Page 131 of Late Nights & Love Lines
Pulling out Rowan’s chair, I wait for her to sit, then fold myself into the empty one next to her and clasp my hands together on the table in front of me. Out of the corner of my eye, I catch sight of Tilly. She’s facing me while her husband has his back to me, and I throw up a silent prayer of thanks.
Mya doesn’t keep us waiting. “He talked about you a lot.”
Rowan’s head snaps up to meet Mya’s gaze.
“That’s not what we’re here to talk about,” I hiss.
Mya shrugs. “It makes sense now, why you could never love me. You never had control of your heart.”
I slam my fist onto the table, not caring that all eyes turn to us. “I was a good husband, Mya.”
“You were,” she says flatly. “You did everything agoodhusband is supposed to do, except love me. I was dying a slow death trying to get you to love me the way you loved Seren, and then Miles, and then Kade.”
Rowan stiffens next to me, and her knee starts bouncing. I drop my hand to her thigh, and she settles.
“You’re insane, Mya. It will never be a competition between who I love and my children.” Shaking my head, I try to organize my wild thoughts. My world is burning down around me, and I have to decide which fire to put out first. “What do you want?”
“I’m dying.” She says it so bluntly my mind goes blank. “Have been for a while. I won’t say the brain tumor is what made me act out, though the doctors said it’s possible, but I’m owning my actions.”
“Then what the fuck do you want from me?”
For the first time since we sat down, she shows a glimpse of real emotion. A glimpse of the woman I thought I’d loved. That woman never would’ve done what she’s done. How did we go from what we were to this?
She used to be gentle, kind even. When Seren was born, I’d never seen her so happy. But now, all I see is a vacant shell with no love left to give.
I may never understand her outside of my part in our downfall. I cared for her as a husband should care for his wife, but if I’m honest, I was never in love with her, and now any positive emotion I felt toward her is gone. I should have known better than to enter an arranged marriage to make my father happy.
“When we divorced,” she says quietly, “my father went ballistic because his only hope of keeping his company from collapsing was with a merger between Fitzgerald and Walker, and now that will never happen. Now he’s in a rage and partnering with Nick. They’ll keep taking aim until they ruin you. I’m telling you as a courtesy, and because I want to say goodbye to the kids.”
Rowan sucks in a breath that might have siphoned all the air from the room.
I rub my hand over her thigh, then look back at my ex-wife. “Your father needs a merger because he’s a terrible businessman who is in more debt than he can ever crawl out of, and even if we had stayed married, I never would have accepted a deal with him. Nick is a fungus who will feed off the infestation and slowly suffocate himself, so neither of them are a threat. But you? I hate you, Mya. I hate you for everything you’ve put my children through. I hate you even more now because I know you’re going to hurt them all over again. I won’t keep you from seeing them, but I will be the one to pick up the pieces you leave behind. Again. And one of these times, they won’t be able to forgive you.”
She opens her mouth, but I hold up a finger to interrupt her.
“I said I won’t stop you from seeing them, but I will insist that a therapist is present at all times because this will break them all over again. You may not care because you didn’t stick around to see the fallout of your actions, but now that I know who you are, I will take all steps necessary to protect them, especially from you.”
Her gaze darts from me to Rowan, but before she can reply, my phone rings. Removing it from my pocket, I hit silence, then place it on the table, only for it to begin ringing again.
Beck Hayes flashes on the screen.
I hit silence, and once again, it rings.
“What if it’s about the kids?” Rowan whispers.
Mya and I look at her. She loves my kids. Her concern wraps around her tone as her eyes plead with me to make sure they’re okay.
“You’re right.” I hit the accept button, but all I hear is Beck shouting. Plugging my free ear, I stand, trying to get better reception. When that doesn’t work, I glance between Rowan and Mya. The last thing I want to do is leave them alone, but when Rowan tips her right shoulder up, I nod and move as efficiently as I can toward the door.
I stop in the doorway and glance over my shoulder in time to see Rowan’s entire body stiffen.
What the fuck?
“Sebastian?” Beck yells into the phone.
Knowing I have to start somewhere, I exit the room to take Beck’s call. I’ll deal with fucking Mya and whatever she said to my girl next.
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