Chapter 36

36

"You love me?"

Paige's voice was barely above a whisper, her cheeks flushed pink and her eyes shining. "I thought you couldn't stand the sight of me. I was a cheater. Or so you thought. You wouldn't even look at me after that. You literally disappeared."

Cody's heart clenched at the vulnerability in her voice. He ached to pull her close, to erase years of misunderstanding with a single touch. Instead, he gripped the armrests of his seat, anchoring himself as he prepared to lay bare the truth. "All an act," he admitted. "I had to protect you. Besides, I'm the one who?—"

He raised his hands in a helpless gesture, unable to get the words out.

The leather seat creaked as he shifted, trying to find a comfortable position for the uncomfortable conversation ahead. She needed the truth. All of it.

The irony was, once he told her the whole story, she wouldn't care if he worshipped the ground she walked on.

The cabin suddenly felt too small, too warm. He tugged at the collar of his tee, buying time as he searched for the right words. "There's something else I need to tell you. Something I should have told you a long time ago."

He paused. The steady hum of the engine filled the silence, a stark contrast to the tumult of his thoughts.

He forced himself to meet her gaze. "It's about your father. And about me. The whole truth this time."

The air between them changed. The warmth that had been building since reading Atticus's letter dissipated, replaced by a tension that crackled with uncertainty. He took a deep breath, steeling himself for what was to come. Once he started, there would be no going back. Whatever happened next, whether they survived this ordeal or not, Paige deserved to know everything.

He reached across the narrow aisle and handed back the letter, his fingers brushing against hers for a brief, electrifying moment. Then he closed his eyes, offering up a silent prayer for courage.

When he opened his eyes, she was watching him intently.

The words tumbled out before he could stop them. "I framed you for cheating at MIT. Your dad helped me do it."

Her sharp intake of breath cut through the drone of the engine. "What? You and ... my father?"

Myriad emotions played across her face: confusion, hurt, and then a flicker of something else. Anger? Betrayal? He couldn't quite tell.

"But ... that doesn't make sense." She leaned forward, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Dad distanced himself right after the scandal. Why would he do that if he helped you frame me?"

Cody ran a hand through his hair, searching for the right words to explain the complex web of deceit and protection he and Atticus created.

"You've already figured that part out. He pushed you away because he was working within the Consortium to take it down. He didn't want you in harm's way."

Her eyes locked onto his, searching for truth. "You're saying he stayed away to protect me?"

Cody nodded. "He loved you too much to risk your safety. We both did."

The silence that followed was deafening. He braced himself for the anger, the betrayal that was sure to come. But Paige's response caught him off guard.

"The Cody I knew at college, and the Cody I know now, would never hurt me intentionally," she said softly. "You must have had a good reason."

Her understanding, her faith in him, lifted his soul beyond reason. "I was in love with you. Still am."

The admission hung in the air between them, charged with years of unspoken emotions. He plowed ahead, unable to stop now that he'd started. "I was recruited by a small group inside the NSA—what became the Consortium—my sophomore year at MIT. By the time I met you as a senior, I already knew I'd made a horrible mistake."

Paige's eyes widened, but she remained silent, letting him continue.

"You were on their radar before you even hit college. The men who eventually created the Consortium planned to recruit you too after you graduated, whether you agreed, or not. I couldn't let that happen. So I ..." Cody's voice faltered. "Your dad and I manufactured the cheating scandal. Got you kicked out a month before graduation."

She pressed her lips together, staring straight ahead, her eyes unfocussed.

He searched her face, trying to gauge her reaction. Would this be the moment she finally saw him for who he really was? A liar, a manipulator, a man who had derailed her entire life out of some misguided attempt at protection?