I lay down my fork, push away my plate, and stare across the dining table at Luke. He pushes his glasses up his nose, a curious expression on his face. I fold my hands in front of me on the table.
“We have a problem,” I say.
He nods thoughtfully. “You don’t want me to move in.”
God, is that what he thinks? “Luke—”
“It’s okay,” he says quickly. “I know this is fast. I get it. I didn’t want to push you. I mean, I’d love to live with you, but I’m okay if you want to wait.”
He’s breaking my heart, because all I want is to live with this man. To spend my life with him. I have never felt this way before—never imagined I ever would—and it kills me that a vindictive monster is ruining the only relationship in my life that has ever mattered to me. “Luke…”
He reaches across the table and grabs one of my hands, pulling them apart. “I have to tell you, Adrienne. After Darcy died, I honestly couldn’t imagine ever falling for anyone else ever again. And then I met you, and… I just knew right away.” He squeezes my hand. “Like I said, if you want to take it slower, that’s fine. I’ll wait as long as I have to.”
My eyes fill with tears. “That’s not it at all. I want you to move in too. But…”
His brow creases. “But what?”
“There’s another copy of the video,” I blurt out.
For a second, it’s so quiet you can hear the air conditioner whirring. Luke’s jaw tightens as he absorbs this piece of information. “What?”
“He must have had another copy saved somewhere.” I bite down on my lower lip. “He sent it to me. And… he’s pretty pissed off.”
Luke snatches his hand away from mine, the affection disappearing from his face. “Well, I told you that was a possibility. All we could do was get rid of the copy on his computer and his phone.”
That wasn’t all Luke did. He told me he hadn’t searched for any other copies, but he did. I could see him searching the desk drawers in that recording EJ showed me.
“Anyway,” I say, “he’s making demands again. Blackmailing me.” I can’t bring myself to tell Luke what he wants. It’s humiliating. Let him believe it’s just money. “It’s never going to stop.”
He heaves a sigh. “Yeah. I… I don’t know what to say. I don’t think you should give in to him.”
“That video would destroy me.”
“He’s destroying you. He’s controlling your life. You can’t let him do this to you.”
I suck in a breath. “I know. You’re right. He’s going to hold this over me forever. As long as he’s alive…”
I let that last statement hang there. Luke’s face clouds with confusion. “What… what are you saying, Adrienne?”
“I think you know.”
“Are you saying…？” He shakes his head. “Look, you need to let him publish the video if he wants. Accept the consequences.”
“So I should let him wreck my life?”
“No… I mean, I don’t think that video will wreck your life.” He shifts in his seat. “You can spin it.”
“No. I can’t.”
He grimaces. “I don’t know what to say. You don’t have a choice. There’s no alternative.”
“There’s one other thing.” I square my shoulders, knowing that I’ve reached the moment of no return. “He has another video.”
His long eyelashes flutter. “Another…？”
“A video of you.”
“Of me?”
“He has a recording of you entering his house and breaking into his laptop.” The words come out in a rush. I want to get this over with. “It even shows you breaking into his desk with a letter opener.”
The color slowly drains out of Luke’s face. “Holy…”
“I’m so sorry, Luke.”
“Sorry?” The color that had left his face now appears in two spots on his cheeks. “I told you I didn’t want to do this. I told you it was the wrong thing to do. I said we could get in a lot of trouble. Didn’t I say that?”
“Yes,” I say in a small voice.
He drops his head into his hands and massages his temples. “Unbelievable. This is so unbelievable.”
“I know. I’m so sorry.” I shift my chair around the side of the table to be closer to him. “This guy is a terrible person. I hate that he’s doing this to us.”