Page 43 of Carter

Leandra looks at me, warning me to let go of her or else. “Let go of me.” Her voice is full of warning, and if looks can kill, I would be dead. I let her go, not wanting to hurt her. “I’m not doing this right now in an airport, Carter.” She says. Fuck I forgot where we were. I nod, letting her know I agree, but we're doing this regardless of whether she wants to. “You know where I live. I’ll see you at six.” Leandra says, and before I can get the chance to respond, she walks away, making her way toward the exit and getting into the SUV that was parked just outside that door.

It’s thirty minutes before six, and I’m outside waiting.

Fuck.

Time cannot go any faster. Fuck it! I enter the building and make my way toward the private elevator. Getting inside, I start to feel myself getting nervous. I’m anxious to see her again. It's been three years. I’m still upset that she kept me from my son, but I agree with Isabella and Liam. I don't know her reasons behind that decision, and I can’t blame her for running after what I did. When she left that airport, I was fuming with anger. My wolf was angry and hurt, and he was trying to take over, but luckily, I had Liam there to pull me aside and stop me from making this situation worse.

The elevator pings, and the doors open to her penthouse. Stepping inside, I can see nothing has changed. It’s as if time never passed. I see Leandra coming from the bedroom hall, and fuck does she look beautiful. She looks like she just got out of the shower. Her hair is damp, but she has it styled in a messy bun, and she’s in an oversize sweater and leggings. “Of course, you’re early. I’m surprised you didn’t come earlier, although you would have found the house empty.” She says with a smirk playing on her lips, but her voice is full of sarcasm.

She motions for me to follow her as she sits on the sofa. She looks at me, holding my gaze, and I can tell she is waiting for me to start. I sit before her, taking a deep breath before I start. “How old is he?” I say, my voice cracking. Leandra licks her lips before responding to my question. I can see her eyes soften. “He’s two and a half.” She smiles, and I can tell our son means the world to her. “Luca knows about you.” She says barely above a whisper which takes me by surprise. I try to touch her, but she flinches away from me. “Don’t touch me,” she says as her eyes stare back at me. “You have no right to try and touch me.”

“I was worried about you. I called and texted to the point that my messages and calls weren’t going through.” I hold her stare. She instantly scoffs at my words. “Well, you don’t need to worry. You have your mate, girlfriend, wife, or whatever the fuck she is to you.” Leandra says sarcastically as she wipes away the tears from her face.

“I don’t want her, Leandra. I want you and our son.” I tell her. She looks at me shaking her head as she stands from her spot. “He’s mine! My son Carter.” She yells. “Tell me, when did you realize you wanted me and not her? Was it before or after the kiss.” Her voice cracks as a single tear rolls down her cheek. I’m stunned. Shocked, I have no idea what the fuck she is talking about. I never once kissed Sienna. We weren’t physical. Not once did I ever touch her. The most we ever did was hold hands, a hug here and there, and a kiss on the cheek when we said goodbye.

“No, I think it was after you found out she didn’t want you anymore because you cheated on her with your fucking secretary.” I was left stunned after she accused me of kissing Sienna.

I'm left fucking speechless after what she just said. I never once cheated on her or Sienna, especially not with my fucking secretary.

Leandra stares at me without blinking. Her eyes are cold.“Don’t look at me as if I'm crazy, Carter. I saw you and Sienna out in the dock and I saw you with your secretary.” More tears escape her eyes. I want to comfort her, but touching her will worsen it. “Please. Please don’t cry if I can’t comfort you, Leandra.” I beg. My throat is becoming dry. I can’t handle this. I know exactly what moments she’s talking about, but we did not kiss, at least not how she thinks.

She wipes the tears off her cheek. “Do you know how I felt when I saw you two together? I get it with your mate that connection and bond are undeniable but with your secretary Carter. You fucking disgust me.”

Closing my eyes in frustration.

I stay silent, “No, well then, let me tell you, Carter. I felt worthless. Everything you told me was a lie. I felt dead inside. The only good thing that came out of all of this was carrying our child inside me.” She whispers, more tears leaking out of her eyes. “I told you everything about my life. My deepest darkest secrets and you broke my heart more than I ever did myself.”

“I don’t expect you to understand, but my wolf needed to be with her. I couldn’t deny the bond, but he needed her.” I try to explain. But I have no idea why she's talking about my secretary. I would never cheat on her. She looked at me. Her eyes were red and swollen from crying. “And don’t you think that I needed you too!” She yells at me with anger in her eyes.

“Leandra, please.”

“Please, what? Carter!” She shouts. “You want me to take you back after you spent three years with her while you forgot I existed. Who knows how long you were with your secretary. The whole time we were together you were fucking her too huh?”

I shake my head. Fuck, if only she had listened to the messages or read my fucking messages. “I never forgot about you, Leandra,” I say sternly. I reach forward and cup her face in my hands. “Sienna and I don’t have a connection. We rejected each other that day at the dock. I couldn’t stop thinking about you. I haven’t spoken to her since that day.”

She pulls out of my hold. “Don’t stand here and lie to me.” She spits at me.

“I want you. I want all of you. I love you, Peach,” My voice is desperate for her to believe everything I'm telling her. I can see her shaking her head no. “How could I ever trust you again?” Her lips begin to wobble. “How will I know that you won’t decide to return to her, leaving my son and me? How will I ever know if your wolf can control himself and not crave that mate connection? How will I know if instead of working, you’re not fucking your secretary while your son waits for you at home.”

“I would never do that,” I step closer to her again. “I never meant to hurt you or our son, you know, that right?” I can’t believe she would think such low things of me. My wolf is hurt that she believes we can leave our pup behind. Leandra takes a deep breath releasing a sigh. “You said that before. It took you this long to realize that you want me. That day I saw you two at the dock. I saw the love in your eyes.

The way you were staring at Sienna. You’re telling me you didn’t kiss her, but it looked like it from where I was standing. Maybe you did, maybe you didn’t, but the happiness and love I saw in your eyes wasn’t a lie Carter. You once looked at me like that, or at least I hope you did.”

My heart aches, and tears threaten my own eyes listening to her words. She’s wrong. I was happy, and my eyes were filled with love for her. I was happy because I was going to go after her that day. My eyes were filled with love because I was talking about her. Not Sienna but her. My Peach. I want to explain and say that what she saw was not for the person standing before me that day but for the person invading my mind.

“Carter, what would have happened if you two had a genuine connection? Would you be here right now trying to get me back, saying you chose me?” She questions. Her eyes beg me to say yes that I would still have chosen her. I stay silent for a few moments. “Exactly, “she whispers. “You never cared for me. You just wanted something to entertain yourself with while you waited for her. Now that she’s not what your wolf wanted, you’re coming back for second best.”

“That’s not true, Leandra,” I say as I grit my teeth. Tears have now leaked from my own eyes. “I never saw you as something to entertain myself with, and you are not second best. I see you as a strong, beautiful, independent, hard-working woman. That's the woman I fell in love with. I thought about building a future with you, a family with you, Leandra.”

“Well, you fucked up,” she says as she averts her gaze away from me. “I really thought you were the one. You taught me what love really was, and then you just completely tore me down.”

“Leandra, please,” I plead. “Let me prove to you that you’re all I want.”

“We have too much against us. If not your mate, then your secretary.” My heart breaks, but I’m so damn angry that she thinks I had sex with Candace. I don’t know what the fuck she is talking about.

“I can never trust you again,” she says harshly.

My heart feels like a million needles are piercing it. “Please don’t do this,” I whisper as more tears escape my eyes. I step forward to cup her face, and she allows me to. I rest my forehead against her, breathing her scent in. “I know that you love me. I can see it in your eyes, Leandra.”

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