Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 60268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 301(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 60268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 301(@200wpm)___ 241(@250wpm)___ 201(@300wpm)
“Yes, hit me, baby. Make it hurt. I’m so sorry.”
His words stopped her. Hardy wanted her to hurt him to make his cheating seem fine. No, she wasn’t going to make it easy on him. It wasn’t fair.
Shaking her head, she pulled away from him, tugging her knees up to her chest. “I don’t want you to touch me.”
“Rose?”
“You promised you’d never hurt me. You’ve hurt me, you hateful bastard.”
She stared out of the window.
“I know. I will make it up to you. I promise. I’ll never hurt you again.”
A couple of days later Rose found herself still living with Hardy, but she’d moved into the spare bedroom. The thought of him touching her filled her with so much regret.
****
“I’ve told you to go,” Hardy said, pushing the club whore away. He couldn’t believe what he’d done. Seeing the shock, the pain, and the utter disgust on Rose’s face had awakened something within him. He didn’t know why he’d cheated on Rose. There was no fucking reason to. She was still the love of his life. The only woman he’d ever fucking loved, and he’d ruined it. He was a fucking asshole, and for the past couple of weeks, he’d been in hell. It was all his own fault. Rose had been reaching out to him, and he’d pushed her away. It wasn’t like the club whore was anything special either. She was a bitch and in no way compared to Rose. Something had lured him into this woman’s bed, and right now, he wasn’t even tempted. Rose was in the house, still keeping her distance, and he couldn’t have her hurt anymore.
He’d done enough damage.
“I’m pregnant.”
No, no, no, no, fuck no.
Hardy was hit in the chest because he finally realized why he’d cheated on Rose. He’d been so fucking fed up with her being depressed about not being able to have kids, that he’d stopped going home, tired of her moping around. His own selfishness had done this to them.
“Hardy, don’t push her away,” Rose said, coming up behind him. “You were more than happy to have your dick in her.”
Even as she spoke the words with a coldness that surprised him, Hardy saw the real pain in her eyes. She was so sad, so pained, so hurt.
This is all your fault.
You hurt her.
“Come on in,” Rose said.
Before the end of the day Rose had agreed to adopt his kid, raise it as her own, and pay the club whore off. Hardy didn’t understand why they couldn’t have children of their own, but she’d been so sad the day she told him, he’d not pressured her. No one needed to know what happened. For the first time since he’d made a mistake, Rose looked so damned happy, and in a messed up way, he was giving her something back.
He helped her to prepare the second spare room as a nursery. During the next three months they grew closer, and Hardy was hopeful they would get past what he’d done. Weeks before their baby was due to be born, they got the tragic news. The club whore and his kid were both killed in a car accident. He’d not taken the time to remember the woman’s name who carried his kid. Not once did he care about her, or even give her any real thought.
After their chance of finally having a kid ended, Rose seemed to go into some kind of trance. Hardy stayed with her throughout it all trying to get through to her. He couldn’t reach her as they went through their days, passing the time. For the longest time Rose didn’t talk to him. She visited the graveside of the club whore and their unborn baby.
Nothing.
The days passed, and so did the weeks. Hardy didn’t rush her.
Finally, one day Rose came out of the spare bedroom looking like a different woman. She wore a short mini skirt, tight shirt, with heavy makeup, along with her hair curled. Rose looked like sex on legs, and his cock went instantly hard at the sight of her.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“It’s party night, Hardy. It’s Saturday, and no one parties better than The Skulls.” She reached out taking his hand. “Let’s go and party.”
Hardy didn’t question Rose’s change. He was afraid to. He was afraid that if he questioned her, she’d pull away, casting him out of her life forever.
It was easier to deal with Rose’s new appearance and change than it was to consider life without her. Looking back, he shouldn’t have gone to that party. He should have stayed at home, and made her talk to him.
Hindsight is always a beautiful thing looking back.
Chapter One
Present day
“Hardy, stop fussing,” Rose said, slapping his hands away from her. She’d just told him she was pregnant, and he’d picked her up, carrying her upstairs toward his room. Sitting on his bed, she couldn’t help but take a look around his room. It was a mess with dirty clothes strewn around all over. She’d not been to his room in a long time.