First Read online

  “Annabella came to my place last night.”

  He leaned against the door, both of his eyebrows rising. “And?”

  “I asked her to leave.”

  “What did she want?”

  I didn’t answer.

  Hades picked up on my silence. “She wanted to sleep with you, and you said no?”

  I nodded. “If I go down that road again, I’ll get stuck. I’ll never be able to leave.”

  “You’re stronger than I give you credit for.”

  Strong wasn’t the right word. “I felt like a jackass, asking her to leave. She was devastated… I could see it in her eyes.”

  “She’ll get over it…eventually.”

  I knew she would find someone else, and I would be a distant memory. She would be happy with a good man, and I’d be content knowing I’d stepped aside so she could have a better life. But that didn’t mean this was easy for me.

  Hades continued to stare at me.

  “Yeah…she will.”

  30

  Annabella

  A month had passed.

  And it was all a blur.

  I’d arrived on Liam’s doorstep in a desperate attempt to fight the loneliness, to heal the latest set of wounds Damien had created, to feel loved when all I’d felt was used. It wasn’t my finest moment, but who would dare judge me.

  Now I was done thinking about Damien. He didn’t want me?

  Fine. I didn’t want him either.

  I opened my eyes and stared out the large window, seeing the sunshine stretched across the carpeted floor. The curtains were open because they’d never been closed. Hours ago, only starlight shone upon the floor.

  I used to wake up like this every morning…once upon a time.

  I wiped the sleep from my eyes and grabbed my phone off the nightstand. It was Saturday morning, so I wasn’t expected at the office. There were no emails waiting for me. No texts either.

  I returned it to the nightstand and lay down again, so comfortable in this bed that I didn’t want to leave. I used to sleep there every single night, used to listen to Liam’s even breathing like a lullaby. Now I was back…and it felt like my castle once more.

  “Morning, baby.” Liam walked through the door in his workout shorts, his chest soaked with sweat because he’d just finished his workout. He was nothing but hard muscle and tattoos, a beast. He came around the bed and leaned down to kiss me on the forehead. “Good afternoon would make more sense, actually.” He smiled down at me, teasing me.

  “Yes, I’m lazy.” He worked out first thing in the morning, then had breakfast. A productive couple of hours while I refused to gain consciousness. “You made your point.” When I was a housewife, I did this every day, getting to the gym only when I talked myself into it.

  “I think it’s cute.” He stared at me with that soft gaze, like he was the happiest man in the world. Once I stepped into the house, he didn’t let me go. He constantly pestered me to come over, and sleepovers always stretched into week-long stays. I was hardly at my apartment anymore, only stopping by to grab more clothes.

  My life had become uncomplicated…and it was nice. “I’m glad you find my lack of motivation cute.”

  “It’s not a lack of motivation.” He kissed me again. “I just like seeing my woman taken care of.” He dropped his bottoms and walked into the bathroom to shower.

  I was about to get up, but after his words, I didn’t intend to go anywhere.

  I cooked dinner in the large kitchen, having all the space I needed to whip up one of my favorite meals. I wore his t-shirt as an apron as I tilted the hot pan and dished up the food onto the plates.

  Liam walked in wearing sweatpants. “Smells good.” He sat at the bar and stared at me, watching me work the kitchen the way I used to before I left. His blue eyes were focused in their stare, watching every movement I made like it was fascinating.

  I served him his plate and a glass of ice water.

  “Thank you.” He grabbed his fork and immediately took a bite.

  I stood across from him, pushing my food around before I took a bite. We never talked about the night I’d shown up on his doorstep with tears on my cheeks. When he didn’t ask me why I cried, I assumed he already knew why and didn’t want to hear about it. So, we’d spent the last month not talking about anything at all.

  He didn’t seem to mind.

  We ate quietly, exchanging subtle looks while the silence surrounded us.

  He was an animal, so he ate his dinner in just a few bites.

  I was a slow eater. That was probably why I didn’t eat much.

  “I have an idea.” He pushed his plate away and rested his elbows on the counter.

  “Yeah?”

  “Live with me.” He let his words echo off the high ceilings, let them wrap around us both with heavy anticipation. With confidence in his gaze, he stared at me hard, as if he hoped his presence was enough to influence me. He sat in the spot where he’d been many times over the years, staring at me like I was the only person who mattered to him. He kissed the ground I walked on, treated me the way Hades treated Sofia, and that was what I wanted. He seemed to mean his apology, seemed to be a better man because of his mistake. Losing me made him love me more, made him obsessed with getting me back into his house.

  There was nothing for me at the apartment. There was no special guy out there waiting to meet me. And Damien was officially an asshole who’d played me for a fool. I wouldn’t waste another moment thinking about him. “You don’t think it’s too soon?”

  He shook his head. “I would have asked the first night if I’d thought you’d say yes.”

  “But you haven’t asked me anything.” Like if I was still hung up on Damien, if he was the man I pictured when we were in bed together, if I was only there to use Liam to mask my pain like a drug.

  He shrugged. “I want you as you are…even if you’re broken from someone else.”

  Never thought Liam could be so romantic.

  “I want you so much, I don’t care. I don’t give a damn if I’m a rebound.” He rose from the barstool and planted his hands against the island, his powerful arms visibly sculpted under the lights. He slowly made his way around the island and came toward me. “I’ll make you forget about him.” He stopped in front of me, staring at me so hard, I thought I might catch on fire. “Let me make you forget about him.”

  Damien’s rejection had forced me to have a moment of self-reflection, to examine my ridiculous behavior, my irrational response when I couldn’t have what I wanted. I knew it was a type of love I’d never experienced before, where you lost your mind to insanity. It was powerful, crazy, beautiful…but it wasn’t real.

  How could it be real if he didn’t feel the same way?

  If I could go back in time, I would have changed my decision. I wouldn’t have gone to his place, wouldn’t have texted him and said I miss you. I would have held my head high and walked away. “I think you already have.”

  His eyes darkened noticeably, like those words were pure joy to his ears. “Is that a yes?”

  “Yeah.” I shouldn’t be with a man who cheated on me in the first place, but the perfect man didn’t exist. I wanted to be with someone who cared about me, who would fight for me rather than push me away.

  He didn’t smile at my answer. “Then let’s take it a step further.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out my wedding ring. It was pristine and shiny, like it’d been cleaned since I left it behind. He grabbed my left hand, and without waiting for an answer, he slipped the ring onto my finger.

  I didn’t say anything because I was still in shock. I didn’t fight him. I felt the weight on my left hand, felt the weight of my old life. I’d left him because I deserved more, and maybe I would say no if Damien hadn’t broken my heart. Maybe I would keep going and refuse to settle. But I did meet Damien…and he crushed all my dreams.

  “Marry me. Again.” Liam’s hands cupped my face and forced my gaze on his, commanding me to give the answe
r he wanted. “I’ve lived without you. I know how fucking unbearable that is. I want to be here, every day, until we’re both dead in the ground. Give me another chance. I won’t fuck this up again.”

  My fingers wrapped around his wrists, and my answer came out as a whisper. “Okay…”

  He rested his forehead against mine and closed his eyes. A loud, happy sigh filled the kitchen around us. “I can’t believe you said yes…”

  Neither could I.

  31

  Damien

  My assistant spoke into my intercom. “Sir, Liam De Luca is here to see you.”

  The last thing I wanted to do was deal with that asshole. Fucking worthless. I slammed my finger onto the button. “Send him to Hades. He’s not my client.”

  She responded immediately. “He asked for you.”

  I closed my eyes and breathed through the annoyance before I hit the button again. “Fine. Send him in.” Why did that fucker want to work with me anyway? We’d buried the hatchet, but we weren’t friends.

  A moment later, he stepped inside, dressed in a sports coat with a gray sweater underneath. His hair was shorter than the last time I saw him, which had been a couple of months now. He blocked the doorway with his size and approached my desk. “Damien.” He extended his hand to shake mine.

  I took it. “Liam, what can I do for you?”

  When Liam stepped aside, I realized he wasn’t alone.

  Liam sat in one of the two chairs facing my desk. “You remember Anna.”

  She emerged once he stepped out of the way, wearing a deep-blue button-up blouse with her beautiful hair pinned back in a shiny updo. Bold diamonds were in her earlobes, and her makeup was dark around her eyes, making her ready for the runway rather than a boring bank meeting.

  I was fucking speechless.

  She held my gaze for a nanosecond, but she quickly averted her eyes because she didn’t want to look at me. Without extending a hand to shake mine or giving some kind of greeting, she sat in the chair beside Liam and continued to ignore me.

  “Yes…nice to see you again.” I recovered, but my voice was weak and clearly different than usual. She floored me, not just with her stunning appearance, but with her company. What the fuck was she doing with him? Did he talk her into taking his money? Did she need help? Because I could help her.

  I returned to my desk, my eyes glancing at her expression over and over, disappointed that she was more interested in her heels than my face. “Where should we start, Liam?” All I wanted to do was stare at her, to get her to look at me, but she wouldn’t. I turned to her ex-husband.

  He didn’t seem to notice the burning tension in the room. He never would have come here peacefully if he knew I was the man who used to bed his ex-wife. She’d obviously never told him. “Anna needs to be returned to all my accounts.”

  I looked at her, waiting for an objection. “Is that what you want?”

  Even when she spoke, she still didn’t look at me. “Yes.” Was it embarrassment from the last night we saw each other? Or was it hatred? Did she hate me for what I did for her?

  Liam reached for her hand and held it on the armrest. “We’re getting married.”

  That was when I noticed the enormous diamond on her left hand, the claim that Liam had put on her. And my heart sank…so deep, it hit my feet. I looked at her again because I wanted her to say it wasn’t true—that she wasn’t taking this cheater back.

  Liam rubbed his thumb over her diamond ring, looking at her like she was the bigger jewel than the one he’d bought for her. He was elated, clearly in love.

  But what was she?

  Liam turned back to me. “I want her on everything. And put it under De Luca—because that will be her name in a few weeks.”

  Annabella ignored me through the entire meeting, and when they left, she didn’t say goodbye before she walked out. There had been no eye contact from the moment she’d initially looked at me, like she needed to make sure it was really me.

  Then I was dead to her.

  Now I sat in my office, letting the light disappear from the windows. I didn’t have any more appointments or meetings for the day, so I could have gone home hours ago…but I was stuck in place. I hadn’t moved from my chair since she’d walked out, and everyone else at the office had already packed up and gone home.

  She was marrying him?

  Why?

  I broke up with her two months ago, and when she couldn’t get me back, she went to him?

  That cheating asshole?

  What the fuck was she thinking?

  Hades passed my office on his way out of the building, and when he noticed I was still inside with the lights on, he stopped and entered my doorway. “I’ve never seen you stay late in my entire life.”

  I wasn’t amused by the joke, so I didn’t look at him. My feet were up on the desk, and I had sunk into the leather chair, my hands folded on my stomach. I stared at the fluorescent lights for a long time, trying to make sense of the chaos I’d just witnessed.

  He approached my desk. “What happened?”

  My eyes shifted to his, and I stared at his hard expression for a while before I lowered my feet to the ground and straightened in the chair. “Liam stopped by.”

  “And you didn’t send him to me?”

  “He wanted me to put his fiancée on his account.”

  His eyebrows slowly rose. “He’s getting remarried?”

  I nodded. “You won’t believe who it’s to.”

  Hades was a smart guy, so he jumped to the right conclusion within a couple seconds. “Anna?”

  I nodded again. “She sat in that chair and wouldn’t look at me…” I glanced at the armchair that probably still carried her perfume. I still remembered the taste of her lips, the taste of her everywhere. “Didn’t say a word.”

  Hades slid his hands into his pockets and stood there. “Are you okay?”

  I shrugged, as if that was a sufficient answer.

  “He’s strong and rich…there are worse guys she could be with.”

  I lifted my gaze to meet his. “He fucked someone else when she lost their baby. Fuck him.”

  He didn’t react to my hostility.

  “I don’t fucking understand.” I slammed my hand on the desk. “Why did she go back to him? Why would she want to be with someone she’d already left? She deserves better than that piece of shit.”

  He dropped his gaze.

  “I just don’t understand…” I dragged my hand down my face, closing my eyes for a second to shut out the world.

  “Maybe you don’t have a problem with who she’s marrying. Maybe your problem is that she’s marrying someone at all.”

  “We’ve been broken up for two months.” Our relationship wasn’t serious, but marrying someone that soon? It didn’t make sense. “She was in my bedroom a month ago…begging me to be with her.”

  “Maybe that’s exactly why she’s doing this.”

  I stared at him.

  “She doesn’t want a risk. And Liam isn’t a risk.”

  After sleeping on it, I’d thought I would feel a lot better about the whole thing. I was just caught off guard when Anna entered my office with Liam. It was unexpected, so I had to process all of that in a very short amount of time.

  But I didn’t get any sleep.

  And I felt exactly the same way when the sun came up.

  Why was she doing this?

  She shouldn’t do this.

  It was none of my business what she did, and I’d imagined she would end up with someone else at some point…but it wouldn’t be in my face like this. And it wouldn’t be Liam De Luca, the jackass she’d already divorced once.

  I wanted to go to work and brush off the whole thing.

  But I couldn’t focus at work. I was exhausted from my long night of staring at the ceiling, and I couldn’t concentrate on anything I was doing. This distracted, I could transfer billions of dollars into the wrong account, and Hades really would kill me.

  I grabb
ed my coat and walked into the hallway.

  Hades happened to be passing. He looked me up and down, seeing me put on the heavy coat to battle the frost that formed in the corners of all the windows. “Can I talk you out of it?”

  “I wish you could. But you know by now I never listen.”

  He gave me a gentle pat on the shoulder before he continued on his way. “Good luck.”

  “Thanks…” I drove to the Tuscan Rose and threw my keys at the valet before I stepped inside. I’d never seen her at the hotel before, but I knew her office was next to Sofia’s, so it wouldn’t be difficult to hide.

  I moved down the hallway and crossed paths with a few staff members, all of whom glanced at me like they had no idea who I was. The women stared the hardest. I peeked into the first office and saw an older lady. I went to the next door and stilled when I spotted her.

  She stood behind her desk, wearing a long-sleeved black dress with a diamond necklace around her throat. Her shiny hair was slightly wavy, thick and with enormous waves gliding down her strands to the ends. It was pinned over one shoulder, making that side voluminous. Dark makeup was on her eyes, and her favorite shade of deep lipstick outlined the beautiful plumpness of her lips. She stared down at a few documents in her hand, as if she were about to leave her office to take them somewhere.

  I stared at her, enjoying the sight as long as I could. She was stunning…more stunning than I remembered. I just saw her a few days ago, and she didn’t glow like this. My hand missed fisting that sexy hair, missed feeling the small muscles of her back. Now that I was there, I didn’t know what to say.

  Why had I come here again?

  She stepped away from her desk toward the door, about to run into me after a few more steps.

  “Annabella.” I wouldn’t mind if she crashed into my chest—because I would get to rescue her from the fall.

  She stilled at the sound of her name, her head popping up so she could stare at me. Now, she was the one caught off guard. Now, she was the one who couldn’t feign indifference. The papers she held slipped from her fingertips and fell to the floor, as if she couldn’t fathom the reality of my presence.