Antonio took my rejection in stride. “I totally understand. If you ever are ready and are interested, let me know.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. But I should be honest and tell you I’m still in love with my ex-husband.” Our marriage didn’t end because we wanted it to; it ended because it had to. And that changed everything.
Antonio rose to his feet and continued to keep the situation lighthearted. “He’s a lucky man.”
After I’d screamed at Hades, I’d expected some kind of retaliation, whether he showed up on my doorstep or called me in the middle of the night. But that never happened. The silence continued for weeks. Those weeks turned into a month, but I refused to call him, refused to apologize. To behave like this was easy for me was a slap in the face. I had to move away, pregnant with his son, and start over.
And he thought that was easy?
I should drop my stubbornness and pride because we had more important things to worry about, but I still wanted him to make the first move. I deserved an apology, and I wouldn’t play nice until I got one.
When he didn’t call in a month, I realized I wasn’t going to get what I wanted.
I was eight months pregnant, and it was time to move on.
The hardest part about making the call was the admission that everything was different. That our relationship wasn’t even close to being the same. We were distant, practically strangers. I was in bed when I dialed.
The phone rang for a long time, so long, I didn’t think he would answer.
He’d never ignored my call before. I hoped this wouldn’t be the first time.
He picked up, clearly in a flustered mood. “What is it?”
“What is it?” I asked incredulously. “That’s how you want to talk to me?”
The sound of him walking and breathing hard was audible. “I’m working.”
Now I understood he was probably doing some illegal shit with Maddox. There were probably guns and dead bodies involved. I refused to apologize for my call. “I have a doctor’s appointment tomorrow…if you want to come.” We hadn’t spoken at all, so I wasn’t sure how much affection he had for me anymore. We used to be so in love, and now all of that was gone. I never thought it would happen to us.
“Text me the time. I’ll be there.” He hung up without another word.
I kept the phone to my ear in the darkness, the light from the screen brightening when the call ended. I didn’t know what else to do, so I continued to lie there, to let the painful feelings fester like an infected wound. I eventually dropped the phone and turned on my side to stare into the darkness. My hand went over my tummy, and even though I had life underneath my palm, I felt so alone.
I’d never felt so alone.
I glanced at the clock every couple minutes because I knew Hades would be there any moment. He was picking me up at the hotel, so it was the first time he would see my office. I was dressed in a black dress with flats, trying to look as slender as possible. Sometimes I wondered if he was still attracted to me or if I was just a big cow in his eyes. Was he screwing prostitutes and strippers, so I looked like hell in comparison? I wanted to ask, but I had too much pride.
A moment later, heavy footsteps announced his presence. They thudded against the hard wood before he turned the corner and stepped into my office. Tall, muscular, and with a brooding stare, he was a magnetic force that practically shook all the paintings off the walls with just his presence. He was in a t-shirt and jeans, his physique stronger than it used to be. He was clearly working out more than he used to, lifting weights and increasing his size. He gave me a stony look as if he didn’t want to be there. He stopped in front of my desk and stared at me with an arctic gaze. Heartbeats passed, and nothing was said. His brown eyes were hot but not warm. His jaw was clean like he’d just shaved before he left to join me. His powerful arms rested by his sides as he waited for me to stand.
I watched him for a full minute before I rose to my feet and grabbed my purse. The silence wasn’t full of comfortable camaraderie. It was tense, uncomfortable, raw. We were both bleeding from invisible wounds.
His eyes glanced down to my stomach because I was much bigger than I used to be. The stare only lasted a couple seconds before he met my gaze once again.
I came around the desk and prepared to leave. There would be no chitchat or stupid conversation about the weather. We were both fine suffering in mutual silence.
Before I could step out, Antonio entered my office with a couple folders under his arm. He halted when he realized I was about to leave with company. “Should I just drop these on your desk?” He glanced at Hades, but instead of being polite and introducing himself, he turned his gaze back to me.
“I got it.” I grabbed the folders and tossed them on my desk.
Hades stared at Antonio with silent hatred.
It was noticeably awkward, so I tried to break the discomfort. “Antonio, this is my husband…I mean ex-husband.” I should’ve chosen better words altogether, but now the damage was done. I looked at the floor because I didn’t want to see Hades’s face. But when I lifted up my gaze again, I kept talking. “We have a doctor’s appointment today.”
Antonio gave a subtle nod before he shook Hades’s hand. “Pleasure to meet you, and congratulations on the baby. I’m the hotel manager, so I spend a lot of time with Sofia.”
Hades reciprocated the gesture but didn’t say a word.
Antonio picked up on the tension and excused himself. “I’ll see you tomorrow, Sofia. I hope everything goes well today.”
“Thanks, Antonio.” I watched him walk out and wondered why Hades was being so cold to one of my employees. I understood he was in a bad mood, but that was unnecessary. I wanted to tell him off, but I didn’t want to ruin the day before it even started. “Let’s go…”
We sat in the doctor’s office. I was in my gown, but I didn’t want to sit on the examining table, so I sat in the chair directly across from Hades. With my legs crossed and my hand on my large stomach, I sat there and suffered the silence.
Hades sat with his knees wide apart and his hands on his thighs. His face was slightly tilted toward the window, and his eyes were focused on the closed blinds. He couldn’t see outside, but he continued to stare like there was nothing else for him to look at. The watch I gave him was on his wrist, but his wedding ring was still gone.
I glared at him, my anger slowly building as he continued to ignore me. We hadn’t said more than a few words to each other, and he was clearly fine with the animosity between us. We were about to have a baby, but it seemed like we were just doing business.
It made me hate him a little bit.
I didn’t care how handsome he was. I didn’t care how much I missed him. I hated him. “Is this how it’s going to be? We’re just never going to talk to each other?”
He kept his eyes on the window. “We’re talking now, aren’t we?”
I actually rolled my eyes at the smartass comment. “Is this really how you want to have our son?”
A sarcastic chuckle escaped his closed lips.
“What?”
He shook his head slightly. “I don’t need to answer that.”