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I pull a face. “The smoothies and health food kick.”
Axel chuckles and somehow it doesn’t send me into a spiral of rage.
“How did you know it would work?”
“Because I can’t stay away from you. And as much as you hate me – and rightfully so – you can’t stay away from me either. Because we’ve always been destined for each other. I’ve always considered myself soulless, just frayed fragments thatexist on this earth to cause pain and suffering. But that’s not the case. I know now that I do have a soul. You. You’re my soul’s gatekeeper, Odile Kemp. That’s how I can be certain that no matter what we do to hurt one another in this life and the next, we’ll always find each other again. Because our fragments are entwined to make a whole. You bring out the best and the worst in me, and I you, because we make each other whole.”
“So we were always destined to fuck, so what?” I snap defensively, feeling overwhelmed suddenly by the strength of his declaration of love. Because that is what his words are; so much more than a simpleI do love you. “Why would a baby change things?”
“Because the other thing I couldn’t guarantee – no matter how much I wish I could – was that I would win the games. The risk…the stakes…playing with the potential to lose you, no matter how unlikely, were not odds I was willing to bet on. No matter how confident or cocky you think I am, I don’t leave anything to chance. There’s a loophole in the rules of the games. The offspring of the players always take precedence because of the rule of legacies competing. If the doe herself was pregnant, she would have to stay with the child’s father because the baby would be a legacy, and so couldn’t be the prize of the winner. So if I got you pregnant, you’d always be mine, even if I lost the games.”
“You don’t fight fair,” I protest, sinking back into the soft leather chair and trying to get my head around all of this information. It’s…a lot.
“You don’t love me because I’m honourable.” He flashes a smirk at me but it’s not arrogant, more amused by the suggestion. “But let’s be clear, while I’m putting all my cards on the table. I may have made plans, had backups, schemes in place to make assurances, but there is no denying that even if you take the games, the maybe-baby, Rose, your past, and all of the painand suffering out of the equation, it boils down to a guy standing on the precipice of marrying the girl he’s loved his entire life. And he couldn’t be happier. Fuck the plans and loopholes, Odi. I’m ecstatic that Rose is mine and if you are pregnant, that this baby might be too. I can’t wait to start a future with you.”
I’m not sure where to go now. I’m just not angry at him. Not right now anyway. I feel sort of…not numb, but…frozen by the overwhelm of all this information.
Swallowing, I take a moment to gather my thoughts before telling him, “I need time to digest this. My initial reaction isn’t to kill you, but that doesn’t mean the anger won’t come later. Can you give me some time to think? Space?”
“I can give you space. Take as much time as we have available, Odi. If I could put the breaks on this wedding to prove that I do love you and that I’ll always put you first, I would. But it can’t be done because we have other plans in place. There’s something going on with the fathers, and I’m sure it involves Rose and you, so we need to carry on as planned. As soon as that second ring is on your finger, we reclaim our daughter, bring her home, and then we hunt the fucking bastards responsible for our pain and make them pay.”
Hmmm how to finish this?
He leans over and kisses me on my cheek before reaching for the door handle. “Take as long as you need, Odi. I’m not going anywhere,” he says before leaving me in the cocoon of the car, replaying everything over and over in my head until I feel like I’m going crazy.
I broke down today. Screamed at Peony when I really shouldn’t have. And then I just…fell apart. One minute I was pacing, tearing my hair out, wondering what the hell I’m going to do. Then the next, I’m on my knees, blinking back tears and staring up at Peony like she holds all the answers to my problems.
They had her arrested.
Well, I saythey, but I’m pretty sure it was my father’s doing, not my mother’s. She’s just his puppet, going along with whatever he says or does.
I shouldn’t have let my guard down with Peony. Should never have allowed her to see me weak like that. I cried for fuck’s sake! When was the last time Axel Abbott cried?
And she thought it was because I loved the teacher. I hate her. Hate what I was made to do. Hate that I’m my father’s pawn as much as my mother is.
I lashed out and hurt Peony, lied to her and myself, as a protective mechanism.
I’m going to be a dad.
How the fuck do I even begin to comprehend that?
If she goes to jail, what will happen to the kid?
Will my father take custody? Will I be allowed to raise it? I’m guessing not, now that she’s not whoever my father thought she was. As soon as the truth came out, he lost all interest in the unborn baby. Lost all interest in me.
I’ve been abandoned, left to deal with the trauma of what I’ve done, until he decides what his next plan for me is.
One day, I’m going to be strong enough to say no to him. One day I’ll be stronger and more powerful than him, and Iwilltake him down.
He leaves me reeling, his kiss tingling long after he’s gone. I sit there in his plush, expensive car for ages, his presence still enveloping me like his words swirl around my mind. Talk about information overload. What on earth brought about this heart to heart? Glancing down at the ring on my left hand, I realise he’s been different ever since he put it on my finger. Well, more like different ever since I came into this house. His home. With theexception of threatening to make me a prisoner here, he’s been…gentler since we all opened up and confessed everything.
I’m out of the car before my brain even makes a conscious decision. Something in me needs to take action, deduces that this building may have the answers I seek. I need to see where I’m living. I’m sure this house can unlock the secrets that still plague me.
The underground garage is vast and well lit, as modern and as sleek as the vehicles lined up in their designated spots. Kaiden’s bike sits at the far end, next to three other motorcycles I’ve not seen before. I walk the length of the space to inspect the new bikes. One’s a deep, sexy metallic blue, and the other is a sleek all-black monstrosity. Zie and Axel have bikes too? That surprises me. I can’t figure out the fourth bike though. It’s smaller than the others, and a deep blood red.
I run my fingers over the swirling patterns on the fuel tank, but my attention gets snagged on a door I didn’t notice before because the exit to the house is at the other end of the room. Before now, I never had a reason to be at this end of the garage.
You wanted to snoop. This is perfect.
