Page 41 of The Ring Thief
“Silvia came by,” he states it, like he already knows.She works fast.
“She did.”
He shakes his head, shoulders going tight under his cotton shirt. As the material shifts, there’s a flash of silver and my eyes catch on it, intrigued. He’s not a jewelry guy, except for?—
My stare drops before I can stop myself, locking in on his hand, pain momentarily stealing my breath when I register his bare ring finger.
He doesn’t notice where my attention has drifted, telling me, “I’m sorry. You shouldn’t have to deal with her brand of bullshit, especially now.”
I shrug it off, because Declan fucked up beyond comprehension,
but controlling Silvia isn’t his responsibility and I won’t blame him for that.
“Seems like she might be spiraling a little,” I say.
He grinds his molars. “She’s always been a few monkeys short of a circus,” he says, the words tripping off his tongue uncomfortably.
I huff in amusement. “That sounds like Darcy.”
“You’d be right.” He looks back at me, remorse pulling his mouth down. “Nolan and Darcy both read me the riot act. Lily, I wish—” his chin drops to his chest, and he shakes his head. “When the annulment is final,” he says almost to himself, “that’s when we talk.” He looks up, a question in his eyes, so I nod. He rocks back on his heels. “Okay, good. I just… I wanted to come check on you and make sure you were okay, after—” he waves a hand at the door.
“I’m fine, but I’m a little concerned about those.” I point down to the forgotten photos, still lying on the floor. “She’s also been messaging me.”
His eyes flare with alarm. “Did you tell anyone where you were going last night?”
I shake my head. “It was an impulse decision after everything that happened at the lawyers.” I don’t miss his flinch. “I met Sasha there, and Justin turned up later.”
He eyes me carefully. “You trust Justin?”
The words pour out with little thought. “I trust him more than I trust you.”
“Fucking hell,” he murmurs, touching a hand to his chest. “I deserved that.” He steps over to the photos, bending down and scooping them up, mouth twitching unhappily as he studies them. “Mind if I hold on to these? And the messages…?”
I nod, but then hesitate. “I’ll forward them to you, but then I’m blocking you again.”
“Lily,” he says quietly, “I promise you, I’m not with her and I never have been.” He shudders in revulsion. “I’d rather sleep with a plague-riddled possum.”
I don’t respond, because I’m not sure what I should say. Words are easy, and the trust has been obliterated. His mouth turns down, but he nods.
“The lawyer. Did it go okay? Was everything I sent through enough?”
I frown, questions flying through my head, morbid curiosity pushing at me. “I think so.” He watches me carefully, sensing there’s more. I drag a lungful of air into my chest. “Did you know all of it? When you and your father set this in motion, did you know the entire story of our parents?”
CHAPTER 20
Declan
Istare down at the photos, my fingers crumpling the edges. Jealousy claws at me and I want to rip them to shreds, but it still won’t change that she’s not mine. Alarm is still ringing sharply that Silvia would have followed Lily, or paid someone else to.
She’s becoming more unpredictable and hyper-focused on my wife.
Soon to be ex-wife.
Will she be my ex-wife after an annulment, or do we actually just pretend this never happened? Because I don’t think I can do that. I don’t want to do that.
Looking up at her, I see the remnants of her night out lingering on her face in the paleness of her skin and her reddened eyes.
“You sure you wanna do this now?” I ask gently, and she lowers her lashes, hiding her blue eyes. After a moment, she nods and walks over to the couch. I take the opposite side from her, knowing she wouldn’t want me to sit any closer.
