"Really?" Summer let out a scoff. "You despised me. You didn't want me in your life."
"That's because I was hurt," he said honestly, the pain evident in his eyes. "I loved you. Believing you had betrayed me shattered me. I couldn't accept it."
"Yes," she said with a bitter curl of her lips, "you loved me so deeply that you slept with Danica the moment I left. You got her pregnant. And now you still dare to say you love me? Don't you find that hypocritical?"
"You have no idea what hearing about your death did to me," Gideon shot back. "I was devastated—completely. Every moment felt like hell. The pain, the loss… I couldn't endure it. I was drunk…"
His voice rose sharply at the last words. "I don't even know how I ended up with Danica. When I woke up the next morning, she was beside me."
Summer gave a hollow laugh, wiping away her tears. "How convenient. You were grieving for me, got drunk, and ended up sleeping with your brother's fiancée."
