Committed (Betrothed 4)

“Asshole, I didn’t try to get your wife raped. Don’t put that shit on me. Sofia doesn’t, so you shouldn’t either.”

“She has a bigger heart than I do.”

“No. You don’t have a heart at all.”

My eyes narrowed.

“Just forget it.” He threw his arms up. “We’ll only speak to each other at work when we have to, and we’ll spend the rest of the time pretending the other one doesn’t exist. You’ll have more kids that I’ll never meet, and all the shit going on my life will be a mystery to you. We’ll turn into strangers, and after enough years pass by, maybe we’ll forget we were ever friends in the first place.” He walked past me and shoved me aside with his arm on his way to the door. “Have a good fucking life.”

28

Sofia

Hades told me he loved me, that he was leaving the business that had caused so much suffering for both of us. It was a relief that he’d made the decision on his own because I never could’ve asked. After everything he had done for me, I would stick by his side no matter what. But he’d made the right choice for our family.

And I didn’t even have to ask.

Now, I wouldn’t have to worry about someone coming after me to get back at him. And I wouldn’t have to worry about someone hurting my baby boy. The best way to disappear from danger was to disappear altogether.

While things had definitely changed, he hadn’t asked me to move in yet.

Things were going so well that I didn’t want to risk our happiness by asking for too much. I wanted to be in my old bed with Hades beside me every night. I wanted to feel safe, knowing he was there to protect me and our son. I wanted to feel the weight of my diamond ring on my left hand every night as I slept.

But I had to keep being patient.

I got Andrew ready before I called Hades.

He answered right away, but he was clearly in a bad mood. “Yeah?”

He hadn’t spoken to me that way in a long time, so I let it slide. “Everything okay?”

“Just a shitty day.”

“I was going to see if we could come over, but I’ll give you your space.” It was another reason why I missed being married, because I couldn’t comfort him when he walked through the door. I couldn’t be a part of his bad days as well as his good days if I had a different address. I had to give him space…even if I didn’t want to. “I’ll talk to you later.”

He didn’t respond. He lingered on the phone but didn’t have anything to say.

“Bye.”

“Baby, I want you to come over. Both of you.”

It’d been so long since he’d last called me baby that it brought tears to my eyes. It was such an affectionate endearment, a warm blanket that wrapped around me so tightly. I preferred it over my real name, at least from his lips. I was glad he couldn’t see me so he wouldn’t have to see how red and puffy my face instantly became. “Good…because being with you is the only place I want to be.” The tears escaped in my voice and made it obvious I was crying.

He paused again. “Bring some extra stuff to leave here this time.”

It was hard to remember what my life was like before Andrew because he was so wonderful. But there was one thing I missed about my previous life, and that was having Hades whenever I wanted.

When I walked through the door, he was shirtless and beautiful, with the scruff around his jaw that I liked. The fire in the fireplace was roaring, so he looked like a sexy man on the cover of a romance book. I wanted to push his sweatpants over his narrow hips and take him then and there.

But I had a baby now.

I set the car seat on the bed then kissed him on the lips. “Hey.”

He slid his hand into my hair then kissed me again, as if that first embrace wasn’t good enough. He kissed me harder and devoured my lips, leaving me breathless before he pulled away. “That’s how I expect you to greet me.”

My hands moved up his chest, and I rested my forehead against his chin. “I’d love to.”

He kissed my forehead before he turned his attention on Andrew. He picked him up out of the car seat and held him with a single arm. “Hey, boy.” He kissed him on the forehead then came back to me.

There was nothing sexier than watching him hold our son like that.

After we talked about Andrew for a little bit, we moved to the couch and sat down. Hades played with Andrew for a while until he got tired. Then he just held him. He seemed to be in a much better mood than he had been on the phone earlier.