Page 60 of Harder Betrayal

“Nothing has changed. She knows that. So why would she say yes?”

“Everything has changed. It’s been the worst month of my life.”

“I suspect she agrees with me on this. Seems like you only want her out of jealousy.”

He gave me a cold look. “It certainly helps… I’ll give you that.”

“She’s given you plenty of chances, Cauldron. She’d have no self-respect if she did it again—”

“Whose side are you on, exactly?”

“I know her better than you do. That’s all.”

He sank back into the couch. “I’ve never seen her like that. Never seen her possess such indifference mixed with rage. I felt like a goddamn stranger. An inconvenience to her life.”

I turned quiet and let him vent his frustrations.

“But when I told her I hadn’t been with anyone else…she gave me this look. She couldn’t hide it as hard as she tried. It was quick and faint, but I caught it.”

“Meaning?”

“She still loves me.”

“I don’t think loving you is the issue, Cauldron. It’s trust—and she doesn’t have that.”

“I think as long as those feelings are there, there’s a chance.”

I gave a loud sigh because this was a fruitless endeavor. “I don’t think you can put any set of words together to convince her to go down that road again. Besides, the contract she’s under is ironclad. I nearly had to kill Kyle to get him to back down.”

“Didn’t you sublease a contract to be with Elise?”

My eyes narrowed. “Yes. Technically.”

“What if I did the same with Bartholomew?”

Was he saying what I thought he was saying? “You’re going to buy him off?”

“Yes.”

I stared at the floor for a minute as I considered the proposal. “That could backfire.”

“The worst he could say is no.”

“And you’ll accept that answer?” I asked in disbelief.

“Everything has a price.”

“Even if this plan works, doesn’t mean she’ll cooperate. If she likes him, she’ll probably be pissed.”

Cauldron gave a shrug. “She wanted back in the business. This is how business works.”

“What about Roan? He’s in town.”

“We can do both.”

“Can we?” I asked. “Because all you seem to care about is Camille.”

“Have they made a hit on you? No. So, calm down.”