She stepped toward me as her arms dropped to her sides. “What?”
I turned so I could face her directly. “There’s nothing left to say, so you can leave.”
She threw up her arms. “And that’s it?”
I forced myself to say the words that I wanted to keep bottled inside. “Thank you.” I was grateful she’d saved me, but I was resentful she didn’t do this sooner. I was resentful that she’d saved me when I should’ve saved myself.
She came closer to me until we were within arm’s reach. “I don’t understand. It’s like you’re mad at me. You should be happy. Andrew and I can move back to Florence, and we can have what we’ve always wanted. We can get remarried…be happy. You’re acting like everything is going to go back to the way it was.”
I automatically took a step back without even thinking about it. “It is going to go back to the way it was. Why would it change?”
The color in her cheeks slowly faded away, and her lips loosened because her features slowly tightened with pain. “I don’t understand…”
“None of those things are going to happen, Sofia. We aren’t getting remarried. You aren’t moving back here. We’re over.” I wanted her to get out of my house and give me space. She may have saved me, but I didn’t owe her anything. I’d already given her everything possible. If anything, she was just paying me back.
The confusion in her expression only deepened. “Where is this coming from? Last time we were together, we were in love. That was barely a month ago. What happened?”
If I could breathe fire, I would. “What happened?” I asked coldly. “I’ll tell you what the fuck happened.” I moved into her, closing the distance because I felt so much rage. “You. Left. Me.” As I stepped into her, she stepped back. I held up two fingers. “Twice. You fucking left me twice. I’m sick of bending over backward for you. I’m sick of putting up with your shit. When Maddox took you, I did everything I could to get you back. Every hour, every minute, every second, I was doing something to find you. I never gave up on you. But you gave up on me so fucking easily.”
Her eyes gave away her emotion, the hurt and the unspent tears.
“You left me here alone and took my son with you. You abandoned me when I never abandoned you. You have no idea how much I’ve sacrificed for you since the day I met you. I’m tired of it. I’m over it.”
The tears formed in her eyes at such a speed, she couldn’t blink fast enough to keep them away. “I had to protect our son. If I weren’t pregnant, I would’ve stayed. You have no idea how hard it was for me to leave.”
“Couldn’t have been that hard because you walked out and never came back.” I had no pity in my heart, no reservations about speaking my mind. “I busted my ass to earn your love throughout our entire marriage. No, I worked my ass off since the first day you were mine. I loved you so fucking much, and you never gave a damn about me.”
“That’s not true…”
“Yes, it’s fucking true. You showed your true colors when you left me. Marriage is forever, till death do us part. You walked away from us, you made me sign those divorce papers, and you moved on without looking back. I’m done with all of it.”
The tears fell down her face, and her cries became sobs. “I don’t understand. You loved me just weeks ago…and now you’re a different person. I can understand you being upset with me, I can understand you needing space, but we’re a family. We have a child together.”
“I’m not going to stay with you because of Andrew. I can be a father and not a husband at the same time.”
She sobbed a little harder when I tore her down.
“I don’t want to be with you, Sofia.” I stood my ground and stared at her tear-soaked face and felt nothing. She wasn’t worth my time or my energy. She’d put me through so much, and she didn’t deserve to have so much power over me. I was tired of being a pussy-whipped bitch. “Now, get out.”
18
Sofia
I stayed at the Tuscan Rose because I had nowhere else to go. I didn’t even have any clothes because I hadn’t packed anything. I assumed I would be staying with Hades, and there were a couple shirts lost somewhere in the closet or in one of the drawers. I also assumed we’d be spending time together…to appreciate what we’d regained.
But he dumped me instead.
He was a different person from the last time we were together. The warm and affectionate man I knew had transformed into a bitter and heartless man who wanted nothing to do with me. It was as if he didn’t care if I lived or died.
What happened?
I spent time at the hotel, crying into tissues and ordering room service so I wouldn’t have to go outside. I waited by the phone and hoped Hades would call with an apology and explanation, but he never did.
I’d looked forward to this moment for so long, and now that it had arrived, it was the worst moment of my life. It was worse than when Maddox raped me. I’d never been so destroyed ever before. Hades ripped me to pieces until there was nothing left.
When he’d kicked me out of his home, I’d wanted to argue with him, but I was so distressed by his coldness I couldn’t think straight. I also wanted him to calm down and see if that would change anything. Maybe if we talked again, he would have a different attitude.
When I finally had enough courage, I returned to his home. Helena was nice enough to walk me to the third floor even though he had said he didn’t want any guests. I knocked on his bedroom door and hoped I would see the man that I knew…not the monster that crawled out of his broken heart.
He opened the door a moment later, in his sweatpants with no shirt. When he realized it was me, he turned just as cold as the other day. He didn’t want to see me. He didn’t look at me like I was beautiful. He looked at me like I was nothing but a nuisance.
It hurt so much.
He opened the door wider and walked away so I could come inside. He helped himself to a glass of scotch and took a seat. “What do you want?”
After I’d shed my tears, I was more prepared for this conversation. Last time, he caught me completely off guard. “Don’t talk to me like that.”
“Like what?” He took a drink without taking his eyes off me. “This is how I talk to everybody.”
“Well, that shit’s not gonna fly with me.”
He leaned back and rested his glass on his thigh. “Say what you want to say.”
I couldn’t believe this was the same man I’d married. “What happened? You’re a totally different person.”
“I’ve always been this way. Ask Damien. Ask Ash. I was only different with you because of our relationship. But now that that relationship is over, there’s no reason for me to be that way.” He took another drink.
“It’s like you changed overnight.”
He shrugged. “I guess I just snapped out of it…”
“Snapped out of what?”
He locked his gaze with mine. “Love.”
As if he’d had a gun aimed at my heart, he pulled the trigger and shot me. “You don’t mean that.”