Total pages in book: 134
Estimated words: 129676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 129676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 648(@200wpm)___ 519(@250wpm)___ 432(@300wpm)
“I took away the most precious thing you’ve ever had.” My voice broke. “The father you neede—”
“That wasn’t your fault,” he snapped. “That was Callaghan’s soldiers. Besides, there’s a fucked-up symmetry in this story if you look closely.” A rueful smirk teased his lips. “My father helped you get revenge on the man who killed your father. That’s what family does.”
“Why aren’t you more upset? I just told you I kept a secret from you. Betrayed your confidence.”
“You did what you had to do at the time,” he said emotionlessly. “I’d do the same. It’s easier to forgive mistakes than lies. Because mistakes are never malicious. Lies are. Now, is there anything else you are hiding from me? Any more secrets?”
I shook my head.
“Good.” He nodded, rolled down the window, and snapped his fingers. “Thierry, take us to the airport.”
Gia was silent during the flight back home.
She thought coming clean about what happened with Daniel would make me dump her. Wishful thinking or guilty conscience? Either way, she severely underestimated how invested I was in our endeavor.
When I got the call from Enzo that they were boarding a plane to England, fifteen minutes after I was served divorce papers, my knee-jerk reaction was to drag her back kicking and screaming and remind her that not only was her mother still alive, but I was the only thing standing between her and Tiernan Callaghan putting a bullet in that pretty head of hers.
But when I got to the cemetery and saw how sad she was, something stirred in me. An uncomfortable feeling that landed somewhere between acute anxiety and deep concern.
“Will you let me go once my mother dies?” Gia was sprawled on the seat across from me.
Enzo and Filippo sat at the back of the aircraft, playing cards.
“No,” I answered frankly, not lifting my eyes from my paperwork.
“You keep whining about me not fulfilling my end of the bargain, but you refuse to adhere to the rules yourself?”
“Correct.” I flipped a page. “Since you can’t honor the terms of the arrangement, neither will I.”
“Tate.” She closed her eyes, drawing in a breath. “Please, if you have any shred of humanity in you, release me from this marriage. We both know you’ll never love me, and I desperately need love.”
“I care for you.” My eyes skimmed a particularly tricky clause in the contract.
“You’re infatuated with me,” she corrected. “I’m a prize to you. You’ll get bored of me. The fascination will wear off. Then what?”
I looked up from the contract, putting my pen down. She was honest with me. I might as well reciprocate. Maybe if she understood why I could never love her, she’d learn to accept what I had to offer.
“I was wired not to love from day one.” I lounged back, lacing my fingers together. “Even at our height, after Daniel saved me, nourished me, helped me become who I am today, I still cannot say I truly loved him. Not loving you protects you more than it does me. Trust me.”
“What happened to you at that boarding school?” Her brow knitted.
I told her what I didn’t even tell Daniel in detail. What no other soul in the world knew. About Andrin. About Ares and Apollo and Zeus. About sleepless nights in thick, cold woods. Weaving my way back to safety in the dark, barefoot.
By the time I was done, she was crying. On paper, it was something that would piss me off. In reality, it didn’t. I liked her softness.
“Andrin taught me an important lesson. Everything I love is destined to die. My ultimate way to shield you is not to love you.” I leaned forward, taking her hand in mine, pressing a kiss to her palm. “I don’t know how to love.”
“Bullshit, Tate.” Her eyes flew to me. “Maybe the child whose name I don’t know wasn’t capable of love. But my husband is. I’m sorry no one protected you when you needed it most.” She put her hand on my cheek. “However, my children won’t inherit my trauma, nor yours. They deserve a clean slate. A functional home.”
“I can simulate normal very well,” I said slowly. “I’ve managed to fool everyone for years.”
She faked a smile, but I could see the pain through it. Worse than that, I seemed to feel it on my skin.
My wife stood up, picking up her purse. She strode over to the back of the aircraft, stopping suddenly, glancing at me over her shoulder. “You know what hurts the most?”
I stared at her silently.
“I’m falling in love with you, and I don’t even know your name.”
My jaw ticked, and I dragged my gaze back to the contract in front of me. She was being overtly expressive.
The only thing worth loving in me was sitting in my bank account and investment portfolio.