Page 39 of It's Never Not Been You

“He’s gay, Raddix.”

“I don’t care if he’s a eunuch, Madison,” he shot back.

“You’re supposed to be catering to me right now, Raddix McKay,” I said, a twitch in my lips.

He arched a brow. “Oh, well…in that case…”

Chapter 25

Raddix~

Madison had surrendered, and I was almost too scared to believe it. When I had walked into my office, I had expected the worst. I had expected her to serve me with a restraining order or tell me that she was leaving again. A million possibilities had crossed my mind on my way up the stairs, but Madison agreeing to give me a second chance hadn’t been one of them. I’d been prepared to fight the good fight for a few more months at least.

When Madison had started crying, unable to speak, it had nearly sent me to my knees. Her cries were going to haunt me for the rest of my life, and I knew that I deserved them to. My stupidity had hurt her in a way that I was never going to understand. A woman’s emotions were as fragile as a butterfly’s wings and that was something that us men forgot sometimes. While their minds and abilities were a lot stronger than we gave them credit for, their emotions were not. When women fell apart, it was for real. When they finally buckled, it was as honest as they’d ever be. Madison falling apart in my arms because of me had to be the worst thing that I’d ever had to deal with.

There was also no way that I was going to ever let her down again. I knew this for the miracle that it was, and I was never going to take my second chance for granted. We could be ninety-years-old with a hundred grandchildren under our belts, and I’d still be thanking her for today. I had no idea what her sister and friends had said to her, but I owed them my thanks also.

“That meeting was the last one that I had for the day,” I told her, my hands running softly over her hips.

Madison grimaced a bit. “I’m sorry about that. I…once I made up my mind, I kind of rushed over here before I could change it. If you want to know the truth, the doubt is still there, Raddix.”

“Baby, I give two fucks about that meeting or any future ones that you might interrupt,” I told her honestly. “Like I told them all before I left, you are the single most important person in the world to me, and I will choose you every single fucking time.”

Her eyes widened. “You told them that?”

I grinned. “Well, Casp and Troy already knew that, so they weren’t actually surprised.”

“Oh, well…then I guess that’s okay,” she drawled out sarcastically.

With my hands still caressing her, I asked, “What are you going to tell your parents?” Her face fell, but Madison was close to her parents, so I needed to know. “They hate me.”

She let out a sigh. “They don’t hate you, Raddix. I mean, yeah, they were upset on my behalf at first, but after a while, they kind of just…gave me space to figure it out for myself. Though they supported me completely, they had their own doubts about me running off being the answer.”

“I didn’t do myself any favors when I kept showing up at their place,” I admitted. “I can’t imagine how many times your dad wanted to kill me.”

“Luckily, they’re also the type to let us make our own choices.” She shrugged. “I can’t see them holding a grudge if I’m happy.”

“I’ll still need to talk to them, Madison,” I informed her. “Everyone needs to be on the same page for this to work. I have no desire to fight your entire family while I’m trying to make things right.”

Madison eyed me. “What about your parents? What are they going to think?”

“Are you kidding?” I huffed. “They’re going to be thrilled. When I tell you that I lost it, I’m not lying or exaggerating, Madison. I was drinking heavily and working myself to death. Even now, the work hours that I keep aren’t healthy. The past couple of days are the most time that I’ve taken off work since I stopped drinking.”

“Though I felt like I did what I needed to do for my peace of mind, I regret missing out on so much,” she said sadly. “Eris and River are in serious relationships, and I missed out on the excitement of them meeting Wesley and Drémon. I…yeah, we talked on the phone a lot, but that wasn’t the same as actually being here for them when it all happened.”

“Well, if it’s any consolation, I missed out on Caspian falling in love because he hadn’t wanted to rub his happiness in my face,” I told her. “Even now, whenever I’m around them, Lilibeth is careful not to be too loving with my brother. Troy and Valerie are the same way around me. It was like everyone was terrified that I might fall off the edge if they were happy around me.”

She smiled sadly. “I would have loved to see Caspian falling in love.”

“Yeah, it came out of nowhere, but Lilibeth is perfect for him.” My hands finally found their way underneath Madison’s skirt because I just needed to feel her. “Caspian adores her.”

“Pierce has a date,” she blurted, making my brows jump.

“He does?”

Madison nodded. “I think…I think that’s a good thing.”

“Well, hopefully, we’re all finally beginning to heal,” I said, praying that I wasn’t lying.

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