Page 77 of Possession

“Don’t be an ass, Rafael,” I snipe back. “You made me the other woman and expected me to be happy with it, without any discussion or thought as to how I felt. You knew my feelings on that. I told you!” I point at him as my voice rises.

“There was never another woman.” He steps forward, closing the nursery door behind him. “There was only ever you,” he grits out.

I scoff a patronizing laugh. “You have a fucking wife, Rafael! You have a family I’m not a part of.”

“Is that why you left? Mm, because of that fucking photo?” He tilts his head from side to side as if trying to understand me. “You broke our fucking hearts over a photo.” His admission at his heart breaking is lost on me because he’s missing the point.

“No.”

“No? Then help me fucking understand why you did what you did and stole my baby from me.” The veins on his temple pulsate, every vein protruding ferociously.

“You lied to me; you told me your wife was dead!” I scream back at him.

“She’s fucking dead to me!” He points to his chest.

I shake my head at his half-ass comment. “But she’s very much alive, Rafael. She’s Oliver’s mother, and she’s the one by your side, not me. She’s the one your son will call mommy, not me. And where does that leave me, huh? Your whore?” He flinches, but I continue. “Your mistress. The one person I never wanted to be.” My voice crumbles, but I clear my throat. “Where does that leave our son? A bastard?”

“Don’t you fucking call him that!” he snipes back at me, his stare murderous. “Don’t you dare call him that!”

A strangled laugh catches in my throat. “That’s what he is. That’s what we will always be. Nothing more.”

“My children will stand by my side. They’ll be my fucking legacy, each and every one of them equal.” He drags a hand through his hair. “Just like my father did with us.”

“I saw you leave her room, Rafael.” My lip wobbles. “You didn’t sleep with me, but you left her room the next morning, then fucked me after.” My breath hitches from clogged emotion, but I continue on, knowing I have to get it all out to justify my actions. “I heard her say ‘Go and wash away your sins, Rafael. Go and wash away my touch.’”

Rafael blinks, then blinks again, as if stupefied. “Jesus. You think I fucked her?” His face twists in disgust.

“I went in there to fucking threaten her, Ellie.” He waves his hand toward the door.

“I went in there and got exactly what I wanted.”

My throat goes dry. “Wh-what did you want?”

“Full custody of Oliver.”

My heart races erratically.

“She had one fucking request. She wanted me to take her to some fucking event as a family. Said it was to have one last day with Oliver.”

Tears fall down my cheeks, and I swipe them away. “She played us,” I snivel.

Rafael grinds his jaw. “Yeah, she fucking did.” Then he sighs heavily. “If you’d have come to me. Fucking asked me, Ellie. I could have told you! I wouldn’t have missed your pregnancy, missed my son’s birth. Have you any fucking idea how that makes me feel?” He stabs his finger into his chest, and guilt combined with sickness rushes through me.

“I’m so sorry.” My eyes search his, desperate for his forgiveness.

He swallows harshly as he stares back at me with hurt and fury, both of them justified.

My heart shatters into a thousand pieces at the realization. “I’m so sorry, Rafael.”

Rafael

All this fucking time, she thought I cheated on her. Just another reason for her to run, among the many others. A part of me wants to hate her for the pain she caused, but the other wants to love her and lavish her in my obsession.

“I’m so sorry, Rafael.” And I believe her, I believe my little doll when she tells me she’s sorry; I see it written as clear as day on her pretty little face.

I kneel on the bed and cup her face in the palms of my hands, using my thumbs to swipe away her tears. “I’m sorry you thought those things, Ellie.” It guts me she thinks I cheated, that I was capable of that when I hold everything I’ve ever wanted in the palms of my hands. Her eyes glimmer, the innocence in them obvious. She’s young and ran, made a dumb mistake that cost us both severely. But I know deep down she’s sorry and that she’s mine. “I only ever wanted you.” My voice is a whisper. Then I lick my lips. “Know your fucking worth, Ellie.” Her eyes flare, and she jolts as I stare at her. “Know your worth, because I know it.” A whimper leaves her lips. “I know you’re strong, independent, caring, and honest and, above all, I know you love with everything you have.” I swipe her tears away again. “Be the woman you were destined to be. Be my everything.” She nods, and I take a moment before I tell her my plan, the plan all along. “I want you to adopt him, Ellie. I want you to be Oliver’s mom. He wants that too.”

She sucks in a sharp breath, her lip wobbles, and I crash my lips against hers, sending her falling back onto the mattress. Our kiss is rugged, sloppy, and desperate. Pulling back, I stare at her swollen lips. “Say yes, Little Doll.”

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