Chapter 63: You’re Lying

Chapter 63: You're Lying

Maddie

Andy was asleep.

Even in sleep, he kept a careful distance between us, lying on his side with his back partially turned.

The space on the mattress where he used to pull me close felt like a canyon now.

There was a time — not so long ago — when he would spoon me from behind in his sleep, one strong arm wrapped around my waist like I was something precious he couldn’t bear to lose.

Even unconscious, he used to hold me like I mattered. He didn’t treat me like something precious anymore.

Tears burned behind my eyes as memories from last night flooded back.

The roughness. The recklessness. The way he had pinned me down and taken what he wanted without truly seeing me.

Had that been how he was with Ivy? Had he imagined her under him the entire time? The thought twisted like a knife in my chest.

I moved slowly, carefully, throwing my legs over the edge of the bed and planting my feet on the cool floor. Andy’s breathing remained steady and deep. He looked so relaxed in this moment — hair messy, face soft, the faint stubble along his jaw catching the early morning light.

Handsome. Devastatingly so. The same man I had fallen in love with years ago. The moment I tried to stand, regret hit me like a punch.

My core was on fire.

A deep, throbbing ache radiated through my pelvis and down my thighs. I hunched forward, one hand braced against the wall, the other pressed low on my stomach as I bit back a sob that threatened to wake him.

My legs felt like jelly, weak and unsteady. Every small shift sent fresh waves of soreness through me.

Last night hadn’t been lovemaking. It had been something desperate and punishing, and my body was now paying the price.

I walked stiffly across the room, each step a quiet horror. My discarded dress and underwear lay crumpled on the floor like evidence of a crime scene.

Last night, I hadn’t even noticed that my panties were ruined. They'd been shredded in Andy’s haste, so I left them and struggled into the dress alone.

The fabric felt rough against my oversensitive skin. I winced as I zipped it up, grateful that despite the screaming protest from every muscle, I managed to get it on without waking him.

I slipped into the bathroom and closed the door with a soft click. The cool water from the faucet was a small mercy as I splashed it on my face.

It washed away the streaks of mascara and the puffy redness around my eyes, but the horrors of last night remained etched deeper than any makeup could hide.

I stared at my reflection—the tired eyes, the faint marks on my neck and wrists, the way my lower lip still looked swollen from his kisses. From his bites.

I was losing him. And I was losing him fast.

The thought followed me as I quietly left the bathroom. Andy was still asleep. I forced myself to tear my gaze away from him and headed for the door.

I needed to think. I needed to go home, crawl into my own bed, and cry until there was nothing left.

Cry for myself. Cry for the shattered dreams I had built around him. Cry for what Ivy had stolen from me. Cry for the title of wife I might never wear…

Cry for the even bigger news I hadn’t found the perfect time to tell him yet.

Every step down the stairs was torture. My core burned with each movement. My thighs ached. What had gotten into Andy last night? That wasn’t the gentle, attentive man I knew. That was someone else entirely.

Poppy was downstairs when I finally reached the bottom. She looked up from her phone, eyebrows rising slightly. Despite how quietly I had tried to move, she noticed me immediately.

“Thank you for making last night the most awkward I’ve ever had with my dad and my stepmom,” she said sarcastically. “You and Andy sure partied hard.”

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, voice barely holding together. “I’m leaving.”

Something in my tone or my posture must have given me away. Poppy set her phone down and stood up. “Are you okay? You don’t seem like yourself.”

I don’t know what betrayed me — my dull, soulless eyes, the slight curve in my spine as I tried to protect the ache between my legs, or the painfully slow way I walked, like every step required conscious effort.

Whatever it was, she saw it.

I flashed a small, tired smile. “I’m fine. Just a little tired.” I turned toward the door before the tears brimming in my eyes could spill over. “Tell Andy I left—”

“It’s my brother, isn’t it?” Poppy stepped in front of me, blocking the exit. “He did something. Tell me what he did.”

“Nothing.” I looked away, quickly wiping a tear that escaped. “Andy did nothing. Don’t mind me. I’m just emotional from last night—”

“Bullshit.” She glanced toward the stairs, anger flashing across her face. “Andy! Get down here!”

“Poppy, stop,” I pleaded, panic rising. “There’s really no reason to—”

“Andy!” she yelled again. “You better get your ass downstairs or I’m—”

“Poppy. Stop it.” My voice cracked.

“Anderson Jerome Douglas!” she shouted at the top of her lungs.

I panicked. The words tumbled out before I could stop them. “Andy has feelings for Ivy,” I whispered, horrified at myself for saying it out loud. “He’s cheating on me with my sister.”

Poppy froze. “What? That’s not true. Ivy’s my best friend. She would have told me—”

“Andy confessed himself last night.” I stared at the floor in shame. “They were kissing upstairs yesterday when he came home.”

“No. There has to be a mix-up somewhere.” She insisted, but her voice wavered. “Ivy is with Leo now. She doesn’t love Andy anymore. Not like she did before—”

She stopped abruptly, eyes widening as she realized what she’d said.

“What did you say?” My voice was barely a whisper. “Ivy loves Andy?”

Poppy shook her head quickly. “No. Not like that. You know how they are. Brother and sister. She sees him as a big brother and he sees her as a little sister and—”

“You’re lying.” I cut her off, fresh tears spilling over. “Poppy, you’re lying.”

She squeezed her eyes shut. “Shit.”

“Oh my God.” I let out a broken laugh, slapping a hand over my forehead. “So it is true.”

She tried to backtrack. “It’s not what it sounds like. Ivy did have feelings for my brother, but it was more of a childhood crush. Just like everyone else had. You know he saved her when—”

“And you’re still lying to me.” I cried openly now. “Why does everyone keep lying to me?!”

“Babe?”

We both looked up.

Andy stood at the top of the stairs in nothing but faded blue jeans, hair messy from sleep, bags under his eyes.

He was still so heartbreakingly handsome that for one weak second I wanted to run into his arms. He rushed down the stairs, fingers gripping the railing.

I tried to bolt for the door, but Poppy blocked it. “Maddie, don’t go. Let him explain first.”

Andy reached me in seconds, grabbing my hands desperately. “Babe, I’m sorry.”

I tore my hands free, the movement sending fresh pain through my sore body. “I’ll only accept your apology if your offense was spilling my coffee or knocking over my water bottle,” I said, somehow keeping my voice steady. “Not when you cheated on me with my own sister. And definitely not after I told you to stop last night and you didn’t—”

“Baby, I’m sorry—”

“Save it. Please.” I took a shaky breath. “I just want you to think about it. What you said and did last night. How much you’ve hurt me. When all I did was love you, be loyal to you, and support you.”

“I love you,” he rushed out, eyes desperate. “I love you, Maddie.”

I laughed bitterly. “Do you?” I looked at his face — the same face I had fallen in love with — and felt my heart crack wider. “If you did, I wouldn’t have had to ask you to stop, and you wouldn’t have looked me in the eyes and done the opposite. You told me no, Andy.”

The shock on his face was genuine. “Maddie, I didn’t know. I thought you didn’t mean it—”

I didn’t let him finish. I pushed past Poppy and walked out the door, hoping I could keep the tears at bay long enough to find somewhere private to fall apart.

Andy followed, catching me just as I reached my car. His hand wrapped around my arm — the same arm that still ached from last night’s grip. “Baby, wait—”

“Let me go!”

“Maddie, I’m sorry! Forgive me! I didn’t know you meant it!” His voice was raw with desperation. “I just got carried away—”

I smiled through my tears, hollow and exhausted. “Don’t come looking for me.”

I got into the car and drove away, the pain between my legs a constant, burning reminder of everything I had lost…

And the pregnancy test with a ribbon on it was a reminder that our lives were about to change. And it might not be for the better.