think that. Your father isjust that fucking bitter and selfish. He’d rather make you pay for his mistakes than face them. This isn’t your fault.”

“I feel like I’m losing my mind.” A sob rips out of me, and Declan pulls me onto his lap so he can hold us chest to chest.

His arms hold me tight, and I wrap myself around him, trying to steady my breath as panic surges.

“You’re not losing your mind.” He brushes the back of my head. “You’re here, and you’re aware, and I will protect you. Your father is done hurting you. I promise. I made sure of it.”

I pull back, looking up at Declan. “By pretending we’re married?”

Declan said it himself that my father can’t file anything if he thinks we’re married. But when Declan doesn’t answer my question, my nerves skitter to the surface again.

“It is pretend, right?”

He slowly shakes his head. “Do you remember when we were at the cabin?”

“Yes.” My stomach starts to drop.

“The papers you signed that night weren’t for an apartment.”

“What are you saying, Declan?” All the heat drains from my cheeks. “What did I sign?”

“Our marriage certificate.”

“What?” I push at his chest, trying to scoot off him, but he doesn’t let me.

He grabs my hips, holding me, straddling him, even as I shove at his chest. “Just listen to me.”

“Why, Declan? You lied to me. You manipulated me.Again. How is this even possible?” I grip his shirt. “We can’t be married. There was no wedding. No vows. I didn’t agree to it.”

“You said yes.”

I freeze with my fists on his chest as that night plays in rewind in my head.

Declan stepped away to talk to Jacob, and I was so focused on my music, I didn’t pay attention to their conversation. When he walked back over and squeezed my hand, I saidyes, but it was a question, not a vow to be his.

“You manipulative asshole.” I push at him again, but he grabs my wrists and stops me. “Why won’t you let me go?”

“Because I’m tired of dancing around the truth with you, Teal.” He pulls me close, tipping my chin so I’m forced to face him. “Let me speak, and when I’m done talking, you can leave if you want to.”

“This is my room.” I narrow my eyes.

“Then I’ll leave,” he promises, even if his expression is proof that he doesn’t plan on it.

“Fine.”

“I did this for you.”

“Is that what you convinced yourself to make yourself feel better? This isn’t just us dating, Declan. This isn’t what we agreed to. You married me without me even knowing just so you could manipulate me like my father did.” I bite back my tears. “You’re just like him.”