Page 138 of You + Me – Against the World

“No…”

“So, it’s your fucking doppelganger in this photo?”

“No. I went to her place, once. Only once.”

“That’s already one lie,” I murmur.

He steps closer.

I take a step back.

“She’d drunk too much. I just took her home. And yes, she came on to me that night.”

“Second lie.”

“I kept that to myself,” he admits, “so you wouldn’t get the wrong idea.”

“Wow, that’s so generous of you. Should I give you a medal?”

“Alma…”

“But that doesn’t exactly explain why you’ve got your head between her thighs, you—”

“Look!” he yells, holding my cell an inch from my face. “She’s dressed, and so am I!”

I try to ignore the screen, but he doesn’t back down.

“She’d just dropped a vase on the floor. She was drunk! Or maybe she did it on purpose. In any case, all I did was bend down to pick up the pieces of shattered glass. And when she put her hand in my hair, I left immediately. I promise you! I should have realized that everything was calculated—"

“Vadim Arcadi, victim of a treacherous plot… Yeah, right! That is such a lame excuse. Cheyenne’s always wanted you, and she finally got her claws into you, end of story!”

I snatch my phone from his hands.

“Alma, think about it. If something really had happened, the stalker would have taken a much more compromising photo. You believe me, right? I know deep down you believe me…”

I’m starting to believe him.

Vadim suddenly leans against the low wall, as if he’s had the wind knocked out of him.

“I just figured it out,” he says.

“What?”

“Alma, I think I finally know who’s behind all this. I’ve been such an idiot!”

“That’s an understatement…”

“I’m never going to hang out with Cheyenne again, I promise you. She’s in on it, I’m sure! I need proof, but soon, everything will become clear.”

Vadim takes a step closer and cups my cheeks in his hands.

“I’m asking you to trust me one last time,” he whispers, looking me right in the eyes.

I can feel his breath against my face, the faint scent of his cologne, the warmth radiating from his body. My armor is beginning to crack.

“And I’m asking you to leave.” I lower my eyes.

“Don’t give up. Not yet. You + Me… It’s stronger than this.”