Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78977 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78977 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 395(@200wpm)___ 316(@250wpm)___ 263(@300wpm)
“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 tell 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.”