Temptation (The Hunted, #1)(60)

"No! Well, yes. But that has nothing to do with anything. I found your ring, Professor Hunter." I could feel the tears welling in my eyes.

He nodded his head, absorbing the information. But there was a slight smile on his face. Why the hell did he look relieved? What else was he hiding from me? He was such an ass.

"So you have nothing to say to that?" I asked.

"It's not what you think." He put his hand through his hair.

Stop doing sexy things! "And what is it that you think I'm thinking?"

He raised his left eyebrow. Damn it! Don't look at me like that! All the muscles below my waist seemed to clench. This car was stifling. The smell of him was everywhere, wearing me down.

"You're probably thinking that I'm a lying cheater that you want nothing to do with."

I swallowed hard. "Am I wrong?"

"Yes."

"Enlighten me." I couldn't believe I was having this conversation, with my professor no less. This situation was unbearable. I could feel myself starting to sweat.

"First of all, I never lied to you. I withheld information that I deemed unimportant to our relationship..."

"Unimportant? You're such an asshole," I said, cutting him off. I grabbed the door handle.

"Penny." He put his hand on my shoulder. His touch made me tingle.

"And you did lie to me. At the country club when you said you didn't relish sharing me, you made me believe that I wasn't sharing you either. You even denied having a girlfriend. If I had known you were married..." my voice trailed off as I started to cry.

"Penny, please don't cry." Professor Hunter reached over and wiped my tears from my cheek.

"Don't touch me." I pushed his hand away. "How could you do this to me? Why didn't you just tell me then? I trusted you!"

"Because Isabella and I are over."

"What? You're divorced?" I sunk into the passenger's seat. Thank God. I wasn't a mistress. I felt the weight fly off my shoulders. "You still could have told me."

He sighed. "It's just a matter of finalizing the paperwork. I would have told you once it was official. I just didn't want to upset you for no reason."

"So you're technically still married right now?"

"Technically, yes, but I've already signed the divorce papers. It hasn't been a smooth process. But I have no connection to Isabella at all. We're done. We've been done for a long time."

I stared at him, waiting for him to elaborate. Why was he so horrible at talking to me? "Well, what happened?"

He pressed his lips together. "We didn't love each other."

"Then why did you get married in the first place?"

"It's a long story."

I turned toward him and pulled my legs up onto the seat. "I have some time to spare."

Professor Hunter looked uncomfortable. He leaned toward me slightly and put his hand on the center console. "Do you really want to talk about this, Penny? All you need to know is that it was a mistake and it's over."

"Please. I need to know." I put my hand on top of his. I wanted him to open up to me. I didn't want there to be any more secrets between us.

Professor Hunter squeezed my hand. "Okay." He sighed. "Isabella's parents are good friends with my parents. Ever since we were little, our parents always pushed us together. But I just never clicked with her. She was always so cold.

"In high school, I started dating a girl named Rachel. Whenever Rachel came over my house, my parents were completely dismissive. It was clear that they didn't think she was good enough to be part of our family. They always made her feel so unwelcome. When I finally confronted them about it, they told me that if I didn't break up with Rachel they wouldn't pay for me to go to college. And I'm not proud of what I did. My life with them was all that I knew. I didn't want to have to be on my own. I didn't know how to live without money. I was young and stupid."

Professor Hunter was looking down at my hand. He rubbed my palm with his thumb. The pain on his face almost made me start crying again. He must have loved Rachel. But I didn't feel jealous, I just felt sad for him. I wanted to climb over into his seat and hug him.

"I broke up with Rachel the next day. And my parents began to make it clear that I was expected to eventually marry Isabella. Isabella was the only one they would ever approve of. They said that it was in my best interest to marry someone that wasn't after my money. I was so unhappy. When I told you that I was drunk most of college, I was serious. I completely lost it. I spiraled to the bottom. But my parents just kept telling me it was what was best. So eventually I just accepted the fact that I had to marry Isabella. Instead of worrying about it, I threw all my time and energy into the tech company I wanted to start. And when it blew up, I asked Isabella to marry me, because that was the next step I was supposed to take. Before I even realized what was happening, the wedding was planned, and everyone had been invited. I knew I didn't love her, but I walked down the aisle anyway. And I made promises to her. I vowed to keep those promises. And I did. I tried so hard to make it work.

"But she didn't love me either. She enjoyed dressing up and playing the part of my wife. Isabella loved the lifestyle, but she didn't love me. She was cold when we were alone. We barely talked. I knew she slept around. I tried to ignore it. I wanted for us to work out because our parents wanted us to be together. Neither one of us were happy. But she was still my wife, so I kept trying to make it work. I was always loyal to her. I tried to make her happy. When I decided to sell my company she freaked out. She couldn't believe that I'd rather spend my days doing something meaningful. And she definitely didn't support my decision. It's funny, because my parents told me we should be together because she wasn't after my money. But really, the only reason that Isabella married me was because I had money."