by H. Q. Frost
"Your Grace." He won't make eye contact.
"What've you done?" I ask calmly because I already know.
"I've shown Ms. Reif she's not captive. She's free to do what she wishes and she wished to return home."
"She is a Carbon!" I bellow, springing to my feet.
"No, sir, she was a contract. I've allowed her to file a petition for divorce. I've revoked my consent on the contract. She's a human being you're treating worse than a stray. The woman came here for an experience she wanted to embrace with arms wide open and you've severed them at her elbows to keep yourself out of reach. Do what you must to me, but just know if you force her to return, I will stand on trial against you. I will no longer idly stand by while you ruin her." He turns to exit, but shifts back and bows his head. "Your Grace." Then he exits.
Me ruin her!
Picking up the chair I was seated in, I throw it across the room, hoping for the destruction. It won't be half of what she's caused me.
My instinct is telling me to go to the states and retrieve the nuisance. No one breaks a contract with me without repercussions.
"Sir," Lol quietly says at my open bedroom door. It's been three days since I've talked to him. This is his fault. My madness. He aided in my wife leaving me.
Three days ago I was listening to my instinct. Today I'm listening to my heart. My heart says leave the woman alone. I have a few weeks before I have to report to my great grandmother. Hopefully she doesn't catch wind of this from someone else or she'll come for me.
"What?" I walk into my closet and hear him approach behind me.
"I haven't had orders from you for three days. Am I fired?"
I should let him stew on wondering if he's being let go.
"I have no orders, Rupier. You've taken my wife out of the country. Most of your orders pertained to her. What shall I have you do now?" I turn around to face him.
"Understandable." He nods before walking out. I almost stop him to ask if he's heard from her, but I don't give a damn what she's doing. She's not my problem anymore.
Somehow my week has seemed to slow down. The one week I would do better with a busy schedule it seems to be dragging. My days haven't dragged since I was a kid. This is absurd. The house is quieter than usual. The employees aren't buzzing around. There's no music coming from any of the rooms like there has been when Magdelena was here. I didn't allow it, but she allowed the staff to listen to music while working and I was never around so it didn't bother me. But now that it's not happening, that's bothering me! I want to ask someone about the cat. I could very well just go see it for myself, but why would I? I'm not going to care for that animal.
"Hello, hello?" Gee answers happily.
"I need assistance with Magdelena's cat," I say without exchanging pleasantries.
"Oh no. What's wrong with him?"
"Can you come to the house tonight?"
"No, Callum. But I can fly in Friday. Is it an emergency?"
"No. No emergency." And I'm guessing she hasn't spoken to Magdelena.
"Then Friday?"
"Thank you." I disconnect the call and scowl at my phone for several minutes.
Lifting it again, I pull up Magdelena's phone number and my thumb hovers over dial. What would I say to her anyway? Her mother will receive the collection letter that her daughter lost her twenty-five thousand. And there will be a letter with it stating how she will not inherit two-hundred thousand when she was supposed to. I wonder how her mother will feel about that. I don't actually wonder. I don't give a damn. I fling my phone away from me and it tumbles from my desk, ringing upon contact with the floor. I jump up and over my desk, lunging for it. I'm not expecting a call so I don't know who I'm hoping this is. Seeing it's my great grandmother, I walk away, leaving the ringing device in the middle of my office. I need to let off steam.
I find myself releasing steam by running. For two days I trek through snow and temperatures in the twenties until my body can't take the cold anymore. I go out into the cold and punish my lungs to the point of risking unconsciousness. I felt my nerves fraying before, but now that she's gone, it's worse.
By Friday, I've barely slept and I couldn't go out for a run today if I tried. I'm sick, I've come down with a cold and the only thing I want is sleep. I've cancelled the meeting I had and don't plan on leaving my bedroom, only due to the fact I feel weak and feverish.
"Callum?" Gee's knock wakes me and I groan, forgetting she was coming today. "Callum, open the door," she insists.
"What, woman?" I groan and the door opens abruptly. I look toward her and she has that damn cat on a leash.
"Callum, what the hell is going on? Cage didn't have food and he was running out of water."
"That woman was the one to take care of him," I mutter and turn my face to my pillow.
"What woman? Who's neglecting him?"
"Magdelena," I growl her name, feeling aversion just thinking about her.
"Where is she, Callum!" she barks with panic. "This is animal abuse!"
"Tell me about it," I mumble and pull the blankets to my chin.
"Where is Mag? What've you done?"
"Me?" I roar and sit up, wincing when pain makes my body sag.
"Where is she?" she says through gritted teeth and her eyes narrow.
"She's gone… She…left me." I lie back down and close my eyes, hating I had to say those words aloud.
"What do you mean?" She enters my room and the next thing I know, that beast jumps onto my bed.
"Gee, get it away from me. It's already maimed me. Get the ca—"
The cat head butts me and before I throw myself from the mattress, thinking it's attacking, I realize it's marking me. He's rubbing his head over my face. Perhaps he needs attention. Perhaps Magdelena's absence isn't only killing me. I barely ever saw the woman, I don't know how I'm this affected. I suppose it's the fact my wife left me. She fled the country to get away from me. At least before, I still saw her daily. She may not have seen me, but I watched her. She was in my presence if I wanted her to be. I realize how much I wanted her to be now that she's gone. This is absurd.
"Callum, he's being neglected. What is going on?"
I hesitantly lift my hand and the animal slides its head across it.
"She left, Gee. She went home to the states."
"What've you done?" she screams at me as if this is my fault! The cat jumps from the bed, obviously taking her side.
"I've done nothing!" I insist, sitting up all the way but the look on her face makes me sink back into my pillows. "I've come down with the flu. Gee, you should leave."
"You've got a cold, Callum," she snickers and storms to my curtains, ripping them open.
I almost hiss and I flinch away from the light.
"Get out of bed. We'll have tea and soup and you will be explaining. Everything. You've been having these problems for months. I knew I noticed something. So my guess is months ago you did something to upset her and she can't let it go."
She has no idea. But if I know my aunt, she will make me tell her, so I oblige. I drag my achy body to the dining room. Not until I've consumed a warm glass of tea do I open up to Gee. I've never once had to open up about my personal life, and though a weight's been lifted, I don't feel better. Especially because she's never been more disgusted with me. Finding out Magdelena was a contract almost made her break down in tears. Repeating the entire experience aloud, it made me feel sick.
"What are you going to tell your great grandmother?" Apparently finding out your grandmother arranged your nephew's marriage against his will has made Gee disown her grandmother.
"What is there to tell her? I'm afraid she'll have the other Reif girl replace Magdelena." I grimace at the thought. Mary is the complete opposite of Mag. I could only imagine that disaster.
"Mag is your wife!" she balks.
"Great Grandmother doesn't care about that, Gee. She wants a Reif woman to bear a Carbon male. She won't care which woman does. If the girls' mother were ferti
le, she'd have her take their place."
"I cannot believe you agreed to this." Standing, she begins to pace.
"No wasn't an option. I tried. I didn't want to change my entire life. Get married. Have children all within a year! I was content being me. I had to change."
"You made me think it was for the better. You fooled me into believing you had become a better man. You're a farce!" Her finger jabs into my face and I flinch back.
"Technically."
"Technically? Technically?" she squeals and pulls the chair out to sit back down. "Let's get technical, Callum!"
"I was a farce but I adapted. I'm a husband now. The father to two angels. The—"
"What?" Her words catch in her throat and she grabs the table. "What did you say, Callum?"
We never made the official announcement to my family that Magdelena lost our child. We rarely see them. Though Gee and Magdelena were close, they had more of a long distance friendship. We never let it be known we tried a second time and thought we were safe.
"We lost the baby, Gee," I solemnly say.
"How? She never told me. I never noticed. How, Callum?" She breaks down.
"I…don't know." I could speculate all day but there will never be a real answer. "We tried again and conceived, but six weeks later another miscarriage occurred."
"And what did you do?" she shouts at me, wiping her tears. "I can't imagine how awful you treated her because of this!"
"I never mistreated her due to losing the babies!" I shout, slamming my fists to the table as I stand. "I never once put the blame on her! How dare you insinuate I'm so much of a monster that I would berate a grieving mother. My wife!" My voice echoes and before we carry this out, I storm from the room.
There is no getting through to her. She will only think what she wants and that's I was a monster to Magdelena.
I was a monster to my wife.
"Enter," I call out.
I've been staring at my computer, trying to compose the same email I've composed a hundred times in my life, but I can't seem to find the words I need to form sentences. I'm over my sickness but I believe grief and heartbreak has taken residence inside me. I think it's going on close to a month since she's left but I try not to keep track of the days. My mood is no secret. I haven't seen a staff member in days unless I’ve gone hunting for them. People are fearing me, as if I'll strike them down just for being in my presence. They're absurd. I'm a grieving man and I want my wife back.
"Your Grace," Lol says upon entering and quickly bows his head before hurrying toward my desk. "Your great grandmother is on her way here. She wants to spend a few days with you and Magdelena. She wants to have family pictures taken while Mag is pregnant."
Both of those things are going to be an issue. I don't have a pregnant wife. I don't even have a wife.
"Rupier, prepare a flight to the states." I stand with resolution. I will get my wife back, and not for Great Grandmother's sake.
"Mag, do you have my triple, L, soy, no foam latte?"
I'm holding the cup, but it doesn't contain anything yet. I've been moving slower, my mind has been wandering more than usual. Generally to somewhere dark. I won't go back though. I refuse. If I'm going to settle for someone, they're going to love me. Sure having to work three jobs sucks. Not having a cook sucks. Not having people cleaning up after me sucks. But it doesn't suck more than falling in love with a self-righteous asshole. God, I was so stupid for falling in love, too. I don't even know how it's possible to love and hate someone at the same time. But I know I have so much disdain toward that man. Yet after leaving I realized I craved what little attention he did give me and I somehow let it twist into love. But it'd be stupid to torture myself until he divorced me, so I refuse to go back.
"You're moving too slow today, Mag. Get your butt in gear or get out." My manager really takes this coffee shit seriously and if I didn't need this minimum wage paying job, I would get out.
"You remember what goes into that?" Steve is nice enough to try and help me every day, even though he gets in trouble for it most of the time.
"Yeah. Thanks." I smile at him and romance the idea maybe Steve would one day love me. I probably wouldn't love him. I'm not attracted to him, he's just nice. And I need a nice guy. Not some pompous ass clown who—
"Nothing," the voice barks and my head jerks toward the register. "Magdelena, get your jacket and purse, whatever else you may have, and let's go." Callum Carbon.
For the love of god, this man is as ignorant as they come! How dare he waltz into my job and demand I leave. As if I'd leave with him! And god, why does he have to be so damn good looking? Angry, broody, sexy, idiotic. And clearly a stalker.
"Callum, get out of here before you get me fired," I say through gritted teeth and he starts pushing his way around people to get closer to me. I start backing up, and yes, out of fear. Fear I won't be able to turn him down. I bump into something and stop, looking back to see Steve glaring at Callum.
"Magdelena," Callum snaps and stops at the counter, but I'm out of reach. "Remove your hand from her," he says in way of a threat and his eyes are focused on Steve's hand holding my arm in a supportive manner.
I'm pretty sure I'm going to be fired anyway. I could save the embarrassment and scene that's about to go down here. Or I could keep cowering like a sissy because he's like a magnet. A rusty one that's going to give me tetanus!
"Magdelena."
"Callum."
"Magdelena." His face is turning redder.
"Callum."
"Goddammit, woman!" He jumps over the counter, knocking down the display mugs and snacks as he goes. People are whispering, gasping, some yelling but all I can focus on is the fury on his face. Until he reaches me. "My pleasure," he whispers, grabbing me and yanking me from Steve's touch. "Magdelena, come home," whispers from his lips as he pushes his forehead to mine and closes his eyes.
"You're going to get me fired," is my response because the other response in my head is something I'll never say to him. I love you.
"No shit," he snarls and grabs my hand, looking around for a way out from behind the counter.
"Uh, Mag…" My boss is staring at us like Callum's a wild bear trapped back here with us. "That's coming out of your check." She points to the mess. The growl coming from Callum makes me grip his hand tightly and yank him into the back. I take off my apron and throw it on the counter.
"There goes my paycheck," I snap at Callum, storming out of the back room.
"Paycheck? You do this for money?"
"What the hell do you think, asshole? I do it for charity? Yeah, I need a fuckin' job, Callum!"
People are staring in shock as we storm out the front door and not until the crisp air hits me do I remember I forgot my jacket. There is no way in hell I am going back into that place.
"Shit." I rub my arms.
"Stupid woman," he growls and wraps his coat around me before pulling me toward a limo.
"God, you're so high maintenance."
"Shut up." He pushes me into the limo and the second he gets in, I turn to bitch him out. He grabs my wrist as I raise my finger to point it in his face and his mouth covers mine, cutting off my rant.
When I reel back, he grabs my head, not letting me go. Before I can wrap my mind around it, he's shifting me to straddle his lap.
"My pleasure," he pants as his mouth travels over my jaw to my neck. "I need this."
Apparently this is me shirtless because he throws my shirt across the car and bites kisses to my chest. The wet stings make me start to grind over him, feeling how hard he is and I'm shocked we're in this position. Before I can come to my senses and stop him, he pulls my breast from my bra and sucks my nipple into his mouth, releasing a grunt that has me fighting with his belt.
"Callum, what the hell are you doing?" I manage to ask, though I'm still trying to get his pants undone and mine off. He fights the tight khaki material down my legs and I grab his face, going for his lips again. My eyes spring wide and
I inhale his breath when he fills me without warning. My eyes pool with tears, but not from pain. Far from it. I'm in so much bliss my head is dizzy and I never want this to end. "Oh my god, please don't stop!" I scream with no regard to the fact we're in a moving limo with a driver right now. "Callum."
"My pleasure." He bites my neck so hard there will be a mark but I push into him, thrusting over him as far as I can. "Dammit," he grunts, his fingers bruising as he tries to hold me to him.
I move faster, harder, and grip his hair like I'm slipping from his lap. He thrusts up while I thrust down and he hits the deepest spot within me, making me cry out in pain. I want more. In this moment I feel like my body was made for him and his for mine. I almost tell him but my orgasm steals my words and all I can do is cry out in bursting pleasure as tears flood down my cheeks. I'm not crying, my body is just in shock from this feeling. This is what it should feel like every time. I know he gets more pleasure from this than when he only uses me. We could have this every time. I just need him to tell me.
"Callum," I whisper and drop my forehead to his chest, still thrusting over him as his pinching fingers hold my hips tighter, tighter. "Why are you here?"
His hand wraps over my shoulder and he thrusts me downward while his hips rise. He releases a screaming groan as he comes and holds me tightly to his chest, panting heavily. The tires thump every few seconds indicating we're on the expressway. The car is silent other than our breathing and I feel like my lungs are being crushed. He's holding me so tightly, but I don't want him to let me go.
"Callum," I whisper and he slowly releases me, but only to slide his fingers into my hair and move my head to kiss me.
This is why I fell in love with him. Because though we've only shared a kiss like this a few times, it tells me he is capable of feeling something more for me.
"Where are we going?" I ask when he pulls away and I glance out the window.
"Home." His hands slide down my body to my hips.
"The airport?" I blurt like he's insane, because clearly he is. I am not leaving like this.
"It's time you came home, Magdelena." He shifts me off of him and when I move to grab my pants, he pins me down to the seat and lifts my legs. "Legs up."