Page 14 of Owen (Storm Enterprises)

Out of the corner of my eye, I watch Owen pull up a chair, then lean forward with his elbows on his knees and his head inhis hands. My heart constricts at the way he holds himself, and I wonder what’s going on with him. “I’ll go speak with him.”

My mom nods and leaves the room while I steel my shoulders and take a deep breath before sliding the patio door open and stepping outside. He doesn’t react to my presence, yet I know he knows it’s me. He’s always known when I’m in his vicinity.

My pulse races with trepidation as he lifts his head and his eyes slide up my body achingly slowly, as if taking in every part of me.

A lump catches in my throat at the same time his Adam’s apple bobs, the air between us like a tethered restraint ready to snap.

“What the fuck, Laya, a baby?” His deep voice sends a shiver up my spine, but the disappointment in it is clear, causing me to jolt.

His eyes latch onto my bump, then he squeezes his eyes closed and turns away. The pain etched on his face crushes my heart. Why the hell do I feel this way when it’s him who pushed me away for a woman he broke up with only weeks later?

He sits up straighter, then tugs on my jacket, pulling me between his firm legs. Those muscular thighs of his look like they’re about to break out of his jeans, and I clench at the thought.

His thick hand moves and rests on my bump and a strangled noise catches in my throat, making him dart his eyes up toward mine. He licks his lips, and his touch scorches through the fabric of my blouse. “Should have been mine,” he mumbles before closing his eyes. “Jesus, I fucked up.” He grits his teeth, then his eyes flare open. “You’re going to divorce him.”

I reel back on my feet, stumbling at his words, and with his free hand, he grabs my arm to stabilize me while his palm never leaves my stomach.

His words ring out in my ears.“You’re going to divorce him.”

How fucking dare he?

Then he scrubs a hand over his cropped head before nodding. “Yeah, that’s exactly what you’re going to do.” I stare at him as he unravels, his chest heaves, and the vein on the side of his forehead pulsates. “You hear me? Get rid of him.” The sharpness in his tone has me jolting, and I tug my arm out of his grasp and step back as anger surges through me like a volcano threatening to erupt.

“Don’t you dare speak about him like that!” I spit back. “He’s ten times the man you’ll ever be, Owen.” He clamps his jaw shut and rises from his chair, and I step back again, determined to put space between us. Anger combines with hurt, and I hate the way my voice quivers as I speak. “He loves us and would do anything for us.” My chest rises rapidly. “Anything,” I snipe out with conviction.

He swallows hard, and I know he took it as an insult, and it was meant to be.

He tilts his head to the side. “You don’t think I would?”

A mocking laugh rumbles in my throat. “We both know you wouldn’t.”

My back hits a brick wall as he backs me up against the house. “Wrong.” He cages me in with his arms braced above my head. “I’d do any-fucking-thing for you, even let you go.” His eyes scan my face, as if looking for a sign of my feelings. He won’t find one; I refuse to go back there. So I shake my head, unwilling to hear his words. They’re meaningless now. I’ve moved on. No matter how much the warmth of his body invades me, no matter how close he breathes against my lips as he speaks. “You’re both mine, and I’m coming for you. Both of you.”

Through the intoxication of his presence, his words settle in my mind. He’s talking like he owns me and our baby, mine and Carlos’s baby. I shove him away, and it’s not lost on me that he allowed it.

Always so easy to give me up. Why would now be any different, and why do I want him to fight for me when I’ve already made my choice?

Because deep down, I know Owen is embedded in my heart and soul, and as much as I attempt to move on, to live a life without him, he’ll always be there.

“I love him.”

He scoffs. “No, you don’t, baby girl. Don’t lie to me.”

The sound of the name he used the night we had sex on his lips fills my bloodstream with annoyance, and I want to hurt him, hurt him like he hurt me. I want to rip his heart out and stamp all over it like he did mine.

“Oh, I love him, all right. I tell him every night when we have sex. Every time his hand touches our baby bump.” As I rest my hand on my bump, his eyes snap to the action. “And he tells me right back.” I step closer to him, so close I could touch him, but don’t. I won’t allow myself to risk him pulling me in. “I’m his everything, and he’d go to war for me.”

He grinds his jaw from side to side and tilts his head to glare at me. “But would he win?” There’s something in his tone, an underlying meaning to his words, and I don’t like it. It’s as if he’s saying he’d go to battle for me. But doesn’t he see? There is no battle, he already lost. He gave up.

I spin to walk away, done with this conversation. Done with him.

“You’ve always been mine, Laya.” His voice rises. “You’re my first love, baby girl, and I’ll make damn sure I’m your last.”

I ignore his words, even as they crush me, because this time, it’s me who gets to walk away from us.

“I’m coming for you, baby girl.” He promises as I slide open the patio door, and a shiver rushes up my spine. It’s a promise I’m not ready for.

FOUR

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