Page 39 of Marked By Myth

“And I’m not the same asshole from back then.”

We sat in silence again, each moment killing me inside.

“I hate him,” I said, finally. “I hate that he gets you and that he’s never fucked up. I guess that’s why I am trying to find something wrong with him so I can show you he’s not good enough for you, but the truth is, no one is ever gonna be good enough for you. Not in my eyes.”

Silence descended on us again, and it tore at me. I was losing her, I knew it. My impulsivity once won her heart, but now, it was breaking us apart at the seams and I wasn’t ready to say goodbye.

“Why did you do it?” she asked me. “Why did you mark me as yours when you knew I would have to go home to him?”

“Jealousy. You know I’m a possessive guy, always have been. You’re still my wife in my eyes, and you always will be, Rox. I meant it when I said I wouldn’t sign papers. I’m never going to sign something to say I don’t love or want you anymore. Ever. Even if it hurts you, even if you beg me. I won’t do it.”

“You broke us, Adrian. You did that. Why would you want to punish me for the rest of my life?”

“I would never want that, Rox, but if you ask me to do it, it would break me.”

She inhaled sharply, her head snapping to the side to look at me, but I couldn’t meet her eyes.

“Why do you want to know about him?” she asked, her voice gentle.

“I want to know how he treats you.”

“Why?”

“There’s something…broken about you, Rox. You’re fiery, sure, but there’s something in you that wasn’t there when we were together. Your confidence is gone. You hide your tattoos, and your hair isn’t as vibrant as it used to be.”

“I’m older.”

“No, Rox, that don’t mean shit and we both know it. Tell me…”

“He doesn’t like the tatts,” she sighed. “He wanted me to laser some off but I wouldn’t, so I cover them up when we go out. It’s no biggie.”

“Those tattoos are who you are. Why would it bother him so much?” My anger was mounting. Her tattoos all meant something to her. “If he loved you, he wouldn’t care about that shit.”

“I’m different now. I’m not her, Adrian. I’m Roxana, not Rox. You need to let the past go.”

“No,” I grunted, angry. “I’ll never let the past go. It’s where you and I live, and it’s those memories that keep me going. I want to know why he’s better than me. You told me you’d never love anyone else and yet stopped wanting to be with me, long before the shit went down.”

“You were never around, Adrian. You stopped caring what I thought long before Stacey happened. You let the title go to your head. You stopped being my Adrian, and started to become Myth.”

“I will always be your Adrian. I needed you then. I need you now, but then, I needed you to be by my side. I needed you to tell me I was enough, and that you’d always love me, no matter who was trying to pull us apart. I needed you to be my Queen.”

“What?” she rounded on me. “Are you kidding me? You are the one who flirted, the one who cheated on me with my own goddamn best friend.”

“Don’t bring that slut into this,” I ground out. “You stopped coming here. Do you know how bad that was? I was trying to prove I was worthy to be President, to fill my Dad’s shoes and you just fucked off. I was angry, but I was also tired of fighting with the men, and then you. Every damn day.”

A sob broke the tension and I looked over at her, her tears running down her cheeks and her eyes red and puffy. “You were mine first. I wasn’t good enough for you, and now, I’m not good enough for him.”

She pulled her top off, revealing her new ink, and my name all over her. My cock grew hard at seeing her like this. I moved her over to straddle my lap, wiping at her tears. Each tear breaking my heart in two.

“He doesn’t see you like I do,” I said to her softly, cupping her face.

“And how is that?” she asked, her voice broken with unshed emotion. My eyes skated down her body, curves in all the right places. My hands settled over her hips.

“Perfect.”

A fresh wave of tears fell from her eyes, her chest wracking with sobs. I wanted to ease her pain but when the side of her fist slammed into my chest, I was momentarily winded.

“Why did you do it? Why did you break us?” she cried out, her little fists flying at my chest. Every word out of her mouth was another chink in my armour I’d constructed for years. “Why didn’t you chase me? Why didn’t you come find me?”