Second (Betrothed 6)

“I surmised.”

I crossed my legs and stared at the other wall, uncomfortable that we were alone together with a bed just a few feet away. There was no reason to be scared because Damien would never try to do anything again, but my thoughts went into the gutter on their own. “I lost my temper and screamed at him a bit…”

“Understandable.”

“I just don’t understand him…” I propped my chin on my closed knuckles and kept my gaze away from him. “He wanted me back so much, yet I don’t feel like enough for him. He says it’s his passion in life and I’m the one holding him back, but he was the one who said he would go back to it if I didn’t take him back…and now he’s trying to do it anyway.”

Damien was quiet for a long time. “Men want to provide for their families. They want respect, pride, credibility…something to make them look good in front of the people they care about. Hades doesn’t work at the bank because he needs the money. He does it because he wants to do something to feel productive.”

“But Hades isn’t risking his life.”

“I know,” he said calmly. “But there are a lot of women who would like a man like Liam, a man so strong he’d kill a man with his bare hands. A man who’s built like a brick house and earns millions with his strength. He probably just—”

“I loved him when he had nothing. I loved him when he was nothing. He doesn’t have to prove anything to me. If he wants a stupid bimbo to be impressed with the size of his biceps, he shouldn’t have married me.”

“That’s not what I’m saying, Annabella.”

I closed my eyes when he said my full name. He was the only person who ever called me that, and he said it the exact same way every time.

“He’s a man…and that’s how he knows how to be a man. That’s it.”

“Well, he has to choose.”

“He’ll choose you. No doubt.”

I opened my eyes again but wouldn’t look at him. “I don’t know… We both got so angry. I threw a plate on the floor and marched to the front door. He grabbed me and pushed me against a wall. I slapped him and walked out. He didn’t exactly fight for me.”

“He pushed you?” Now his tone was totally different, full of unmistakable threat.

“No. Not really. He just handled me in a way he’s never done before. He grabbed my wrist and pinned me to the wall. It was different…” I could tell Liam regretted it the moment it happened. “After I slapped him, he walked into the bedroom. He took himself away from the situation because he knew he was too angry to stay.”

Now Damien was quiet.

“I haven’t heard from him…”

“I want you to tell me if he ever hurts you.”

I finally had the courage to face him. I saw those green eyes that used to look into mine every day. They were more beautiful when he was provoked, when he had adrenaline and emotion in his veins. “He would never hurt me.”

He stared at me with the same intensity.

“He just was upset…more upset than I’ve ever seen him. Fighting is so important to him… I don’t get it.” I turned my body to face Damien head on, my legs under the table. “And after everything we’ve been through, I don’t know why he would do anything that might rip us apart. I told him I would give him everything, and I feel like he’s not doing the same.”

Damien leaned back in the chair and stared at me with his focused gaze. His hands rested on his thighs, and he slowly let the breath escape his lungs, his chest falling once his lungs were empty. That jacket looked nice on his shoulders, and the scruff along his jaw was thicker than it’d ever been. Did he stare at everyone like this? Or was it just me? “When we were in the bar, women were giving him the eye. Lots of them. He didn’t look at them once.”

I knew how attracted other women were to my husband. I knew they didn’t care about his wedding ring. He could fuck them while wearing it, they cared that little. “You hate him. So why are you trying to help him?” Damien was furious when I took Liam back and had nothing but bad things to say about his character. But now he’d completely flipped.

He still hadn’t blinked since I’d faced him. “Because you said you were committed to this relationship, that you were determined to make it work. I want this to work…because it’s important to you. You deserve a man who deserves you. I want Liam to deserve you.” He finally blinked, taking a deep breath as he did it.