Page 129 of Merry Fake Bride

“I have no idea. He used to make me drink a lot and I remember him thrusting a marriage certificate in my face, but I don’t know. I don’t ever remember getting married to him. I’m so sorry, I never knew hiding him would end up ruining you?—”

“Stop,” I murmur. “Stop. Don’t think about me or the company or anything else. Don’t worry about that right now.”

“But I lied,” she wails.

“No, you protected yourself.” As much as it pains me to know she didn’t trust me with this, I can’t blame her.

Nothing about her story comes from a place of cruelty or vindictiveness. “This isn’t your fault, Devon.”

“But he won’t stop,” she gasps through her tears. “Don’t you see? He’ll destroy everything if I don’t go with him because he’s a man who plans. He’ll have some way to save you and the company if I just go with him. I know him.”

“Devon.”

My fingers slide over her wrist until we’re palm to palm, then I thread mine through hers. “You’re not going anywhere with him.”

“But—”

“Do you really think I care about any of that more than I care about you?”

She looks at me with glass eyes and the pain in her gaze cuts through me like a razor. “I don’t know?—”

“I don’t. I care about you.”

“I lied to you.”

“Devon…” Shaking my head, I gently take her other hand and place it over my thigh where my own old burns rest on my skin. “You know who did this to me, my father. He got tired of beating me every time I fucked up so he resorted to using me as an ashtray every time I got something wrong. I was a kid and he hurt me because he was a cruel, cold man who saw childish confusion as a personal insult. Did you treat me differently because you now know this?”

Her mouth falls open.

“Would you treat me differently knowing that, despite the pain he caused me, I still strove to make him proud? That even though he hurt me and my mother turned a blind eye to my screams, I still fought to be his right-hand man and honor his memory even after his death?”

“I–I… No,” she gasps. “I wouldn’t blame you for that at all!”

“Why?”

“Well… well, because people like your father twist things and get in your head. Make you feel like it’s your fault and you were brought up thinking it was normal. Even your mother…” Her attention drifts to my cheek. “We don’t always know it’s wrong until we wake up.”

“Exactly. What Axel did to you… I would never judge you for, nor would I blame you for protecting yourself. It’s the same way I honored my father when I should have spat on his memory. We do things to keep the peace and keep ourselves safe, and I can’t fault you for that. But I can protect you.”

“But I lied,” she whispers, hiccupping through her tears. “Your mom said I’ve ruined so much.”

“Devon… I won’t deny that finding out you’re married stings, and the prospect of the fallout from all of this is daunting, but it doesn’t change how I feel about you. I can be hurt and understanding at the same time, and believe me, I understand.”

Her brows knit together, as if she can’t possibly understand what I’m saying.

“But I’ve ruined your life,” she weeps.

“No, Devon. You saved me the moment I met you. And now I’m going to return the favor. You’re safe here, okay? And I’m going to fix this. I promise.”

33

DEVON

“What are you going to do?”

Despite Kairo’s apparently unbelievable understanding, the way he speaks is unsettling.

There’s pain swimming in his eyes, tension in his stature, and despite the softness in his voice, there’s a subtle tremble.