Page 219 of Risking the Pucking Defense

I nod, and he eagerly takes a bite before groaning when the flavor hits his tongue.

“Freya will be so proud of you. They’re perfect.”

He chews thoughtfully.

“Yeah, they’re pretty damn good.”

I take another bite, and in only a few more seconds, the first one is done.

Resting back against the headboard, I close my eyes for a beat.

“I served Brandon divorce papers once I got settled here,” I start. “It was naive of me to think he’d just sign them and move on with his life. That isn’t how people like him behave. But I needed him to know that our separation was final. What I wasn’t expecting was for him to come back explaining that he would only sign if I put the reason for the divorce as infidelity on my part.”

“What? Why would you do that?”

I take a breath. “Because despite him being the one who was unfaithful, many, many times, he also had evidence of me with other men, time-stamped during our marriage.”

Hayden’s mouth opens and closes, but no words spill free.

Despite what I’ve just said, he doesn’t believe me. He doesn’t believe that I would have cheated in my marriage, and seeing that in his eyes means everything to me.

“I never cheated. As much as I might have wanted out of that situation, that marriage, I never would have done that. But…Brandon shared me with his friends and⁠—”

“Motherfucker,” Hayden hisses, his fists clenching at his sides.

“And unbeknownst to me at the time, he’d filmed it.”

“Fucking cunt.”

“Pretty much sums it up. I’d just secured my job when he sent through hard evidence that this proof existed. I couldn’t risk it being exposed like he was threatening. I needed my job; I needed the new start. So, I just…ignored it. I figured that one day, he might meet someone who would be stupid enough to want to be married to him, and he’d let me go. I never thought that I’d be the first to—” I cut myself off.

“First to what, baby?” Hayden asks, a teasing lilt in his voice.

“To move on. To consider being someone else’s wife one day.”

When I glance over, he’s got a shit-eating grin on his face.

“So what do we do next? How do we get rid of this guy?”

“I guess I'll instruct my lawyer to serve the papers again and see what happens. But the second he sees this,” I say, gesturing between us, “in the media, I have no doubt that he’ll make his move.”

“Or he might sign and let you move on?” Hayden asks hopefully.

“Yeah,” I muse, “That is certainly an option.” Even if it is a very, very unlikely one. “Worst case, he exposes all the footage he collected and tries to destroy me, and in turn, you. Best case, I walk away with nothing.”

“You don’t need anything.”

I think for a moment. Back when I first served him, I was bitter and wanted every single thing that was owed to me for the bullshit life he made me live. Hell knows I needed the help to get on my feet.

But now, Hayden’s right.

Well, actually, not entirely.

I don’t need anything from Brandon. All I need is Hayden.

61

HAILEE