Chapter 70

• “Why didn’t you tell me, Cole?” Funmi’s voice was barely a whisper, but the pain in it cut through me like a razor. She stood in the middle of the living room, arms crossed tightly against her chest, her eyes wide with disbelief.
• I had known this moment was coming. The moment when everything would finally crumble. The secret I had kept from her for so long, the truth I thought I could protect us from—it was finally out. I could see the anger, the betrayal, the hurt in her face, and every part of me wanted to reach out and undo everything. But I couldn’t. Not anymore.
• I took a deep breath, the weight of the world pressing down on me. “I didn’t want to lose you, Funmi,” I said, the words sounding weaker than I intended. “I thought—maybe if I kept it from you, it would protect us. It would protect you.”