Heartbreak You (Heartbreak Duet 2)

But if he doesn’t, why is it growing?

Love is a fickle bitch.

I will not be like my parents, where love blinded them, and they couldn’t see clearly.

I see very clearly, and I know better.

Or, so I keep telling myself.

Chapter Eight

Lucy

“Lucy.” Atlas says my name, and I smile at this dark and beautiful man.

I love Atlas with everything I am.

“I am not at your beck and call, so stop calling me.”

I call and call because I know he will come eventually. And like now, here he is, standing at our front door. His devilish face is in full view, and I have to hold myself back from stepping up and kissing him.

He isn’t accepting my kisses right now.

But he will.

I know he will, eventually.

I reach out and grab his hand, placing it on my belly.

“She’s kicking,” I tell him. When I look up at him, his eyebrows are pinched as he stares at my belly. “What should we name her?” I ask.

“Her?” he questions. Then as if the spell is broken, he pulls his hand back and shakes his head. “That’s up to you, Lucy. Now, what was so urgent you needed me here?”

“Am I a prisoner?” I ask. My hands rest on my belly, which is getting bigger and bigger. If only it was his child and not his cousin’s.

“No, but you know this,” he tells me.

“So, I can go wherever I want?”

“Yes, Lucy.”

“I want to go back to yours, it’s lonely here all by myself.”

“Make some friends. Call your sister.”

I scrunch my nose up at his words. “What? I don’t want anything to do with Thea, never have,” I spit back at him. “Why you did is beyond me.”

Atlas stares at me, and at first, he doesn’t blink. I offer him a small smile, and he shakes his head as if coming out of some sort of reverie.

“Call your sister and stop being a spoiled brat.” Atlas goes to step away, but I reach for him, grabbing his arm. He stops, and his eyes fall to where my hand is on his arm, then back up to mine. “I didn’t say you could touch me, Lucy. Remove. Your. Hand.”

“But she can touch you?” My hand drops away from his arm.

“Theadora was allowed to,” he tells me. His eyes, almost golden right now. They draw me in but make me mad when they sparkle at the mention of her name.

“Is she still allowed to?” I ask.

“That’s none of your concern. Now, stop calling me. I’m helping you in honor of Benji, nothing more, Lucy. You better start thinking about how you can become a great mother.” His eyes drop to my belly.

“You’ll help me raise her, won’t you?” I ask. “I don’t know how I can do this by myself.”

“Mothers everywhere do it by themselves, and you can too,” he replies.

As he goes to leave, I reach for him again. “You don’t love her, do you?”

I watch him carefully. He flinches at my words and narrows his eyes.

“You do.” I gasp. “Oh my God, you do.”

“You don’t know what you’re talking about, Lucy. Go to bed, it’s late.”

I let go of him and step back through the door. “I could stop you thinking about her,” I tell him.

“Lucy, you will do no such thing. Stay away from her.”

I twirl a piece of my hair around my fingers. “It could be so easy, just slip something in her drink, and—”

Atlas’s hand is fast as it reaches for me. He goes to grab my neck but stops himself short and grasps my shoulder instead. “Stay the fuck away from her, Lucy, and start thinking like a fucking sister should.” His eyes drop to my baby bump. “You will want Theadora around for her.” He nods to my belly.

“No, I will not. I will have you.”

“I don’t like kids. And one that’s yours, more than likely not.”

“You say you don’t like me, but you’re always protecting me,” I point out.

“The first time was business until I saw her, then I didn’t kill you because upsetting Theadora was not on my agenda.” His eyes narrow. “You live because she does. If she stops living, Lucy, so do you. I will find a good home for that baby, and it will never have to know what a fucked-up mother you are.”

Before I can stop myself, I throw myself at him and lock my lips to his. He can’t talk like that he just doesn’t understand how we are meant to be together.

His hands touch my sides, and I grip around his neck, holding on to him tight. I move my lips and try to gain access but have no luck.

I moan, and he pushes, but I won’t be pushed away that easily. You have to fight for what you love, and Atlas is the man I love and have loved, long before he fell for my sister or even met her.