Page 310 of Hateful Games

Unafraid, I bridge the gap and grab his hand before he can make contact with the dishes. “Look at me.”

He does but his gaze holds none of the tenderness I’m accustomed to. They are devoid of life and locking away all the tumultuous emotions. Unlike me, it’s the first time his vulnerability has risen to the surface. Open and raw.

“Stop pushing me away, Nova.”

Shoving away from me, he runs one hand through his hair and says in hard voice, “My family isn’t as perfect as you thought it was. That’s all you need to know.”

Twisting away, he walks out.

Chapter Seventy-eight

Rosalie

I chase after him, refusing to let him keep me at an arm’s length.

He better think twice if he believes I’ll leave when he needs me the most. When he’s suffering. Has been hurting for God knows how long. No child deserves to see their parents at such a low moment and shoulder the burden alone.

I was beginning to respect Danish.

In a single moment, he’s lost all of it.

Moonlight illuminates the living room, where I find Nova sitting on the couch alone. His elbows resting on his knees as he stares at the carpeted floor. His body structure so eerily still I can’t tell if he’s breathing.

He doesn’t look like my ruthless and arrogant husband.

Instead, a broken man crushed by his past.

Heels discarded and still in my dress, I pad barefoot to him and kneel between his spread legs. One hand on his thigh, I cup his smooth jaw and bring his gaze to mine. His eyes see right through me, stuck somewhere far away.

Seeing him like this, it rips my heart out.

“I’m not going to push you to talk or spill everything about your past until you’re ready, but you have me and I’m not going anywhere,” I whisper to him. Tilting up, I close my eyes and brush my lips against his in a soft kiss.

Rising, I turn to give him some alone time.

I’ve only taken two steps when his hand seizes my wrist. I look behind to find his sad and anguished eyes gazing into mine. I’m pulled back to stand between the same space I left. My fingers running through his hair as he rests his forehead on my stomach.

Tugging me closer, he holds me tight while I rub my palm over his back comfortingly. He exhales softly, struggling and steeling courage to speak. However, I’m jolted to my core from the impact of his revelation.

“My mother miscarried her second pregnancy on this date.”

“Oh, Nova…” I trail off before finding courage. “I’m so sorry.”

“It was the day I was kidnapped.”

Perpetuated by my father… goes unsaid. I’m at a complete loss for words. Nothing could make up for their loss anyway. I thought my eyes were numb, too dry for tears yet they silently fall, catching on my lips.

Except, Nova has only spilled the tip of the iceberg.

I’m afraid he’s erecting a wall when he pulls back. He propels my body forward while shifting backward and resting his head on the back of the couch. I straddle his lap and push the messy locks that shadow his forehead.

“My dad has never loved my mother while she has unrequitedly loved him all her life. Marrying her was another business transaction for him. To bring him closer to the one woman he’s always desired. The one that got away. A loveless marriage is what he cruelly destined my mom to. While she foolishly holds hope that one day he will look at her, want and need her the way she does him.”

The puzzle finally completes to form a clear picture.

The reason behind Nova’s actions and promises to make our marriage work.

He didn’t want to repeat history, write the same fate as his parents’.

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