Forever (Betrothed 7)

I glanced at Damien on the other side of the room. He was focused on the game, figuring out the next move once his father finished his move. Whenever his father was taking his turn, Damien would watch him, as if he were trying to memorize his face so he could think of it when his father was no longer around. When they sat together, it was easy to see the similarities in their appearances. Both men had rugged jaws, hostile eyes, and strong physiques. Damien’s father was in his seventies, and he was still handsome in old age. It made me realize Damien would always be handsome as long as he lived.

“Hello?” When I didn’t respond, Catalina grew impatient.

I turned back to her, realizing I’d gotten so lost in my stare. “I really don’t know. If I step outside the house, I know Liam will try to grab me.”

“Then have Damien kill him. Problem solved.”

I didn’t want violence to be my only answer. Liam and I had nothing anymore, but I could never forget all our memories together. Allowing him to be murdered didn’t sit right with me, even if he was forcing me to take that violent path. “I can’t do that.”

Catalina watched me but didn’t press her argument. “Then you need to figure out something else to do. Because you should be out living life, not stuck in here like a princess locked in a tower. You should be going to work every day, going out for a drink with me every night, and just doing your own thing. You shouldn’t let a man take that away from you. I know I wouldn’t.”

We snuggled together on the couch while the movie played on the TV above the fireplace. I curled into his side with a blanket over my body. His body kept me warm like a heating pad, and the fire filled the entire room with heat, not that we needed it since it was summertime. We both just enjoyed looking at the flames. It was something we’d been doing since we met.

When the movie was over, I sat up and looked at him.

He seemed to know a serious conversation was coming because he grabbed the remote and turned off the TV. “Yes, Annabella?”

“I want to talk to you about something…”

Now that it was quiet with the TV off, he stared at me with his striking green eyes, the flames casting a beautiful glow on his tanned skin. Whenever he was home, he was always in just sweatpants, and it was sexy to see him walk around like that all night. He regarded me with an intense expression, waiting for me to make my point. “Alright.”

“I know we haven’t talked about it much, but what are we gonna do about Liam?” I liked spending my evenings in this castle like I had no cares in the world. It was easy to pretend we didn’t have a problem. But this problem was only going to get worse the longer it was allowed to grow. “I don’t want to talk about him, but I want to find a solution. I want to go back to work. I want us to go out to dinner together. I want us to have more of a relationship.”

He processed all that with a blank expression, as if the mention of my ex didn’t anger him. “How do you expect me to fix this problem? I can’t kill him, so I’ll never be able to stop him.”

“There has to be another solution besides death.”

“There’s not.” He lowered his voice, which made him sound more serious.

“He hasn’t bothered us in a while…”

“Yes, he has. I just didn’t tell you about it.”

Slowly, I started to feel the dread growing in my stomach. I felt slightly betrayed because Damien had hidden this from me, but I knew he did it in my best interest. “What happened?”

“The usual. He threatened me, nothing out of the ordinary.” His sarcasm showed how annoyed he was, how exhausted he was that this was a recurring issue he couldn’t fix with his usual response. “He said I was the reason your relationship failed and I should step away so you guys can try again.”

“Oh my god…”

“He doesn’t get it. He keeps saying the same thing over and over again. His version of reality is so different from yours. I don’t think this is ever gonna go away. And the longer we do nothing, the more likely it is that he’ll be able to take you.”

I didn’t want to believe Liam would really do that, but I didn’t know what to believe anymore. If he was going to get over this, it would’ve happened by now. The fact that he continued to bother Damien told me this was a problem with no solution. “I’m so sorry… I’m sorry you have to go through this. I’m sorry you have to put up with my baggage.”