Page 53 (1/2)

"How’d it go last night?" He didn’t sound angry, but he did sound down

"As you can i inferno even when I got here" There was an unco moripping the phone to her ear "Are you still mad at me?"

More silence She squeezed her eyes, a war down the side of her face She feared the worse They’d never get past this

"I’ he’s done, you’re still willing to give him the benefit of the doubt"

Sofia sat up on her bed, deters worse "Because I can’t in clear conscience just put all the blame on hiree with you and my brothers? Yes, it was all him He duped me and poor innocent little me fell for it, he’s ato his house would be an issue with you and my brothers and I still did"

"You wanted to?"

"I would never choose to hurt you He said he wanted to show , said I didn’t even have to coo in Not because I wanted to, Eric, but because at the ti a deal" She stopped to take a deep breath "My whole life I’ve been called or it’s been insinuated that I was na&iuo on, but it felt like this issue would linger forever if she didn’t just say it

"That day what?" His tone was hard again like it’d been the night before

"That day I felt so naïve, Eric You all want to believe that I was co soht out the ot that notion but I didn’t I chose to stay There’s no way he could’ve planned that" For aup "Are you still there?"

He didn’t answer, but she heard him breathe When he finally spoke, his voice was clearly strained "So when you told et a chance to think, that was a bunch of bullshit?"

"No, it did happen fast"

"But you kneould and yet you still hung around for it"