Page 23 of Merciless King
“Nothing. You can’t be here, Elio.”
“Something is wrong.” I shut the door. I reach for her glasses.
She jerks away. “Just… leave me alone.”
I stare at her, feeling a sense of helplessness. “I can’t.” I reach for the sunglasses again, gently removing them. She’s caked on makeup, but there’s no doubt that she has a black eye. “Fucking hell. Did your husband do this?” He’s a dead man. The deed is as good as done.
“No. I drank a little too much wine last night out of guilt for cheating on my husband.”
She's lying. “I don’t believe you.”
She scoffs. “You always did think the world revolved around you.”
“No. I always thought it revolved around you.”
For a moment, I see something in her eyes that gives me hope. But as quickly as it's there, it’s gone.
“What happened?” I ask, reaching out to brush the bruise on her cheek.
She flinches at my touch, and my stomach twists with dread. Something is very wrong here.
“Did he do this?” I ask. The haunted look in her eyes is all the confirmation I need. "Did he find out about us?”
“There is no us, Elio. Why are you here? You need to leave.”
“Is he here?” I’ll kill him with my bare hands.
“No. He’s not. But he’s my husband. What we did was wrong?—”
“No!” I point my index finger at her. She recoils like she thinks I might hit her. “Fuck. Piper. I would never hurt you. And if he’s?—”
“He’s not.” she insists, but not very convincingly. “I’ve been unpacking and a book fell off a shelf and hit my cheek. That’s all.”
Lies. It’s all a lie, but why? “I can help you. Let me take you away?—”
“I don’t need a knight in shining armor. Especially one like you.”
What the fuck does that mean? “What the hell, Piper? You’re not a woman to put up with this bullshit.”
“And yet you're still here.”
I'm the bullshit? “I’d never hurt you?—”
“That’s a lie. You did hurt me.”
“I never… your husband struck you. Fucking hell, you have a daughter.”
Her eyes flash with heat. “Don’t you judge me. Gabriel is a good provider.”
I scoff, wondering if I fell through Alice’s looking glass. “So the fuck what? That gives him a right to hit you? Why are you defending him?”
“I told you, it was an accident unpacking. Why are you even here? You got what you wanted yesterday.”
“No, I didn’t.” The perfect life I’d imagined for us is slipping away. I reach for her, desperate to make her understand. "What I want is you, in my life, like we planned. You and your daughter.”
She shoves me away, her expression hardening. "Save it, Elio. You've already proven that you don't really care, so why should I believe you now?"
Her words cut me deep. I’m shocked, but also angry. How can she accuse me of all this? I made promises to her. She’s the one who left.