She stepped inside anyway and approached my desk, her hands together in a timid fashion. She was in jeans and a t-shirt, her dark hair pulled over one shoulder. Her face was free of makeup because she’d probably spent all afternoon thinking about the shit that had happened earlier in the day.
The longer I stared at her, the angrier I became.
She stared at the cigar in my hand, like she was too ashamed to meet my gaze. She kept her look there for nearly a minute before her eyes lifted to look into mine. Her blue gaze conveyed her sorrow, her obvious regret. “Maverick…I’m so sorry.” She took a deep breath like the words made her chest clench in pain.
Those words meant nothing to me.
“I wasn’t thinking. I just—”
“No, you weren’t.” I puffed on my cigar again.
“I just couldn’t let those women be tortured…”
“This is how I know you’re stupid.” I pulled the cigar out of my mouth and let the remaining smoke rise from my mouth as I spoke. “You have no grasp of an ecosystem. My father and I live in the same system. You manipulate one aspect, and it changes everything that surrounds it. You saved those two women—but now my father and I are enemies. You took away the one thing that mattered to him, and now he won’t stop until he kills you—and me.”
Her eyes dropped in regret.
“I want a divorce.” His voice was cold.
When her eyes lifted again, there was true terror in her gaze, like the idea of losing me was more than she could stand. She knew she needed me for everything, from shelter to protection. Without me, she was nothing.
I waited for her to argue, to beg me to change my mind.
But she didn’t. “Would that help the situation with you and your father?”
No, it probably wouldn’t make a difference. I smoked my cigar again.
When she knew I wouldn’t answer her, she didn’t press me. “I understand…”
The second I kicked her out of my house, the dogs would descend. Kamikaze would grab her and turn her into a slave, unless my father got to her first. He would just kill her, shoot her between the eyes. If I were her, I’d hope to run into my father first.
She stared down at her fingers as she gripped the edge of the desk. “I’m sorry, Maverick. I don’t regret saving those women, but I regret what I put you through. You don’t deserve to be treated like that by your own father. I know I’m the one to blame for this…but your father is the one who needs help. His response to the situation shouldn’t have been violence. He shouldn’t have marched to his son’s door with the intention of killing him. I know I triggered these events…but he’s the one who’s wrong.”
“That’s not how the real world works.”
“I know, but you should consider talking to your father. He clearly needs help…and he’s only becoming crazier.”
He became more barbaric every time I saw him. “Take the cash I gave you and go.”
She froze. “I gave it to the women…so they could disappear.”
This just kept getting worse and worse. “I’m not giving you another penny.”
“I wasn’t going to ask.”
“Good. Get out.” I didn’t want to see her ever again. I wanted this liability out of my house.
She lingered at my desk, her eyes downcast. Without me, she had nothing—and she knew it. In that moment, she probably understood she’d thrown away a great thing. She probably understood how much I did for her, how much I protected her. But my kindness had expired, and there was nothing she could do about it. “I’ll leave in the morning.”
I was hoping she would leave now, but I would take it.
She was still rooted to her spot in front of my desk. “When my father told me I had to marry you, I was furious. My whole life had been taken from me. But as I got to know you, I realized you were a good man…with a big heart. I started to care for you, admire you. I even started to see you as my friend. I’m sorry I betrayed you. That was never my intention. I just wanted to do the right thing. I didn’t realize how much it would cost you…and I apologize for that.”
Heartlessly, I stared at her with the burning cigar between my fingertips.
She waited another moment to see if I would say anything. But when I didn’t, she gave up and turned away. “Goodbye, Maverick.”
I watched her walk out the door, both disappointed and relieved by her departure. “Goodbye, Sheep.”
Lily sat across from me at the table in the dining hall. Other members of the rehab facility chatted with family members over dinner, pretending everything was normal even though they were battling addiction.