After My Fake Death, My Ex Begged Too Late

After taking my virginity, Oscar wiped the thin sheen of sweat from my temple, indulgent and slow.

"Baby," he murmured, "give Meryl your direct-admission spot at Kingsley University."

I stared at him. "What did you just say?"

"She was crying underneath me, all pathetic. I was still worked up, so I just told her yes."

Every drop of blood in my body went cold. "And if I say no?"

He laughed softly, folded my hand into his, and unlocked his phone.

The video that filled the screen was us. Minutes ago. Tangled together.

"Baby, you sound so pretty in my arms. I'd hate to share that with anyone else."

"Be good. One more year, that's all—and next year I'll come get you myself, walk you right into Kingsley. After we graduate, we get married. You're the only one I love."

My nails dug into my palms until they broke skin.

Oscar didn't know that my mother had already arranged a university for me overseas.

Thousands of miles away.

The future he was promising would never come.

——

"Baby, you know me. Threatening people is the last thing I'd ever want to do."

"Especially when it's you."

He brushed the damp strands of hair from my forehead and kissed me there, once, twice, so gently.

But the words coming out of his mouth cut like a blade.

"Come on, though—you've got to cut me some slack. Meryl took everything off and climbed into my bed. What was I supposed to do, not touch her?"

"You're so scared of pain, baby. I couldn't stand hurting you. So I made sure I practiced enough on her first, got it right, saved the best for you."

I looked at him like he'd lost his mind.

Something behind my ribs tore open, slow and grinding, until I could barely breathe.

"Why?"

My voice was barely there.

Oscar didn't even flinch. He just stroked my bloodless cheek like nothing was wrong.

"There's no why. Meryl's got a nice body, she's clean, and she showed up at my door. What kind of man turns that down?"

Then he smiled, slow and suggestive. "Besides, the technique I practiced? You seemed to enjoy it just fine a minute ago."

My stomach lurched so hard I had to clamp my jaw shut to keep from retching.

He must have seen how white my face had gone.

Oscar frowned, pulled me tight against him like I was something fragile. "Don't be silly. What are you scared of? At best, Meryl's a tool I use to handle physical needs. She's not worth a single hair on your head."

"Besides, she's your best friend. You know exactly what she's like. While you're gone that year before Kingsley, if I'm sleeping with her, at least I'm not out chasing random women. You can relax, right?"

"Meryl's easy about the whole thing. She's not asking for a title, nothing like that. She just hopes that after we're married, I can still have her once or twice."

Every nerve in my body locked. I couldn't move.

Every word made perfect sense. Together, they froze me to the bone.

One of them was the boy I'd grown up with for ten years, who swore over and over that he couldn't live without me.

The other was the girl I'd supported for three years, who swore she'd repay me with her life, the friend I'd treated like a little sister.

I never could have imagined.

One hour ago I'd had everything—love, friendship, a future bright enough to hurt. And in a single breath, the two people closest to me had gutted all of it. I had nothing left.

I kept forcing myself to breathe, deep and slow, just to push down the nausea and the raw, splitting ache in my chest.

"Oscar. I can give you up to Meryl. But I'm not giving up my direct-admission spot at Kingsley."

The words had barely left my mouth before he laughed. "Stop messing around."

"You swore when you were eight that you'd never marry anyone but me. You've been trailing after me all these years, and everyone knows it. You love me like your life depends on it."

"Without me, could you even survive?"

I felt like a fish hurled onto dry land, suffocating, unable to pull in a single breath.