Bound By Lies - Rafe Cameron

Chapter 60

The steel door slams shut behind me with a heavy, resounding clang that echoes through the small, sterile room. The sound reverberates in my chest, making my heart pound harder, faster, as I force myself to walk forward.

The room is cold and empty, with only a single metal table bolted to the floor and a thick glass partition separating the visitors from the inmates. My shoes squeak softly against the linoleum as I step up to the table, my gaze locked on the man seated on the other side.

Rafe.

He's already there, his posture tense, his eyes wide and anxious as they meet mine. He looks... different. His hair is a mess, his shirt wrinkled and stained, and there's a haunted, almost desperate look in his eyes. But he's still Rafe. Still the same boy I've sacrificed everything for.

"Teresa..." he breathes, his voice low and shaky as he leans forward, his hands gripping the edge of the table tightly. "I didn't think you'd come."

I want to scream at him. I want to reach through the glass and slap him, shake him, make him understand what he's done. What he's made me do. But I can't. The rage is too thick, the hurt too deep, and all I can do is stand there, staring at him, my hands trembling at my sides.

"Of course, I came," I say softly, my voice barely more than a whisper. "How could I not?"

He flinches slightly, like he wasn't expecting the words, like he wasn't expecting me. There's something vulnerable in his eyes—something that almost makes me want to reach out, to comfort him.

Almost.

"Teresa," he murmurs again, his fingers twitching as if he's fighting the urge to reach for me. "Baby, I'm so—"

"Don't," I cut him off sharply, shaking my head. "Don't say you're sorry. Don't say anything. Just... just shut up, Rafe."

His mouth snaps shut, his eyes widening as he stares at me, his gaze flickering with a mix of confusion and pain. For a moment, neither of us says anything, the silence stretching between us, thick and suffocating.

And then, the dam breaks.

"Do you have any idea what you've put me through?" I hiss, the anger simmering just beneath the surface.

"You made me lie," I whisper, my voice trembling with anger and hurt. "You made me sit there and lie to everyone, to my dad, to people who trusted me. You made me betray my aunt, Rafe."

"Teresa, I—"

"I lied for you," I snap, cutting him off again, my chest heaving with every breath. "I destroyed everything I had left for you. And for what? So I could sit here, looking at you through a fucking piece of glass, while you threaten to kill people in court like a goddamn psycho?"

He flinches at the word, his gaze dropping to the table, his hands tightening around the edge. "I didn't mean to—"

"Didn't mean to?" I let out a harsh, bitter laugh, shaking my head. "You threatened to kill Kiara, Rafe. In front of half the police department. While you were in handcuffs. You could've ruined everything!"

"I know!" he snaps, his voice rising as he looks up at me, desperation and frustration flashing in his eyes. "I know, okay? I fucked up. I just—when I saw her touch you, when I saw the way they were looking at you like they could hurt you... I lost it. I can't stand it, Teresa. I can't stand anyone hurting you."

"Hurting me?" I repeat, the words dripping with disbelief and anger. "You think this isn't hurting me?"

Rafe's expression crumples, pain etched into every line of his face. He opens his mouth, but no sound comes out, and for a second, he looks so lost, so broken, that it almost—almost—makes me want to forgive him.