Axel – Present Day, After
The room still smelled of our sex.
Always her. Only this time, it clung to my skin in the aftermath of what just happened. My body ached in the most blissful way, heart slowed to a dazed thump as I lay there beside her, half-draped across messy sheets, soaked in sweat and wonder.
After what we just did—after I'd touched her like she was mine again, and she held me like she never let go—I couldn't keep lying by omission.
So I spoke quietly into the silk of her hair.
"That's why I changed," I said.
Her breathing sped up.
She pulled back slightly, eyes catching the flicker of moonlight that made them glow. "What?"
I exhaled. "That's why I changed. After the wedding. After Madrid. After the honeymoon. After everything. It wasn't because I stopped loving you. It was because I thought… I thought you betrayed me."
She blinked twice and then sat up.
"What?" she repeated. Sharper this time. Like the word had grown teeth.
