Page 30 of Wanted

Home, I don’t even know where that is anymore.

“I thought we’d decided you would stay.” His posture is relaxed, leaning against the chair, and his legs stretched out before him, but he doesn’t fool me, his intense gaze is looking for answers. Not by my words, but inside me.

Danger, screams a voice inside my head.

“Lionel, we agreed that we were going to try and fix this,” I correct him, pointing between us. “And I don’t know if that’s possible.”

That statement left a bitter taste in my mouth, I’m not one to give up so easily. A marriage is between two people, so the decision can’t just be mine.

“Why are you still wearing the band on your finger?” he asks, raising his eyebrows.

“Because it’s the symbol of a promise I made, Lionel, maybe it doesn’t mean anything to you. But I promised to love, respect, and honor you every day of my life.”

The asshole has the audacity to smile, knowing he just made a point.

“And all I’m asking is for you to honor that promise.”

Lionel might be an excellent architect, but I’m sure he’d make an even better lawyer.

“I think you’ve lost the right to demand that those promises be kept when you were the one who broke them.”

Lionel lets out a defeated sigh, closes his eyes, and gets ready. I know he’s preparing a good counterargument.

“I’m not demanding anything from you,” he whispers. Although his voice is low, the power behind those words doesn’t go unnoticed. “I’ve asked, which is very different, and may I remind you, you already agreed to stay.”

“I also told you, I would try.”

“Then try,” he insists. “But really try.”

Again a request that goes straight to my soul, like an arrow.

“At the end of the day, I’ll choose what to do. I’m tired of always giving in to make you happy.”

We are both silent, dinner has been forgotten, like the sun that has set on the horizon.

“I asked you to try because I want a clean slate, Stella,” he declares. “I want you to forget what I said or did in the past. Close your eyes for a moment and tell me what you want, what you expect, where you want to go from here.”

And I do just that. I close my eyes and think about my hopes, my dreams, and the goals I’ve set for myself.

“I want to be different,” is my sincere response. “I want to be more than the expectations of others.”

Lionel rests his elbows on the table and his chin on his fist.

“Something tells me you already are.”

“Excuse me?” What the hell does that mean?

“I just said that you already are, more than that, you’re unique.”

I have to think twice before answering. “If this is another one of your tricks to get me into bed with you, you’re wasting your time.”

A bright smile turns his lips up, almost dulling the stars shining over us.

“And where do you plan to sleep tonight?”

I take a piece of biscuit and throw it at him with precise accuracy that I hit him right on the bridge of his nose.

“You know what I mean.”

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