Page 222 of Never Fall for an Angel

“But Savannah and Mason . . . Hannah, they miss you.”

“They can visit her here when she’s ready,” Christian says, pushing off the dresser. He crosses the room, stopping at the side of the bed. I miss him. I’ve slept alone for the last three nights because he refuses to lay beside me for fear of hurting me, and I miss the scent of him on my skin in the morning.

Bending down, he places a kiss on my forehead, his lips lingering like he’s memorizing my scent.

“I’ve got a meeting. Will you be okay until I get back?”

“I’ll be okay,” I say softly, my heart rolling from the softness in his eyes. “I love you.”

“I love you,” he says, brushing his knuckles down the side of my face before he pulls away and steps out the door, leaving Mom and me alone.

Mom sighs heavily and falls down in the chair beside my bed.

“I can’t believe he would go to a meeting right now,” she grumbles.

“Can you stop?” I snap, my temper flaring, and in turn, my side cramps too.

Mom just glowers at me like a scolded child.

“Why are you being so hard on him?”

“Because he abandoned you—”

“Because you told him to,” I snap, interrupting her.

She falls silent.

“Christian married me to keep me from being forced into marrying one of Marcus’s friends. You know, because you allowed him to auction me off.”

“I asked him to stop it. Not marry you.”

“Call it toxic or a mistake or a violation,” I shrug. It hurts. “I don’t care. It’s between Christian and I and no amount of nasty comments hurled his way will change the outcome.”

“You can’t tell me you’renotconsidering a divorce. At the very least, an annulment?”

I shake my head.

“At first . . . I wasn’t sure. Then I realized, even if he had asked me, the outcome would be the same. I love him, Mom.”

She purses her lips, and I know she wants to argue. That’s just who my mother is.

I sigh, leaning my head back against the pillows. One thing about being a human pincushion? Sudden bouts of exhaustion.

“We’ve both made mistakes, Mom. You have, too. What matters is how we move forward.”

She purses her lips, looking at the television. A commercial for bridal gowns flashes across the screen.

“You didn’t get that, Mila,” Mom says quietly, her eyes settling with tears. “I know he loves you. I know you love him, I’m just . . . sad all of that was taken from you.”

So that’s what this is about. Her own feelings of guilt.

“Who’s to say I even wanted it?” She pauses, looking at me like she’s finally seeing me for me and not a replica of herself.

“What do you want?” she asks carefully, and I shrug.

“Christian,” I answer without thought. “A family. A comfortable home and to feel safe.” I scratch Phantom’s head, where he lays beside me on the bed. “I wanted a dog, and I found one.”

“That’s not a dog,” Mom says warily, eyeing him like he might turn ravenous at any second. Phantom eyes her back, cocking his head with sass. “That’s a creature of hell.”

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