"Oh, no," I say and raise up to take a seat. "You knew!"
The truth hits me like a clap of thunder, striking me so hard that I can't breathe.
"I only wanted to protect you," he starts, rising up and taking a seat next to me.
"To protect me?" I raise my voice, unable to believe it. "From what?"
"From marrying a person who doesn't love you."
"Did you take those photos?" I yell, breathing heavily, feeling my head starting to bang.
He inhales deeply before answering, "The private investigator I hired took them."
I look away, my heart trying to jump out of my chest in fury.
How could I be so stupid? How could I think that Christopher really liked me? He only wanted to have sex with me, and the only thing that prevented him from doing it was the fact that I was engaged.
I stand up from the bed and pick up my dress from the floor.
"Don't walk away like that, Michelle." He gets up as well and comes closer.
I rapidly put the dress on.
"Let's talk," he says quietly, trying to take me by the hand, but I push him away.
"Oh, now you want to talk!" I say sarcastically and finally look into his eyes, feeling my own start to fill with tears. "Why couldn't you just tell me?"
Christopher looks at me with guilt on his face, and I want to believe him. I want to think that he was just trying to protect me, but I can't; it's too hard. He said he didn't lie. But hiding the truth is the same thing.
I take my shoes in my hands and head to the exit.
"You wouldn't believe me!" he yells at my back, following me. "You'd think that it's one of my games or something."
"Isn't it?" I turn to face him again, my cheeks burning with rage. "You've hidden the truth from me! You did that right before our trip to make me available for sex with you!"
"That's not true!" He raises his voice as well, shaking his head. "I told him to send those pictures after our trip, but he messed up. I wanted you to be happy on this trip; I didn't think about..."
"Oh, you did, Christopher?" I interrupt him, taking a couple of steps closer. "You were thinking of yourself, not me. You always do."
I stand in front of him, trying not to look away, even though my eyes are already brimming with tears.
"You want to make me happy?" I ask irritatedly. "Then let's end our working relationship. Never call me again."
I turn away and rapidly walk out of his suite, barefoot, holding my bag and my shoes in my hands, as I feel the first tear roll down my cheek.
Chapter Sixteen
Michelle
I walk onto the terrace of Celeste's house. The view here is incredible, almost as impressive as from the new inn she will run soon.
To my surprise, I slept well last night. My body, tired of multiple orgasms and hearty dinners, needed a proper rest. At first, I thought I wouldn't be able to fall asleep at all. I was so angry and so...disappointed. For some reason, the realization that Christopher lied to me hurt me even more than the fact that Michael turned out to be gay. Because even though it sounds silly, I know Christopher a lot better than I ever knew my fiancé. Or at least, I thought so.
Michael always was a mystery to me. He was kind and attentive, but I barely knew the person that hid under that mask. I didn't worry about it. I thought we had all our lives to get to know each other.
On the other side, Christopher was the man I loved to spend time with. I hated the unlimited changes he made, his commanding voice, his demanding nature. But I enjoyed our everyday debates on different subjects—from politics to literature—it always seemed like he knew it all.
I never imagined that we could ever have been more than just co-workers. Of course, I thought about how it would be to have sex with him, but I never actually believed it was possible. And now that I know that he's not only an excellent negotiator but an absolute god in bed, I know that to forget him will be so much more complicated than Michael.