**Undergoing Reconstruction**

“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Tell you what, Richard? What would you have done?”
“I don’t know. Apologized sooner? Bought you a burger to make up for it?”
Her eyes lit up with fire, “You think what you did to me… you think a burger can make up for it?” her eyes twinkled like she was fighting tears. Did I hurt her that badly? I was just a foolish teenager.
“Nita, I am sorry. I was young, I was stupid. I wish I could take it all back and tell you how I feel instead of being a constant jerk to gain your attention.”
“How did you feel that would justify what you did to me?”
I paused for a minute, finding the words. “I had a huge crush on you at the time. And I didn’t know how to express myself. I was full of myself, I was the school’s ladies' man and the one girl I had eyes for didn’t even care if I existed,”
 “And that justified what you did to me? Richard, you broke me. I can forgive you for ‘accidentally’ spilling your ice cream on me, or throwing my due assignment in the toilet, or the gum in my hair, or the glue in my chair but tell me how can I forgive you for what you did that night? Tell me!”
“What night? Nita, what are you talking about?”
“Remember when you asked me if I knew who sexually assaulted me?”
I nodded, but what does that have to do with anything?  The more we spoke, the more confused I became.
“You did and I cannot believe that you would stand there and pretend like it didn’t happen!”


Nita has spent years trying to forget the torment she endured at the hands of Richard. When her family’s financial ruin forces her into an arranged marriage, she is horrified to find out the groom himself was her bully.
Richard, a charming and successful businessman meets the first woman to be repulsed by him. Intrigued, he proposes a deal of a one year marriage of convenience.
Navigating life as a couple, old wounds reopen, buried memories surface. As Richard learns more about his wife, he finds that he has enemies that followed him from his past to continuously cloud his wife’s judgement.
Will Nita believe the truth and bury old wounds or will the pain of the past prove too strong to heal?

"Peace offering," he said, holding the bag out. "Figured I'd bribe my way into your good graces before subjecting you to potential trauma."


"You brought ice cream as a pre-kiss ritual?"


"Hey, some people use candles and wine," he shrugged, stepping inside. "I use double fudge swirl."


I flopped down onto the couch. My nerves had me so wound up that my legs refused to carry me with dignity. "So," I said, glaring at the ceiling as if it held the answers to life's deepest mysteries, "how will this work? Is there, like, a manual? Kissing for Dummies? A PowerPoint presentation?"


Richard sat beside me. He wasn't fidgeting, wasn't anxious, wasn't anything except maddeningly composed. He angled toward me, close but not crowding. "You're going to be fine, Nita. Just trust me. We'll take it slow."


"Ok, let's get it over with then," I muttered.


Chapter 31 - I Use Double Fudge Swirl