“It seemed like he was really into you.”
I shrugged so I wouldn’t have to respond.
“I can talk to him—”
“Please don’t.” I had too much pride to chase after a man who didn’t want me. I shouldn’t have fallen so hard, so fast. But before I’d even realized it, I was in free fall. It felt right from the beginning, and I didn’t feel like I’d just gotten a divorce. It felt like I was where I was supposed to be.
“Okay,” she said quietly. “I won’t say anything.”
I didn’t know Sofia that well, but I trusted her…even though I had no real reason to. “Can I tell you something?” I asked, sniffling because my nose had started to run. “And you promise you won’t tell him?” I didn’t have any friends to talk to. She was all I had.
“Promise.” She leaned forward over my desk so she could grab my hand.
It was a moment of catharsis, to let the truth escape my lips. “I loved him…”
Her eyes fell in heartache.
“I didn’t expect it to happen. I got divorced less than a year ago, and I didn’t think I was even capable of feeling that way about someone, that I could trust someone after what my ex did to me.” My eyes started to water, and the tears came, breaking through the dam and pouring down my cheeks. “But I fell so hard…fell so deep. I fell in love with him so easily, and it just felt right. Like I could do that for the rest of my life.” I pulled my hand from hers so I could grab the tissues on my desk and wipe away the tears. “I’m so in love with him, and I miss him…so much.”
23
Damien
Hades and I were friends again, and the pain that had been haunting me for so long had disappeared. He was my family again, a piece of me that had been restored.
But I was also miserable.
I made the right decision when I went to her apartment and ended our relationship. It wasn’t easy to cut out something so good, but it was the best option. What kind of man would I be if I didn’t?
Selfish.
I thought about her a lot, especially when I was in bed alone. I missed her beside me, and there were times when I reached for her in the middle of the night. When I didn’t feel her, I shot up in bed…devastated.
Hades stepped into my office. “How about the four of us get dinner tonight?”
“The four of us?” I turned away from my computer and stared at him as he stood in my doorway.
“My woman and yours.”
I hadn’t told Hades what happened because I didn’t want to talk about it. But I couldn’t keep it a secret forever. I was surprised Annabella didn’t tell Sofia, who would tell Hades, but apparently she hadn’t. “How about it just be the three of us?”
His eyes narrowed like he picked up on the meaning behind my words. “Something happen?” He shut the door behind him and moved to the chair facing my desk. He hadn’t sat there for a conversation in a really long time. It was hard to believe he was really there.
“I broke it off.” I knew I would move on and forget about her eventually, but for now, I missed her. She was the first woman I’d ever been with that I thought about after we were done.
His arms were on the leather armrests, looking like a titan in that Italian-made suit. He cocked his head slightly as he looked at me, as if my response were a little too complicated for him to understand. “Why?”
“Because it was time.”
“If it was time, you wouldn’t be miserable.”
It was one of those rare times when I wished he didn’t know me so well.
“Be real with me.”
I dragged my hand down my face before I responded. “I did like her…a lot. But after everything that happened with my father, it made me realize I can’t have a relationship like that. I never expected my fling with Annabella to be more, so I never thought I’d have to break up with her. But before I knew what happened…she was more than I realized.”
Hades listened without judgment. “You’re trying to protect her.”
I nodded. “I had to choose between her and my work.”
“Are you sure you chose right?”
My eyes moved back to his.
“It was hard to walk away from my life’s work, but Sofia was worth it. I don’t have any regrets.”
“But she’s your soul mate.”
He held my gaze. “And what is Annabella to you?”
I shrugged. “A woman I like. Not enough to make that kind of sacrifice.”
Hades accepted my answer. “I’m sure she understood. Maybe she didn’t realize how deep she was in either. If being with you is dangerous, calling it quits before anyone gets hurts is the best decision.”