Committed (Betrothed 4)

Maddox was quiet for a while before he responded. “Good. I need you here.”

“Bye.”

Before I could hang up, Maddox spoke. “Congratulations on your son. I hear he’s beautiful.”

I turned the speaker away from my mouth so he couldn’t hear me breathe hard. Icicles formed in my blood because I turned so cold. I still held my son in my arms and rocked him gently, but all the muscles in my body tightened because I wanted to chop off his head. “Come near my son, and I’ll kill you.”

“Whoa…chill. It’s all good.”

I spoke through gritted teeth. “Don’t threaten my son again.”

“Threaten? I believe I gave you a compliment.”

“Fuck you. You know what you did.”

“Hades, let’s both take a deep breath and calm down. You’re probably just sleep deprived and a little on edge.”

When I looked at Andrew, he was still calm. The same fascination was still written in his eyes.

“I probably wouldn’t care so much about your son if you were here. Just something to think about.” He hung up.

I set my phone on the table beside me and stared into the darkness. The lights were off, but I could feel the red tint creep into my vision. Both of my hands tightened into fists, and I felt the blood lust pump in my heart.

As if Andrew could feel everything I felt, he opened his mouth and began to wail.

I waited until the next morning before I told Sofia I had to go. It seemed like she’d been dreading this moment since I’d arrived because she hadn’t mentioned it once. Over the course of the last two weeks, we’d fallen right into our old relationship, and it felt like we were husband and wife once again. I knew she didn’t want that to end. God knew I didn’t want it to end either.

But now it was time to close the curtain and walk away…for good.

Andrew had breakfast and then was put down for his early afternoon nap. He preferred to sleep with us at night, but during the day, he was fine with the crib, probably because the sun was still out.

I walked into the bedroom and grabbed my bag from the closet.

The instant Sofia noticed my movements, she visibly clenched, like a schoolboy about to be slugged in the stomach. And she refused to look at the bag. She even refused to look at me. Pretending the moment didn’t exist was easier than allowing it to be real.

I didn’t want it to be real either.

I put the strap over my shoulder and waited for her to turn toward me. I would give her the time she needed to tame her watery tears and rip off the bandage that would tear her skin. I pitied her heart, but I pitied mine so much more. She would get everything…and I would get nothing.

With her arms crossed over her chest and her gaze out the window, she let the minutes trickle by as she composed her response. She probably rehearsed every argument she wanted to make, but then realized there was no fight she could win. Our relationship couldn’t work, and now that we had a son, it worked even less.

She finally turned to me once she had enough courage. Her green eyes were slightly glossy, and she pressed her lips together tightly as if she wanted to stop them from trembling. Her body was still recovering from the miraculous thing she did, giving birth to another person, so she wore baggy clothes to hide what she saw as her flaws.

They weren’t flaws to me.

She walked toward me with her arms crossed over her chest, her eyes on the ground. She stopped in front of me, her long dark hair pulled over one shoulder and her plump lips begging for comfort.

How could I say goodbye to the love of my life?

I kept a stoic expression, and my emotions were hidden in a cage. I was about to do the hardest thing I’d ever have to do. She would hate me, and I hoped she would because it would make all of this a lot easier.

“I’m not ready for you to go yet…” She’d just had a baby, so she was exhausted. Her makeup was absent, and she didn’t have time to do her hair. Her glow was gone because Andrew took it with him. But she was still the most stunning thing I’d ever seen. Listening to her ask me to stay was practically poetic.

“I don’t want to leave either.”

She moved closer into me and cupped my face. There was so much love in her eyes, love that had been absent for most of our relationship. Now it shone bright, like the North Star in a sea of clouds. She pressed her forehead to mine and took a deep breath. She closed her eyes for a moment before she kissed me.