Lie (Betrothed 8)

If it were somebody else, it might not have turned out that way. That was what I chose to tell myself to get through it, to consider it an accomplishment rather than a regret. Getting my ass beaten was worth it if it saved lives. “I think I’m still recovering from that cold…”

“That was like a month ago. And wasn’t it the flu?”

“Yeah. Same difference.”

Anna handed the tab to the waitress so she could charge the card. “Uh, not the same thing at all…”

I needed to change the subject quickly. “What’s new with you?”

She shrugged. “I’ve had a lot to do at the hotel since Sofia went on maternity leave. She’s due any day…really exciting. Sometimes I think Hades is more excited than she is.”

“That’s sweet.” I’d been around Hades a lot for the last ten years, and it was interesting to watch him evolve from a heartless man into a loving husband and devoted father. “You and Damien talk about having kids?”

Her demeanor completely changed at the question. She had been happy a few seconds ago, but now a heavy rain cloud cast a shadow over her face. “Yes. But I’m not sure how easy it will be for us to conceive since I had a miscarriage with Liam.”

“I’m sorry, Anna.” There was nothing I could say to heal that kind of wound.

The waitress set the bill at the edge of the table and walked away.

Anna grabbed the paper and signed the receipt. “You’d think I would get over it because it’d been so many years now, but I never have. I don’t think I ever will.”

“You’re not the only woman to feel that way. And I wouldn’t be afraid to have children in the future. Miscarriages are common, a lot more common than people realize. So, don’t assume the worst.”

She nodded.

“Does that mean you’ll get married soon?” This was the question I’d been waiting to ask. I had been waiting for the perfect time to strike.

She released a slight chuckle. “Well, that’s up to him.”

“Bullshit, it’s up to him.” I shook my head dramatically. “If you want to get married, tell him that. Or ask him yourself.”

She released a chuckle. “No…Damien would not like that.”

“So, then are you ready?” This was the answer I needed.

She shrugged. “I wanted to wait awhile before I got remarried, mainly out of principle, but I’ve been living with Damien for months now and it just feels right. My previous life with Liam…it’s like it never happened. It’s strange. I feel like Damien is the person I was supposed to be with all along.”

That was the most romantic thing I’d ever heard. “That’s heavy stuff.”

“I wish I could take it slower, but I don’t think I can control what we have. There’s no hurry, but I’m in a rush to be with this man forever, like we’re going to run out of time or something.”

“It took you so long to really be together, so maybe you’re scared something’s gonna happen…but it’s not.”

“Yeah.” She gave a slight smile and returned her card to her purse. “Whether he asked me now or later, it doesn’t matter. I’ll say yes. For now, at least we’re together.”

My father was an excellent chess player, and he taught me everything I knew. But I had youth and a strategic mind, so it was easy to kick his ass every single time. But since I was a good daughter, I threw the game half the time so he wouldn’t feel defeated.

He stared at the board as he tried to decide his next move. I already knew what he was going to do because he only had two good options. But I had a rebuttal against each one, and the result was the same.

I’d win.

That was why I was such a good chess player.

I knew all the moves of my opponent before he made them, so I was always ready to demolish them. It was like being a warlord, anticipating your opponent’s moves and destroying them the second they took a step. He continued to stare at the board without blinking.

I glanced at my watch on my wrist to see the time. “Daddy, come on.”

He held up his hand to silence me.

I rolled my eyes and looked out the window.

“I’m an old man, sweetheart. Takes me a lot longer to think things through than it does for you.” His once-handsome face was covered with wrinkles, and his dark hair had turned gray once he hit seventy. He was still a good-looking man, but his youth had vanished completely. It was hard to see him like that because I knew he didn’t have much time left on this earth, at least not with his full faculties. He was much older than my mother and had us late in life. It was one of the reasons I wanted to have my first kid at thirty, to be young enough to enjoy them as adults.