by Penelope Sky
“You want to get a drink?” I asked.
Hades shook his head. “No. Sofia was pretty pissed at me when I smelled like scotch the other night.”
“Since when did she start caring about your drinking problem?”
“Since I went in for a checkup and found out I have high blood pressure and liver damage.”
“Oh shit…”
“It’s not a big deal, but Sofia flipped out. Started crying…said I won’t live long enough to see our sons grow up.”
“Her concerns are valid. I’ll make sure you stay sober.”
“I guess I shouldn’t have told you.”
I glanced at the bar because I thought I saw a familiar face. The guy looked just like Liam, but it couldn’t be him because he wouldn’t be here at midnight…and he wouldn’t have his arm around some other woman.
Hades noticed my sudden change in mood and followed my gaze. “That looks like Liam.”
“It does.” I stopped walking and continued to stare. “But it can’t be.”
Hades stood beside me, his arms crossed over his chest. “No, that’s him.”
“Then what the fuck is he doing?”
“No fucking clue.”
I headed to the bar with Hades behind me. I moved past the line of stools until I reached him. He stood beside a woman in a short dress with his arm around her waist. His hand reached down, and he gripped one ass cheek. “What the fuck are you doing?” I was angry, but I was mostly delirious. My mind couldn’t process what I was looking at. Annabella said she wouldn’t leave him, so there was no way he was there as a single man.
He turned at the sound of my voice, the smile on his face showing how drunk he was. “Hey, it’s my boys.” He reached his hand out to shake mine.
I pulled away. “Liam, what are you doing?”
Hades stood there, still as a statue.
“What do you mean?” Liam asked. “I’m having a drink with…” He turned to the woman he was still holding. “Sorry, sweetheart, what’s your name again?”
“Belinda.” She smiled like she wasn’t the least bit offended he didn’t remember her name.
“That’s right.” He snapped his fingers.
That was when I noticed he still wore his wedding ring.
“I’m glad I’ve run into you,” Liam continued. “I want back in the ring. And death fighting only.”
Hades exchanged a look with me.
Belinda threw up her arm and cheered.
“What happened with Annabella?” I asked.
“Who?” Liam asked, being a dick on purpose.
“Your wife.” Both of my hands tightened into fists because I was livid he disrespected her like that. He was out catching tail, and she was home, probably worried about him. “Did you guys have a fight? What’s going—”
“Excuse us for a moment.” Hades grabbed me by the arm and pulled me out of earshot. “What the fuck are you doing?”
“What?” I asked, completely lost.
“Unless she left him, which I doubt, he’s still married…and he’s about to cheat on his wife.”
“Yes…which is why I’m about to beat his ass.”
“Let him.”
I cocked an eyebrow.
“Let him,” he repeated. “Let him destroy his marriage.”
I stared into his face, finally understanding how I should play this.
“This is exactly what you want. He fucks this woman, and it’s over. We know Anna won’t stick around after that.”
I glanced at Liam, who returned to his cozy conversation with Belinda. His arm moved around her waist, and he leaned down and kissed her, groping her right in the bar like no one else was there. It made me see red.
“Problem solved.”
“And I’m just supposed to leave and pretend I didn’t see anything?”
“Exactly. He’s not gonna remember that conversation we just had.”
“But I will…”
Hades narrowed his eyes on my face. “Please don’t tell me you’re gonna try to stop him.”
“It’ll devastate her.”
“Not your problem.”
“It is my problem,” I snapped.
“Even if you stop him, you aren’t doing her any favors.” He pulled out his phone and started to record Liam making out with the woman while groping her ass. “Getting Liam home and cleaning up his mess is even worse, and you know it. He’s gonna cheat. And even if you stop him now, the damage is done. Let him dig his own grave.” When he got plenty of video, he returned the phone to his pocket.
“What are you going to do with that?”
“Nothing. But it’s evidence if we need it.”
I turned back to Liam and watched him stick his tongue down the woman’s throat. “I can’t just leave…”
Hades sighed.
“It’s one thing to tell her he was gonna cheat, instead of her having to listen to what Liam did with this woman in the back seat of his car. Far less painful. And I want to rip out his eyeballs and tongue with my bare hands.”
“I can understand that part.” He clapped me on the back before he walked away. “Have fun.”
I turned back to the bar and returned to Liam.
He didn’t even notice me.
“Belinda.”
She turned at the sound of my voice.
“Leave,” I commanded. “Now.”
Liam tightened his grip. “Get your own. Are you still with that sexy model?”
I punched him so hard in the face, he landed on the surface of the bar.
No one blinked an eye over the confrontation because bar fights were a dime a dozen.
Belinda bolted.
Liam took a second to recover from the unexpected hit. He gripped the edge of the bar and righted himself, his face already bruised. He turned back to me, the rage brewing. “You want to die, asshole?”
I grabbed the back of his head and slammed his face into the bar, making his nose explode with blood. “You sneak out of the house and fuck some other woman when your wife is asleep? That’s the kind of piece of shit you are?” I slammed his face down again.
Blood got everywhere and dripped to the floor.
He righted himself and turned to me, blood streaking down his chin. “I’m the piece of shit? At least I don’t say another woman’s name in bed…”
I was about to hit him again when I changed my mind. I heard what he said, let it sink down into my bones. Beating him bloody wasn’t fair when he was this intoxicated anyway. I’d like to beat him at his own game—and destroy him. “What are you talking about?”
He grabbed his glass of scotch and poured it down his face to clear off the blood. Then he wiped away the liquid with his forearm. “She came and screamed out some other asshole’s name. Fucking bitch…” He leaned over the bar and rested his head on his arms, breathing through the painful memory and the beating I just gave him.
I moved to the spot beside him, where Belinda had been. My palms started to sweat because I suspected I knew what name she’d said, what she’d shouted when she was screwing her husband. Maybe he was between her legs, but I was the one making her writhe.
“I’ve given her everything… I sacrificed everything for her.” He raised his head and stared straight ahead. “And then she does that?” Both his hands tightened into his fists as he stared at his own knuckles.
“What name did she say?” My curiosity shouldn’t matter right now, but if she’d said my name, Liam would be ripping me to pieces right now.
He slowly turned to me, his blue eyes now arctic fire. “Damien, actually…”
I held my breath as I met his look, waiting for him to realize that wasn’t a coincidence.
But he never did. “She told me she was still in love with this other guy. I wasn’t happy about it, but I accepted it. But I thought things would get better…until she screamed this fucker’s name in bed.” He gripped his skull and growled, sounding like a bear deep in the woods.
I wanted to te
ll him it was me…so fucking tempted. But that would affect Annabella as much as it affected me, and it might be easier to say nothing at all. Just let it go. “Going out and getting ass isn’t the solution, Liam.”
He slammed his hand into the bar so he could get another drink. “Tonight, it is.”
“You’ll regret it in the morning.”
“I doubt it,” he said quietly. “I’m back in the ring too. I’m not gonna give that up if she’s not gonna give up this guy.” He downed the glass in a single gulp before he turned away. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…I have pussy to find.”
I grabbed him by the arm. “Liam, go home.”
He twisted out of my grasp. “No.”
“You’re really going to do that to your wife?” I moved in front of him and blocked his path. “This is exactly where you were when she lost the baby. Shit got tough, and you got going. You’re gonna make the same mistake?”
His eyes narrowed. “How did you know that?”
Adrenaline spiked. “You told me.”
He was still suspicious, but that quickly faded away. “She’ll never know, so what does it matter?”
I knew he was drunk, but that still sent me to the brink in rage. “You’re really not going to tell her?”
“The second she said that fucker’s name, she gave me a get-out-of-jail-free card.” He started to walk away. “So, I’ll do whatever the fuck I want. I’ll fuck who I want. I’ll pay for who I want. And I’ll be back in the ring…where I belong.”
I moved in front of him again. “Last chance, Liam. Let me take you home.”
He gave me a slight smile. “I appreciate you looking out for me, but I’m a big boy. I can take care of myself.”
26
Annabella
Liam didn’t come home for three days.
His phone was off.
He didn’t come back for clothes or other essentials. When he’d walked into the night, he truly disappeared.
I spent my time worried sick, concerned something had happened to him, that he got hit by a bus while he was stumbling around the city drunk. I called all the local hospitals to check if he was there…or in the morgue.
He wasn’t.
It was the middle of the day when he finally walked through the front door. I hadn’t gone to work because I was afraid he would come to the house when I wasn’t there. When I heard the front door open and shut, I hopped off the couch and ran into the hallway. “Liam?”
He tossed his wallet and keys on the table. His hair was messy like he’d woken up on the wrong side of the bed, but he was in different clothes, so he must have picked up a few things while he was out and about. He clearly had showered too, so he must have checked in to a hotel.
“I’m so glad you’re home…”
“Are you alone?” He finally turned his gaze to look at me, anger still on his face. The last few days hadn’t been enough space for him to cool off fully.
My face fell. “What’s the supposed to mean?”
“Assumed you shacked up with your boyfriend while I was gone.” He walked around me and headed to the bedroom, his heavy footfalls thudding against the hardwood. I’d returned the pictures and paintings to the wall, so the place was restored, but he didn’t seem to notice.
I followed behind him. “I would never do that.”
He sat on the edge of the bed and untied his shoes. “But you’ll say his name in bed when your husband is on top of you?” He pulled off each shoe and tossed it aside. “You expect me to believe that?”
“If you hadn’t stormed out, I could have explained it to you.”
His hands came together, and he leaned forward so he could stare at the floor for a while. “What’s there to explain?” He sighed before he lifted his gaze. “It’s pretty clear you were thinking of someone else when you were with me.”
I sat on the bench of my vanity and rested my hands on my thighs. “But I wasn’t. His name just slipped out. I swear.”
His expression was completely stoic.
“Liam, I’m telling you the truth. Nothing happened between us. I don’t want you to think I’m sneaking around when I’m not.”
He didn’t blink.
“He told me he loved me the other day.” I decided to share everything, so he would understand.
A shadow passed over his gaze.
“But I told him it wasn’t going to happen because I’d already made a commitment to you. That’s probably why I said his name…because he was on my mind subconsciously.”
He grabbed one set of knuckles and squeezed them in anger.
“But I said no, Liam. That’s what happened…honestly.”
He took a deep breath and let out a sigh that sounded like a growl. “Why should I believe you?”
“Because I’m still here.”
He looked away, staring out the window since the curtains were pulled back.
“I can’t justify what I did because it was so horrible…saying his name. I truly feel terrible about it and completely understand why you were so angry. Whenever I’m with you, I make sure I don’t think about him, but when I’m alone…it’s not the same story. I understand if you don’t want to do this anymore. You deserve more.”
He turned back to me, his blue eyes fierce. “You think I’m gonna walk away so you can run off to him?”
“That’s not what I meant. I just meant… I haven’t been fair to you. I’m committed to you and loyal, but my heart has a mind of its own that I can’t control. I understand if you don’t want to put up with it anymore. Because you’re a great guy and deserve—”
“No.” He massaged his knuckles. “I’m not letting some other guy have you. You’re mine.” He immediately turned territorial, acting like a dog that refused to let someone else play with his toys. “But I’m sick of this bullshit. I’m going back to fighting because I’m not making that kind of sacrifice for someone who won’t make any sacrifices for me. And we’re moving.”
“What?”
“If you aren’t gonna move on from this guy, then we need to move on from him. There’s an underground fighting community in London. That’s where we’re going.”
“But my job—”
He flashed me a terrifying look. “It’s nonnegotiable, Anna.”
What other choice did I have? After everything I’d put Liam through, he had every right to relocate us. It was probably the best chance I had to forget about Damien for good, when I wouldn’t have to see his pretty eyes anymore. How could you get over someone you saw all the time? Who hugged you and never let go?
I liked my job at the Tuscan Rose, and Florence was my home…but I had no other choice. If I wanted my marriage to work, I had to leave.
But leaving Damien…was so hard. I knew that was the part I was dreading the most, walking away from him for good. When enough time passed, I would stop thinking about him, would start my family, and he would be a distant memory.
It was exactly what I wanted…
I went into Sofia’s office. “Hey, you got a minute?”
She was pulling off chunks of her muffin and placing them in her mouth. Crumbs were all over her desk and papers. “Of course.” She spoke with a mouthful of food and wiped her hands together before she brushed off all the pieces of blueberry that got on her dress. “What’s up?”
My friendship with Sofia was something I would miss too, even seeing Hades. So, when I handed her my resignation letter, I felt so weak. I placed it on her desk, and I sat in the chair across from her. I’d convinced Liam to let me finish my last two weeks at the Tuscan Rose because quitting on the spot seemed like a terrible way to repay her generosity. He agreed…eventually.
“What’s this?” She picked it up and scanned over it, her eyebrows furrowing when she realized what it said. “Wait, you’re leaving?”
“Unfortunately…” My hands twisted together with unease because I was terrible at goodbyes. When I’d had nothing, Damien and Sofia were there for me. They were friends that I had to
leave behind.
She dropped the paper on her desk. “Why?”
“Well…it’s a long story.”
“I’ve got all day.” She pushed her muffin forward so we could share it.
I smiled slightly, thinking about all the times we’d split a pizza or a tray of brownies. “I really fucked up with Liam…”
“Oh no.”
“We were in bed together a couple nights ago…and I said Damien’s name.”
“Oh shit.” Her eyebrows exploded to the top of her face. “What happened? Did he hunt down Damien?”
“He didn’t realize that Damien was the same person…”
“Wow, that was fortunate.”
“But he stormed out of the house and was gone for days. When he finally came home, we talked. I told him I understood if he didn’t want to be with me anymore. But instead, he said he wanted to relocate to London so we could start over…away from Damien. He’s going back to fighting too. I don’t want to leave because I love this city and my job, but I don’t have a choice. His request is totally reasonable, and if I see Damien all the time, I’m never going to get over him. It’s our only option to make this marriage work.”
Her eyes drifted down as she processed everything I’d just said. She was clearly sad to lose me. She pulled her hands closer to her body and sighed. When she lifted her gaze, she gave me a look of pity. “That’s rough…”
“Yeah…”
“But I understand.”
I nodded. “Thanks.”
“But I have to ask…is Liam worth it?”
I was quiet.
“Is he worth uprooting your life like this? When you are in love with someone else…”
My heart started to pound when I pictured leaving Damien forever. “This is all my fault. I’m the reason this is happening, so I think Liam’s request is fair. The fact that he still wants to be married to me at all is a mystery. Ever since we got remarried, he’s had to deal with this other guy in my heart…”
“And if he really loved you, wouldn’t he step aside?”