Page 82 of Captivated By Him

“No, ma’am. I didn’t tell him you were coming.”

I look at him once more. “Maybe go park. I could be a while.” I climb out of the car, wincing at the pain in my ribs, and head for the entrance.

Micah is walking across the lobby when I enter through the rotating doors. His immediate reaction is a scowl.

“Nicole.” He hurries to me. “What are you doing out?” He looks me over. “You’re still hurting.”

“Is he up there?” Of course I’m hurting, but it’s not the physical pain sucking the life from my heart.

Micah’s expression softens. “He is.”

“I need to see him. I know I messed up, but he should at least talk to me.”

His brows furrow. “What do you mean you messed up?”

I shake my head. I don’t have the energy to go through it all. “It’s a long story.”

“I have a feeling it’s not as complicated as you think.” He glances at the bandage on my left arm. While I was half dragging Joseph from the warehouse, I managed to get a burn that will most likely leave a nasty scar. But at least Joseph escaped without more injury than his leg.

“I need to see him.”

He gives a curt nod. “Of course.” He pulls a business card from the inside of his suit jacket and pen. After scribbling something down he hands it to me. “Here’s the code to get into the condo. I’ll text Lena and let her know you’re on your way up.”

“Thank you.” I take the card.

“Don’t let him off the hook so easy, understand?” He points a finger at me with the look of authority I’ve seen too many times on Jakub’s face.

“I won’t,” I vow. After I’m done yelling at him for just abandoning me, I’ll apologize. Maybe I should start with apologizing? I mean, it was my fault. I did tell him I wanted out, I said we were over.

“Good.” He checks his watch. “I need to go, but Lena can get a hold of me if you need anything.”

“Of course. Thank you, Micah.”

Once inside the elevator, I punch in the secret code then hug the envelope with the papers to my chest. These men and their security codes, it’s getting to be a bit much. But after seeing what his enemies are capable of, I suppose they serve their purpose.

As the elevator glides up to the top floor, my stomach twitches. What if he doesn’t want me? What if this is his way of getting rid of me, and I’m being a crazy bitch who won’t let go?

By the time the elevator comes to a stop, I’m in full panic mode. Maybe I’m doing the wrong thing. But before I can make my escape, the doors slide open and Jakub is standing in the foyer with his fists on his hips. “What the hell are you doing out of bed?”

“Seriously?” I step off the elevator, my misgivings dashed with his rage-filled glare.

“You’re not supposed to be moving around this much, Nicole. Little movements,” he continues to lecture me. From the right corner of my eye, I see Lena peek out at us from the living room. She ducks back in when she meets my gaze.

“And you’re not supposed to move in with your sister while your wife is recovering from a car accident and attempted murder by a complete psychopath, but here we are!” I dump the envelope on the large table placed in the center of the foyer. A vase with bright blue flowers wobbles at the force.

His eyes move to the envelope and his anger cracks. “You got the papers.”

“Yeah. You coward. I got them.” I fist my hands and put them on my hips. The movement takes my breath away for a split second.

“Coward?” His voice is raw while his eyes fill with confusion.

“Yeah. I know I fucked up, Jakub. I never should have left the apartment that night. I should have waited for you to come home to yell at you for being an overbearing asshole. I know that. And I was telling the driver to take me back home when it became apparent we weren’t going to the airport. I wanted to go home. I didn’t want to leave.” I point at the papers spilled out of the envelope. “But apparently, I should have.”

A sob catches me off guard. I was angry when I saw the papers at first, hurt, and mad. But now, seeing him standing right in front of me, the size of this hits me. He’s stayed away from our home since I was released from the hospital. He’s been talking to lawyers to end things between us. This has been his priority.

“I know you didn’t mean it when you agreed to make our marriage temporary. I know you only did that because I never would have agreed if you hadn’t. But even when I let myself pretend this wasn’t a real thing, our marriage wasn’t real, you told me you’d never let me go. You swore I was yours forever. But I guess you were lying. Just saying what you needed to say so you got what you wanted.”

His jaw clenches.

---