Page 55 of What She Wants

“I don’t give a fuck about what’s in the news. I only care that my wife wasn’t by my side on one of the most important nights of my life because I didn’t give you advance notice to pencil me in. I didn’t have time to explain because my mother walked into my office. Imagine how I felt knowing you left without a proper goodbye after I just defended you and before you mention the ‘boarded’ text. That wasn’t a proper goodbye.”

“Noted and sorry,” I know it’s not fully heartfelt but this is both of our faults and I’m getting the brunt of the fallout. “You need to communicate better as well.”

He yanks me off the bed. “Kneel.”

I didn’t want to but the authority in his voice suggested that maybe I just cooperate this one time. He took the sash off my robe and I can feel him tying my hands then it goes around my neck. I’m not sure what he’s doing but I trust that he knows that killing me is a very stupid thing.

“Now move,” I don’t know why he told me to do that because I can’t, no matter what I try, It hurts. “I'm your man, your life, and the air you breathe. Think of this rope as our bond. We are one now. Connected. In this analogy, I’m your hands and every time you try to move them, the hold on your neck tightens. Do you know why, Chispa? Because trying to hurt me also harms you.The more you fight me the more you hurt yourself”

“Same, Marín. What you to me matters,” I feel my emotions kicking up as my eyes tear. “You didn’t give me the information I needed to make an informed decision.” I sniff because I feel the tears coming. “Now you’re disappointed and that is the part that hurts the most. You’ve had so much disappointment in your life that I’m the last person who wants to add to it, but if you don’t keep me in the loop I’ll do just that.”

The tears cloud my eyes and I can feel him untying the sash for my neck but not my hands. He helps me stand and I don’t know if it’s my tears or if he’s emotional as well.

“I understand that and I’m sorry but the part that hurt the most is that the moment I realized that I love you, you were nowhere to be found.”

His confession makes my heart swell and the tears flow harder. “I love you, too. Your silence was killing me. I left to come back to you.”

He kisses my tears and he holds me close. “We’ll always return to each other.”

His mouth covers mine and seals that promise.

“I don't know how you did it but you hijacked my heart like you did my hand in marriage.”

His sexy smile is back as he wipes my tears with his thumbs. “Get in bed and I’ll remind you.”

Epilogue

Esme

For the momentI admitted that I loved Marín it feels like everything is lighter. It’s been some months of bliss but we wouldn’t be us unless we purposely got on each other’s nerves.

We’re at Karessa’s mandatory family fun day snuggled next to each other on the couch as Dallas does a country song for Karaoke. He kisses me a few times on the neck but I move lest I feel the urge to leave early.

“I’ll be back,” I announce.

Karessa is out on the patio staring into space the way she does when something is on her mind. As if we have alarms, Imala and I move her way. Zoya is on the way with her boyfriend otherwise she would have come outside as well.

“What’s the matter,” I ask, getting to the point.

“Nothing is really the matter per se,” she shrugs. “It’s more like self assigned guilt while I wait for an answer.”

We hug her although we have no idea what she’s talking about but Oran comes outside before we can probe. He looks tired but then again he’s been looking tired a lot lately.

“I made the call,” he says like we know what he’s talking about.

“What call, big brother?”

Imala learned how to game Oran first. He is very protective over us. I curse at myself belatedly because I probably could have sicced him on Marín.

He smiles like he does when she calls him that but looks at Karessa.

“Me first,” she says. “I’m pregnant again.”

We hug her again but it seems off. “Why guilt and phone calls though.”

“You know about my youngest uncle right?”

“I think so,” we say.

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