Chapter 12: No Place Beside Me

Nate had asked his father to lie to me about the plea file. At Dale's house, my relatives demanded he answer for it.

Brynn set Dale's coat across the chair and stepped away from it.

My aunt faced Nate from beside the chair.

'When you asked Daniel to say the file didn't exist, did you want him to lie to Cass?'

Nate kept his hands at his sides.

'Yes.'

Nobody in the room needed him to explain what he had already admitted.

'I was afraid of losing you,' he said. 'I thought I could explain later, when you weren't carrying so much already.'

My throat tightened, and I looked down at the floorboards.

The relatives watched me wait for my voice to come back.

He had known what Daniel hid. He had stood beside me and let me learn it from someone else.

'Cass,' Nate said. 'Can we talk alone?'

'No. You asked my family to help hide this from me.'

Nobody moved to give us space.

Nate glanced toward my aunt, then back at me.

'I wanted to protect you from more pain.'

I had wanted him to understand what he had done.

Some part of me still wanted to hear him say the right thing.

He was explaining why he had chosen for me.

'You protected yourself, not me,' I said. 'I won't make your choice easier to hear.'

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