Page 78 of Selfish Desires

My face dropped, realizing I wasn’t going to be welcomed anytime soon. “You’re mad at me. Why? It’s not like last time. This time, Wendy knows.” I stepped over the threshold of their entrance with Blair backing away. “And we’re not broken up. I asked her to stay with me, but she refused.”

Zachary clenched his jaw, stepped forward, and his left fist whisked through the air, connecting straight to the center of my face.

And then everything went black.

The taste of copper was the first thing I registered as consciousness slowly returned. The world was a blurred haze of sensations, the gentle murmur of voices in the backdrop, an atypical plushness beneath me. I was lying on something, a couch perhaps.

I cracked open my eyes one at a time.

The brightness of the room hit me like a blinding spotlight, but I screwed up my eyes against it until they adjusted to the light. The world cleared up, and Blair's face swam into view. Her arms were folded across her chest, her hazel eyes wide with concern and anger.

“Are you okay?” she asked, her voice tight with restrained emotion.

I tried to sit up, but my head throbbed viciously at the movement. A sharp pain echoed behind my eyes, causing me to wince. She immediately rushed forward, gently pushing me back onto the couch. “Don’t try to move,” she said. “Zachary...” Blair’s voice trailed off as she glanced behind her.

Zachary appeared hidden by the door frame from where he had been standing. He looked hard and impassive, though his knuckles were red and swollen—evidence of the punch that had landed me on their luxurious ivory-colored couch.

“Zachary,” I began again, my throat croaking like sandpaper.

“Save it,” he cut me off sharply, no trace of regret in his gaze, only resentment. “Blair, tell Vincent about the phone call we got earlier.” Zachary nodded in his wife’s direction.

“Wendy called us crying. Asking us why did this happen to her. Why did she take you back?” Blair swallowed her own tears as I spotted her glassy eyes. “How could you do this again to her, Vincent?”

“I didn’t break up with her,” I pleaded from the couch, sitting up, ignoring the shooting pain wracking through my body. What the fuck was with Zachary’s bionic strength? His muscles were always apparent under his clothes, but fucking damn. Did he just punch me in the face or throw me from a building? “I call her every day. Text her every fucking day. And now I’m emailing. And nothing from her! I asked her to stay with me at the cabin, but she said no.” I straightened, running my fingertips along my throbbing jaw. “What the fuck does everyone want from me already? I’m not letting Wendy go. This is what she wants this time.”

Zachary dropped his arms and stormed over to my pitiful frame. He wound his right fist back this time, ready to punch me into next week, when Blair screamed and grabbed Zachary’s forearm.

“No, Zachary!” she cried. Blair pulled him back with all the force she could muster. “Stop this! Beating him up is not going to solve anything.”

Zachary turned to glare at Blair, his face contorted with his inner turmoil. His clenched fist shook from the tension. He exhaled a harsh breath through gritted teeth, slowly lowering his hand. He blinked hard, trying to bring himself under control.

“Isn’t this what you want?” Zachary asked Blair.

“No,” Blair said firmly, holding his gaze. “I know I said protect Wendy at any cost, but this isn’t the answer now that I’m seeing it unfold.” She stood between the two of us, a small yet unyielding barrier.

Zachary turned his back on me, his shoulders trembling with the effort to control himself. I could hear the heavy rhythm of his breathing and see Blair's hand resting lightly on his broad back.

Slowly, he nodded, glancing at Blair before walking away without another word. His footsteps echoed through the penthouse as he disappeared into another room. Blair didn't move until she heard a door close in the distance.

She turned to face me again, her eyes welling with tears of frustration. “Vincent... we...we don't hate you. We just...we don't know how to help this time,” she stammered, her voice wavering. “Wendy is such a good person, and to see her suffer again, even though you’re saying this isn’t abandonment and promising everyone it’s different this time, but the truth is? It’s not.” Blair sighed. “You left Wendy without a choice. What was the compromise on your end?”

My jaw clenched at her words, my heart hammering against my chest. It was clear they didn’t believe me despite all my efforts.

“Fucking hell, Blair!” I shot back, “It wasn’t me who made this decision. If I could have it any other way, Wendy and I would be together now.” I pushed myself off the couch, the pain in my body momentarily forgotten in the heat of my frustration.

I moved to stand in front of her, almost begging with my eyes for her to see the truth. She took a step back, allowing me to somehow stumble over an ottoman and fall. Blair’s face paled as she studied me on the floor.

“Vincent, it’s too complicated. And what’s worse? You’re complicating it more.”

I closed my eyes, suddenly feeling the warm pain circulating my face. “Can someone please get me some ice?”

“Fine.” Blair rolled her eyes. “Just one second.”

Zachary had other plans as he blocked Blair from stepping toward the kitchen. “No. Don’t get him anything.” He stormed over to me. “You are going to sleep here tonight. Get your shit together, and then in the morning, I’m driving us to Newport.”

“Wendy will tell me to get lost.” I hunched forward, resting my elbows on my knees, allowing my loser status to shine like the sun.

Zachary's face relaxed, just enough for me to see through his hardened exterior. “Then get lost,” he said, a tired resignation. “But at least you would have tried.”

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