“I control the company.”
Aaron’s mother stood abruptly.
“This is absurd!”
“No,” I said quietly.
“What’s absurd is that none of you ever bothered to check.”
Aaron looked at me as though he were seeing me for the first time.
“You planned this.”
“No.”
I shook my head.
“I planned to love you.”
My voice cracked slightly.
“That was the only plan I ever had.”
For a moment, nobody spoke.
Then Aaron walked around the table.
“Alyssa, listen to me.”
I looked up.
His voice softened.
“I made mistakes.”
“You cheated.”
“I was confused.”
“You humiliated me.”
“I was angry.”
“You replaced me.”
His expression tightened.
“It wasn’t like that.”
I stood.
“It was exactly like that.”
He reached for my hand.
I stepped away.
That small movement seemed to hurt him more than anything I had said.
“Alyssa…”
“I begged you for nothing.”
