Darius laughed softly.
“Wow.”
“Darius.”
“You thought this through.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You actually thought about what name would make me least suspicious.”
“I was scared.”
“Of what?”
“Losing you.”
Darius stared at her.
“You were cheating because you were afraid of losing me?”
“I know how stupid that sounds.”
“No.”
He shook his head.
“It doesn’t sound stupid.”
He looked at her.
“It sounds selfish.”
Simone cried.
“I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
“People always say that like six months fell out of the sky.”
She looked up.
“It started as talking.”
“So stop talking.”
“I should have.”
“Then kissing.”
“I know.”
“Stop kissing.”
She looked down.
“Then sex.”
His voice cracked slightly.
“Stop having sex.”
Simone covered her mouth.
“At every point, Simone, there was a door.”
He pointed toward the front of the house.
“You could have left.”
She whispered, “I love you.”
Darius looked almost offended.
“Don’t.”
“I do.”
“Don’t say that right now.”
“It’s true.”
“You canceled our wedding.”
Her head snapped up.
“What?”
Darius pulled out his phone.
“Bellamy House called me.”
Simone froze.
“You asked about the cancellation.”
“I didn’t cancel it.”
“You specifically told them not to contact me.”
“I wanted to talk to you first.”
“When?”
She had no answer.
“After you got the deposit?”
“That’s not fair.”
Darius stared.
“What is not fair?”
“I wasn’t trying to steal money.”
“I didn’t say you were.”
“You’re making it sound like I was planning some secret escape.”
“Were you?”
Simone looked away.
Darius felt another piece click into place.
“You were.”
“No.”
“Then why cancel?”
“I didn’t know what I wanted.”
There it was.
Darius sat very still.
“You didn’t know if you wanted to marry me.”
Simone cried silently.
He nodded.
“Okay.”
“Darius, please.”
“That’s an answer.”
“I was confused.”
“About who?”
She hesitated.
“Me and Devon.”
Darius looked toward the ceiling.
For a moment, neither spoke.
Then he asked something that surprised Simone.
“Does Devon know we’re getting married?”
Her expression changed.
Darius noticed.
“Does he?”
“He knows we’re engaged.”
“That wasn’t my question.”
Simone swallowed.
“He thinks…”
She stopped.
Darius leaned forward.
“What does he think?”
“He thinks things between us are basically over.”
Darius stared.
“What?”
“I told him we were having problems.”
“We were?”
“We have been.”
“What problems?”
“You work all the time.”
Darius laughed bitterly.