I shrugged. “That’s the way life is sometimes.”
“No, it’s not. Not for no reason.”
I did have a reason…but that reason didn’t matter anymore. “I appreciate you looking out for me and Sofia, but it will be fine. We’ll work it out for Andrew.”
“It won’t be fine. She’s heartbroken. She’s in love with you, Hades. She risked her neck to save the man she loves, only to find out he doesn’t give a damn about her.”
I shook my head. “It’s not that I don’t give a damn about her. I just don’t feel the way I used to. How many times do I have to say it?”
He stared at the surface of the table for a while and ran his fingers through his hair. “You loved her once. I think you could love her again if you wanted to. You wouldn’t even have to try.”
It was my turn to stare at the table. “But I don’t want to try.”
20
Sofia
It took a few weeks for us to move to Florence. I put the house on the market and left it up to the real estate agent to sell before fall. Thankfully, my inheritance was sizable enough that we had been able to hold on to our old place close to the hotel. It’d been vacant for a while now, and my mom didn’t have the heart to sell it.
I hadn’t spoken to Hades since our last painful conversation because I dreaded talking to him now. He was a heartless asshole, and I could only take rejection so many times. Before I officially made the move, I stopped by Ash’s place to say goodbye.
“Where’s the little stud?” He didn’t seem to care about me at all, just his nephew, whom he’d grown so fond of.
“He’s not a stud…at least not yet. I’d like to keep it that way for a long time.”
“If he’s anything like me and Hades, he’ll start young. I think I lost my virginity…”
“Anyway…did you talk to Hades?” Ash had never called me, so I assumed he only had bad news.
He crossed his arms over his chest and sighed. “He said everything that you had already told me. It doesn’t make any sense…I don’t get any of it. But his story didn’t change. He’s just a different person. No idea why.”
Ash had been my last hope to get something out of Hades. Damien would probably have been more helpful, but since they weren’t friends anymore, he was useless. Now I felt even more devastated because I didn’t know what else to do besides give up.
Ash gave me a soft expression. “I’m sorry…”
“Yeah…me too.” If Hades was this cold to me, that meant he’d probably already moved on with his life. He had different women at his place, and my old wedding ring sat in the nightstand where it’d been forgotten. I didn’t want to let him go, but I didn’t know what choice I had. It wasn’t like I could change his mind. “I guess that’s it…” Tears burned behind my eyes, but I didn’t let them rise to the surface. I’d lost the love of my life, and now he acted like he hated me. Just woke up one day, and everything was different.
“I don’t think you’ll ever understand his decision. And you probably won’t change his mind. But maybe you could do something else.”
“Like what?”
He crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t recommend this. Personally, I wouldn’t do it because I have way too much pride. But if you still love him and want to keep fighting for him…”
“I do.”
“Then you can make him fall in love with you again.”
That seemed impossible right now. “I don’t even know how I would do that.”
“What did you do the first time?”
I shrugged. “I don’t know. In the beginning, we were just hooking up…”
“Then try that again. Be the person in his bed…so no one can replace you.”
I used to feel sexy when I was with him, but now I didn’t feel sexy at all. My body was different after having a baby, so I wasn’t the size zero I used to be. It wasn’t the same as it was years ago. I doubted I was the kind of fantasy he had. “I don’t think he’ll want me.”
“Trust me, he will.”
“Why? I’m twenty pounds heavier than I used to be, and my boobs are different.”
“A guy doesn’t care about a woman looking perfect. He cares about a woman fucking perfect. Something tells me you have that down.” He winked at me. “If you really love him, I would at least try. Because if you don’t try…you’ll probably never get him back.”
My mother watched Andrew while I was at work at the hotel. She was a free babysitter, and she looked forward to spending time with her grandson every single day. I didn’t have to worry about him because I knew he was in safe hands.