Uncovering You 5: Confessions Read Online Free PDF Page A

point, Rose and Charles sneak off. I only realize they’re gone when it’s just me and Stonehart in the room.
    My gut tightens in immediate apprehension. This is the moment I’ve been dreading all night.
    Stonehart, who was about to sit beside me, senses my stiffness and backs off. He strides to the opposite wall and looks at his reflection in the dark glass.
    “So,” he finally exhales, turning to me, “I trust you had a good time tonight?”
    I nod, maintaining appearances. I need to be polite.
    “I enjoyed myself, too,” he tells me. He seems to be struggling with something. His jaw works as his eyes look me over.
    I sit stiff as a statue.
    “Listen, Lilly, I—” he cuts off, clamps his mouth shut. A moment later, he tries again.
    “I—I don’t want you to despise me. I know it’s a stretch. But I still hold out hope that it’s not too late.”
    Alarm bells go off in my head. My nails dig deep into the armrest.
    He sighs again. “It’s not often I admit that I’m wrong,” he says. “It’s not often that I am wrong. But I’m starting to think that I was, with you.”
    I try to remain passive, but his words spark a sudden attentiveness in me.
    “It’s your strength that astounds me,” he continues when I don’t speak. His back is still toward me, but I can see his expression against the window. It looks pained, conflicted. Torn. “When I first brought you here, not once did I think that you would hold out for so long. I did not intend for you to suffer for so long.”
    He gives a mirthless chuckle and glances back at me. Our eyes meet for a split second. His dart away first.
    “I know you’ve suffered, Lilly. I watched you in that room. I saw you through the cameras. When I presented you with the contract, I thought that you would sign it in a matter of days. 'A week, tops,’ I told myself. ‘There is no way she will hold out for more.’
    “But you surprised both of us. You remained there, firm in your resolve, for six weeks. Six weeks. That’s nearly two months, Lilly. That was… unbelievable.”
    He trails off. I don’t dare move. This is the closest we’ve ever come to discussing my… imprisonment.
    I can’t interrupt. Not now.
    “Your continuous act of defiance made me realize how strong you really were. And then, when you told Rose my name, before I made it known I was holding you here—well, that was also something that left a great impression on me.”
    He turns to a liquor cabinet. He takes a tumbler out and pours himself a splash of scotch. He offers the bottle to me.
    I shake my head, afraid that a single word on my part will break the confession.
    He shrugs, tips the scotch back, and downs it in one swallow. Then he drops in two fresh ice cubes. He pours some more liquor in, this time swirling the glass until the ice clinks against the sides.
    He walks toward me, but does not sit at my side. Instead, he takes the seat across the coffee table
    He drops his head back to look up at the tall ceiling.
    “I knew you would be tough to break,” he continues finally. “That is why I treated you so harshly. The TGBs, my expectations, the rules, the way I presented myself to you—all of it was to teach you that I was in control. I had to make you ready for the things I had planned for you.”
    “What sort of things?” I ask softly, not knowing if I even want to hear the answer.
    “Great things.” He looks at me and smiles. “Great things, Lilly. Opportunities that you cannot even imagine. The Dextran offer was just a start.”
    “You mean—that’s actually real ?” I ask. I know I expressed my incredulity before, many times, but Stonehart is in a mood I’ve never seen before. An indulgent mood.
    “Yes,” he says. He stands up. I’ve never seen it this difficult for him to keep still.
    “When you met Esteban—you remember that day, don’t you? I thought we were making progress, you and I. I thought—and forgive me for being so blunt—that there was a trust