Chapter: 1621

"No, Aimee, please," Nikolas softened his voice, desperation creeping into his tone. "I kept you out of it because I didn't want us to get pulled into their mess. Jonathan's problems aren't mine! I'm not him!"

“Can you honestly stand there and tell me Jonathan never told you he was thinking of leaving Bethany?"

Mistrust hung between them, thick as fog.

Nikolas could feel it-Aimee had already decided the truth for herself, and no amount of persuasion was going to shift her view.

"I swear I didn't know!" Nikolas insisted, his voice cracking slightly under the weight of his own panic. "He only said he was feeling down after his mom passed. I thought it was grief, nothing more. After that, we didn't stay in touch much."