Bred by the Bully (Breeding Season 8)

She walked to the table and served him some food. With his plate set, she put some on hers, even though eating was the last thing on her mind now.

“How was your day?” she asked.

“Fine. The same stuff happened, just a different day.” Drake scooped up some food and took a bite. “This is delicious.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“So good. How was your day?”

“Made dinner. Cleaned a little, took a nice shower, and then had an epiphany.” She pulled out the strip of pills, tired of this game, and threw them near his plate. Her hands clenched into fists as she looked at him. “Call me surprised, Drake, but it would seem you have been keeping secrets from me.”

“Mira, I have no idea what the hell you mean. I don’t know what these are.”

She snorted. “You know, I thought the same thing. I thought I was being unfair and judging you wrong, but I was the asshole. I was the one who had expected you to take me seriously. I don’t know why the fuck I could even think you’d take me seriously.” She shook her head. “Don’t try to lie to me, Drake. I saw the emails. I know you ordered the pills to look like mine. You swapped them out. Allowed me to take a vitamin rather than my actual birth control pills. You lied to me.” Tears filled her eyes as she stood up.

He got to his feet. “Mira, please, let me explain.”

“What is there to explain? How can you justify lying to me?” She pressed her lips together. “You told me you were a changed man. Changed men do not swap out their wife’s birth control pills, not when she asked you to allow some time to make this work. We haven’t been together long enough, and you go and do something like this.”

She took a step back.

“Mira, damn it, I love you. Okay, I wanted … I wanted to keep you with me. A baby means you’re mine. You will always be mine.”

“For goodness sake, Drake. This isn’t the dark ages. I can leave whenever the hell I want and nothing can stop me. Love me. Trust me. Allow me to see the real you. That’s how you keep me. Not this. I’m already bound to you because the thought of going anywhere else terrifies me. I want to be with you, Drake. As it is, I’m not leaving.” She put a hand on her stomach. “But I’ve moved into the spare bedroom, and I’m not going on the hunt for houses with you. I don’t even know if I want to stay married to you. You’ve hurt me, and I don’t know what to feel about that.”

She turned on her heel and walked to the spare bedroom, closing the door silently behind her before collapsing into a heap on the ground.

****

Drake had fucked up big. There was no doubt about it.

In trying to keep his woman, he’d successfully pushed her away, and now as he sat in his office, he hated himself. Hadn’t he always hated himself? The city looked so fucking happy with the sun shining. The people walking about, going about their lives. It all nauseated him. It had been a month since Mira discovered the pills. A month of him sinking lower and lower into a pit of depression.

Gripping the back of his head, he pressed his forehead to the glass. The irony of his situation was he’d planned to tell Mira that night what he’d done. The guilt had been eating up at him, tearing him apart. She had so many worries when it came to motherhood and her insecurities ate away at him. He’d caused this.

His selfish desires and old insecurities drew him to do this, and now, where was he, sleeping alone.

Mira wouldn’t even eat with him. His food was always prepared, and it was so delicious. He never saw her, though. To see his wife, he had to wait until late at night to sneak into her bedroom to watch her sleep.

Every single night, he was tempted to slip behind her, hold her close, and pretend nothing was going wrong.

Everything was going wrong. Nothing had gone right.

They’d gone to the doctor’s and he had plunged the knife in confirming the pills she’d picked up were not working from the very first day. He’d knocked her up that first night they had sex after their pause to make sure they took effect.

All it had done was deepen the pain.

He missed her so much. He loved his wife and no amount of flowers, chocolate, or jewelry was going to make this right.

Time. He wasn’t a patient man.

His work was affected by the constant distance between them. If his enemies ever found out, they would be laughing at him now. A woman making him fall.