Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 23667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23667 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 118(@200wpm)___ 95(@250wpm)___ 79(@300wpm)
When I don’t say anything more, he asks, “And? What are you thinking?”
I close my eyes and shake my head. “You know, in the past, you would have talked to me about something like this before you did it instead of after the fact.”
He bursts out a laugh. “Yeah, well, that’s sort of hard to do since you’ve left me.”
“I didn’t leave you,” I blurt out but just as quickly follow up with “Not really. Not like that.”
His voice is void of emotion. “Well, that’s sure the hell what it feels like.” He grunts. “You’re my wife. You sleep in another house, another bed. I don’t ever see you. It sure as hell feels like you left me.”
I lean my head back and look at the ceiling. “I needed a break.”
“From me?”
I throw a hand up. “From everything, but you know what, this is a perfect example, Robert. You can say you didn’t talk to me about this because I had moved out, but if I was there, you would have made the decision on your own without asking me what I thought.”
“Ellie, you know it’s not just us. We have the whole family to think about, and right now we look weak.”
“Because of me,” I blurt out. “You think we look weak because I moved out?”
Instead of answering, he urges, “It’s time to come home, Ellie.”
I blow out a breath. “I’m not coming home just because you’re worried about keeping up appearances.”
He raises his voice. “I don’t give a fuck what people think. I want my wife back.”
I count to five to try and keep myself calm. But as soon as I finish, I blurt out, “You don’t want a wife. You want someone to stand next to you and make your life easier. You want to take, take, take and give nothing in return. Well, that’s no longer the life I want.”
“Ellie, this is enough. You’ve proved your point.”
I laugh out loud. “No, obviously you’re not listening to me. I’m not trying to prove a point. I’m taking a break.”
There’s no hiding the annoyance in his voice. “You knew what you were getting yourself into when you married me, Eleanor. You knew what living the Mafia life entailed.”
Slowly, I answer, “Yeah, I did. But I didn’t know that I would be losing myself along the way.”
CHAPTER 2
ROBERT
I suck in a breath.
Eleanor hasn’t been herself for a while, but I thought she was happy.
I should have listened to her; I should have done something. Walking out should never have been an option.
“Ellie, we can fix this.”
“What if I don’t want to fix it? What if I say I’m happy here by myself?”
It feels like my heart is being wrenched from my chest. “What?” I ask with a gasp.
She blows out a breath. “Bobby, we can’t keep doing this. You want things one way, and I want them another. If we can’t meet in the middle then—”
I cut her off. “You’re not leaving me, Ellie. I won’t let you.”
I can tell she’s out of patience by the tone of her voice. “Then things are going to have to change. If you want me back… prove it.”
I open my mouth but slam it closed. I’ve been down this road before. I know that she’s not going to listen to my demands. I clench my eyes shut and shake my head. Since she walked out on me, my life has been hell. I’ve been making rash decisions, I’m barely sleeping, and I feel like my heart is broken. No, I can’t keep going this way. I have to fix this.
“Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”
She’s silent, no doubt surprised that I’m willing to give in.
I’m a stubborn man and used to getting my way, but what Eleanor doesn’t know is that I will do anything to keep her.
But the fact she’s not saying anything spooks me a little bit. “Ellie, talk to me. I can’t lose you. I can’t. I’ll do anything.”
Still nothing. I start to panic. “Do you love me?”
When she doesn’t answer immediately, I plead with her. “Baby, talk to me. Do you love me?”
I hold my breath, waiting for her to answer.
Her voice is just a whisper. “Yes, of course I love you, but…”
I shake my head and stand up, gripping my phone even tighter. “No buts. If you love me, we can fix this. We will fix this.”
She sighs softly. “Robert, we need—”
“I’ll just head over there now and help you pack up.”
“Robert.”
My shoulders loosen. “And then we can put this all behind us.”
“Stop!” she shouts into the phone. “I’m not coming home. Not yet. Not until I know that things are going to change, Bobby.”
I grunt. “Make your demands then. What do you want?”
Her voice raises an octave. “Make my demands? Look, maybe we should talk about this face to face.”